Aliyah
by Bubbahotek
Summary: Ron is planning on emmigrating to Israel, can Kim cope with life without Ron and what kind of trouble awaits Ron in his Jewish homeland. I do not own Kim Possible or any of the characters on the TV Show. Story takes place after STD smf ignores season 4.
1. Chapter 1

This is part 3 of my long running series, End of Innocence is part 1, A Helping Hand is part 2 and now Aliyah is the latest saga in Ron's transformation from normal goof to high powered assassin. Have fun reading, I hope you enjoy it. I do not own Kim Possible or any of the characters on the TV Show.

* * *

Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable have been consigned to MOKKIS for the last three weeks and have settled into their new routine. They enjoyed having all their classes together again, even if they weren't allowed to leave the room or mingle with the rest of the school, as long as they had each other everything was fine. 

Ron had been assigned to Middleton Keep Kids In School program after he vanished for a month, and refused to disclose where he had been. He was found by the school psychologist as being mentally unstable and sentenced to MOKKIS for the rest of his senior year of high school.

Kim had been expelled after a failed anti-war protest and after she had punched the school psychologist in the nose after she suggested that Kim was sexually repressed.

Kim then went on to formulate a plan to break Drakken and Shego out of prison in order to help take down The Man.

The plan was discovered by Wade and Ron; it also came to Ron's attention that Kim was a thrill junkie and would do almost anything that looked dangerous if she were bored. Ron defeated Kim and her new boyfriend Angry Bob on a hillside just outside Tri-County Penitentiary.

Kim and Ron reunited as a couple and at a team meeting of Team Possible, Kim was voted sidekick and Wade worked his computer magic to smuggle Kim back into Middleton High School by putting her into MOKKIS with Ron.

They would sit next to each other in the small class inside a mobile home just behind Middleton High School and flirt and talk about life after high school. Ron let Kim do most of the talking as he was planning to Aliyah to Israel and such talk would upset Kim.

Ron was happy to see Kim happy again and didn't want to upset her; he had mailed off his paper work and had received his passport in the mail along with promises of grants and subsidies to help him start his new life in Israel.

He was happy with the way things were progressing but today Ron Stoppable had romance on his mind. He scribbled out a quick note and passed it to Kim. He was smiling as what he had planned was going to be fun and exciting enough to keep Kim from getting bored and getting into trouble.

Kim took the note with a suspicious look, _"What is he doing now?" _she thought to herself as she opened the little triangle shaped note.

Kim opened the note, and looked over her shoulder at Ron and lifted an eyebrow at him. Kim picked up her pen and twirled it around in her fingers as though she were mulling the question over.

"_Do you like me…circle one…yes…no."_ was what the note had read.

Kim finally circled one of the responses and refolded the note and looked around carefully before passing it back to Ron.

Ron took the note and opened it, "Yes" was circled. _"Booyah"_ he thought happily as he wrote his next question down and folded the note back up and passed it back to Kim.

"_What are you doing…Ron you are such a nut."_ She thought as she opened and read the note.

"_Would you like to go to the Valentine's Day dance with me? Circle one…yes or no."_ Kim smiled as she read the note.

She turned towards Ron and flipped her hair so that it covered her left eye and then raised her eyebrows and tuned back towards the note and scribbled an answer. Then she folded it back over and handed it to Ron.

Ron was smiling and feeling pretty good about things until he opened the note, "Maybe" it read.

Ron made a display of slumping in his seat and acting disappointed, and then he brightened and scribbled on the note some more. Then he folded it back up and passed it over to Kim.

"_Ok…What's he doing now?"_ She thought as she opened the note.

She let out a soft giggle and then looked around to make sure no one had noticed, the note read, "PLEASE!" Kim smiled and wrote a reply and folded it up and passed it back to Ron.

Ron took the note and opened it up, "Oh Ok" it read and Ron nodded his head and smiled.

Mrs. Taylor looked up from her romance novel and noticed the time, "All right class it appears that the school day is now over. You may leave in an orderly fashion…Except for you Mr. Stoppable and you Miss Possible." She said as the other seven students ran out of the room.

"_Uh oh…busted."_ Ron thought sadly.

Kim and Ron walked up to the front of the class; Mrs. Taylor looked at the two of them, "Why are you two here? I mean, I know why the others are here, they have behavioral problems…You two however don't really fit in?"

Ron smiled and raised his hand, "Prisoner of conscience here."

Kim giggled, "I guess that makes me a political prisoner then."

Mrs. Taylor shook her head, "I'm going to talk to Principle Kelby and see if there's any way of returning you to your normal classes."

Kim looked at Ron in a panic, "Ummmm…no…I mean…we enjoy each other's company…and…not a good idea." Ron stumbled for a reason.

"I think what Ron means to say is…ummm…Our grades have improved so much by being in here and we'd hate to leave…right Ron?" Kim smiled uneasily.

"Hehehe…Yea…What she said?" Ron stammered.

Mrs. Taylor smiled at the two of them, "I see you two have started going together…a real MOKKIS romance story….I won't interfere then." She said happily as she placed a book mark back in her romance novel and locked it in her desk.

Ron smiled and nodded, "Thanks Mrs. Taylor for keeping our secret, certain people don't like the fact that I'm dating a former cheerleader." Ron whispered conspiratorially.

"Oh no trouble at all Ron, I can see now that Kim has a thing for the bad boys." She told the two as she finished picking up her stuff to get ready to leave.

Kim blushed and Ron smiled as they put their things away in their cages. Ron pulled on his coat to get ready to leave for the day and put his hands in his pockets and held out an elbow for Kim to take.

Kim linked her arm with Ron's as they walked out the mobile home that was now their makeshift school house, "I don't have a thing for the bad boys." She whispered.

"Oh yes you do." Ron whispered back as they headed out to Ron's car.

The weather was cold and drizzly, typical early February weather. Kim cuddled up closer to Ron as they walked, "Well…maybe just a little." She confessed.

Ron smiled a big toothy grin as he opened the car door for Kim, "Well then Kim Possible, I guess that's why you've chosen me to go to the Valentine's day dance with…We will be the best looking bad boy, bad girl couple there."

Kim waited for him to slide into the driver's seat, "Ron, I don't think we're allowed to attend school functions anymore." Kim said sadly.

Ron nodded and raised an eyebrow, "That's the beauty of it Kim, no one will see it coming until it's too late…All will bow down before our badselfs…BOOYAHAHAHAHAHA." Ron let out a fiendish laugh and Kim just shook her head.

"Ron…Are you ok? Doing risky things is not normally what you like doing." Kim was worried about her friend.

Ron put the car in reverse and started to back out of the parking lot, "Kim, I'd really like to take you to a dance and have fun with everyone like we used to…If a little risk involved…So be it." He told his girlfriend confidently.

Kim scooted closer to him in the front seat and Ron put his arm around her and drew her in closer to him. He enjoyed the trips to and from school the most, sometimes they would talk, other times they would just bask in each other's company.

Ron pulled up into the Possible's driveway and Jim and Tim were there to give Kim a hard time about being in MOKKIS, "Hey Kim, you guys back from the psycho room?" Tim asked.

"Kim is it true you guys are chained to the desks and forced to wear gags?" Jim wanted to know.

Kim glared at the two and threatened them, "Take off dweebs before I chain and gag you until mom and dad get home."

Kim put her hands on her hips and watched the two boys run away, "They think they're so smart since they skipped a few grades." She said to Ron angrily

Then Kim shook her head sadly and asked Ron, "You want to come in for a while?"

"I'd love too, but I can't…I have to toil away for The Man tonight…Smarty Mart…" Ron stopped talking when he realized Kim's shoulders were drooping and she was looking at the ground.

Ron winced, "Sorry KP, I wasn't thinking." He told her as he took her into his arms.

"It's ok Ron, I just miss seeing everyone and I miss the cheer squad…I…I just wish…I didn't have to hide." Kim said sadly.

Ron let out a heavy sigh, "I know Kim, I figured you'd enjoy seeing everyone again once we snuck into the dance on Saturday night."

Kim shook her head, "I don't know Ron, I really like spending time with you…After last summer you sort of became…I don't know…"

Ron gave her a big hug and a kiss, "That's all behind us now, Kim…I want to spend as much time with you as I can before…June." He told her.

Kim smiled sadly, "Before you leave for Israel…I'm starting to accept it…I still want you to stay with me though."

"I know…I have to go though…I feel a pull and I just can't explain it…I wish you could go with me." Ron said with a smile.

Kim shook her head, "I can't…Ron could you do me a favor?" Kim asked sadly.

Ron nodded his head, "I will, if I can."

"I want you to take me to the Odyssey this Thursday night. You took Monique and Lacey…but you've never taken me there." Kim said sadly.

Ron smiled and said, "You got it KP, we'll go to Thursday night ritual…I have to leave for work now…If your still feeling down later…give me a call…ok?"

Kim smiled, "I'll be ok…I think it's just this yucky weather we're having…I miss the sun…I miss…" Kim stopped talking and wiped away a tear.

Ron frowned and hugged Kim hard, he nuzzled his face into her hair, "Who's my number one girlfriend?" he asked.

Kim chuckled, "I am…Go to work…I'll be ok…Pick me up tomorrow?"

"Natch…Same time tomorrow then, I'm off tomorrow night…We'll come up with a plan for Saturday night…ok?" Ron said trying to comfort Kim.

Kim smiled and nodded, she kissed Ron goodbye again and watched him get into his car and leave pull out of the driveway. He made the right hand turn at the stop sign and headed out of the subdivision.

She turned and headed back into the house and walked up the stairs to her room. There was an indescribable sadness about her, which she couldn't quite put her finger on. She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling and let her mind work through her emotions.

"_I love Ron and I don't want him to go to Israel…We've gone out on more dates and he's always been well mannered…He handles me like glass now…He never used to do that."_ Kim thoughts were coming but she was still having trouble putting her finger on the source of her sadness.

Kim rolled over and looked at Panderoo and pitched the cuddle buddy aside, _"After Ron came home from Japan, he started the whole I'm going to Israel business…I wonder what happened to him there? Ron seems to have a terminal sadness to him these days…I can't put my finger on it, but I think…I think too much." _Kim thought as she let out a deep breath.

"_Maybe…he wants to have sex with me but is afraid to ask? I know he had sex with Yori and Monique…Maybe I am sexually repressed…No…Ron's never made a move to try to push things towards sex."_ Kim thought shaking her head.

Kim looked around her room, she sat up and crossed her legs and looked into the mirror, _"I used to be the one watching out for Ron, now its like the roles have reversed…Ron seems so much older now…He's gone through so much over the last year…Maybe that's it, he's grown up a lot, and I've stayed the same."_

"_He's changed so much the rest of the team made him the leader and now I'm the sidekick…I guess I had it coming…I don't know what I was thinking trying to break Shego and Drakken out of prison…I almost lost everything."_ Kim thought sadly.

Kim looked up and heard her mom pull into the driveway, she left her room and decided to have a chat with her mom.

She passed the twins as she walked down stairs, "Psycho" they teased.

Kim just stuck her tongue out at them and shook her head, _"They get to go to high school now and I'm in a trailer…Life is so unfair."_ She thought sadly to herself.

Kim went into the kitchen as her mother was coming in the door, "Monday night pizza night…Yeaaaaaa…I don't have to cook night." She said happily.

Kim giggled, "Mom….I need to talk to you."

Mrs. Dr. P. raised an eyebrow, "What did you do now?"

"Nothing…I'm staying low profile and out of sight out of mind at school." Kim said sadly.

"Missing your friends?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked.

Kim nodded her head, "Yea…I mean…Ron's been great and everything, but I miss seeing everyone…and then…there's Ron." She said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "Well…not to sound mean but your lucky, you have what you have for school…It was either MOKKIS or G.E.D. classes from what Ron told me…Maybe you can visit with your other friends at the mall" she suggested.

"Yea….I guess…It's just not going like I thought my senior year would be like….I guess it's kind of a let down…" Kim said quietly.

Kim let out a sigh and continued, "Then there's Ron…He…He doesn't treat me the same as he used to…"

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at Kim, "He's not treating you badly is he?"

"No…no…nothing like that, when we were dating before he went to Japan…We…we'd…make out and I'd occasionally have to slap his hand from time to time or say "Down Boy"…Now he…doesn't push things on dates now." Kim said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. let out a breath, "Well…that's a relief…I think your father would like to hear that." She said with a smile.

Then Mrs. Dr. P. noticed Kim start to turn away and so she continued, "Let me guess…you'd like him to push things along a bit?"

"Yea…I mean…I know he's been…active with a few girls now…So…it's not a case of not knowing what to do…He just doesn't appear to want…to be active with me." Kim said looking down, hoping that her mother would pick up on what she was trying to say.

"Oh…ummm…I see…hmmm…Truthfully honey, I never thought I'd ever be having this conversation about Ron…Have you tried talking to him about it?" She asked, not quite knowing how to handle Kim's dilemma.

"No…I'm not quite sure how to talk to him about it…Mom…How did you know, when you were ready…to…you know…the first time?" Kim asked.

Mrs. Dr. P. froze, and then tried to explain as best she could, "Ummm…I…Well…everyone's different honey…There just comes a time…when you just…know."

"That's it?" Kim asked.

"Well…ummm…Don't let your first time be in the backseat of a car…Not that that was my first time of course." The older woman laughed nervously.

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at the ceiling, _"Ahhhh Bobby Thornton and that beat up old Chevelle of his."_ She quietly reminisced before being brought back to reality by her daughter.

"MOM" Kim said and then began to chuckle.

"Look honey…If you do decide…to go that way with Ron…I can write you a prescription for birth control pills or pick up some condoms from work, if you decide to go that route. I don't think I'm ready for grand kids just yet." She said softly.

"MOM" Kim said in mock horror.

Mrs. Dr P. gave her daughter a look that let her know she was serious, "Honey…It's the responsible thing to do, and the last thing you or Ron would need to worry about is an unwanted pregnancy."

Kim nodded her head, "Yea"

Kim looked at the ground for a long moment, "I never thought about that."

"Well you need to think about it, long and hard before you decide on what you should do…Try talking to Ron first…He might be ready but is afraid of your reaction…" Mrs. Dr. P. suggested.

Kim looked puzzled, "Afraid of my reaction?"

Mrs. Dr. P. chuckled, "Honey…you have a tendency to be…a little…extreme with your reactions."

Kim bobbed her head around, "Yea…I guess your right."

Mrs. Dr. P. recognized an opportunity to escape the uncomfortable conversation, "I'm hungry let's order those pizzas."

"Mom…go ahead and write prescription for me….just in case." Kim said quietly.

Mrs. Dr. P. closed her eyes and nodded her head, "Alright honey…Just be sure to use your head…ok." She reminded her daughter.

* * *

Ron was heading for work at Smarty Mar and he pulled the Ronnuicator out of the glove compartment and keyed the button for Wade. 

The thirteen year old computer genius appeared on the screen, "What's up Ron?"

"I want to run a date idea by you." Ron said.

Wade chuckled, "No thanks Ron, I don't think Kim would understand."

Ron started laughing, "Good one Wade, no here's my idea for a date with Kim as soon as the weather warms up…Night time bungee jumping off Forester dam."

Wade nodded his head, "Sounds life threatening."

"And stupid" Ron added.

"Kim would love it…I don't think you'll get permission to do that at the dam though." Wade said.

Ron smiled, "Even more dangerous then."

Wade laughed, "Kim would love it even more then."

Ron pulled into work at Smarty Mart, "Just thought I'd run that idea by you before work."

"Sounds good, how's Kim adjusting to her new school sitch?" Wade asked.

Ron shook his head, "I don't think she's happy about it…I try and keep her entertained…I just want her to finish school." Ron said quietly.

Wade nodded, "Yea…well I better let you get going…Have fun working for The Man."

Ron nodded, "Thanks…oh…don't say stuff like that in front of Kim…I made that mistake today…kind of hurt her feelings." Ron said sadly.

Wade winced, "I'll keep that in mind Ron, thanks…see ya."

Then the Ronnunicator went dark and Ron put the device back into the glove box and went inside to start his shift at Smarty Mart.

Ron swiped his badge through the card reader to clock in and reported in for his shift to Mr. Dotson, "Ron good to see you, you've been transferred."

Ron's mouth fell open, "Transferred…where?"

Mr. Dotson gave him a big grin, "You'll love this department, Jewelry…Report to Ms. Lieberman up at the front of the store." He told him.

Ron looked horrified, "Jewelry…I don't know anything about Jewelry."

Mr. Dotson laughed, "Soon you will know more about women's jewelry than you ever wanted to know in your life…Now head on up front." His supervisor told him.

Ron turned and took the slow walk up front and made a right at the $10 Smarty Mart wrist watches until he came to the Jewelry counter.

"I'm Ron Stoppable…and I'm looking for a Ms. Lieberman." Ron asked the rather attractive girl working the counter.

"You found her, come on around here and let me teach you about the fascinating world of jewelry." She told him.

Ron smiled weakly and walked around the end of the counter and back to where Ms. Lieberman was standing, _"Great why couldn't I have been transferred to sporting goods or something."_ Ron thought sadly.

"So Mr. Stoppable, what do you know about diamonds?" Ms Lieberman asked.

"There a girls best friend?" Ron said in a rather cheeky manner.

Ms. Lieberman lifted an eyebrow, "Right…I got me a smart one don't I…Well this may not excite you much but you are going to learn something today so listen up." She told him.

"The five things you need to know about diamonds or the five "C's", Carat, Color, Cut, Clarity, and Cost, here take this." She said as she handed Ron a jeweler's loupe.

Ron took the jeweler's loupe and then a ring from Ms. Lieberman, "Tell me what you see?" Lieberman asked.

Ron stuttered nervously, "Ummm…I…I…well…it's a diamond that looks like it has lots of little cracks in it?"

"Right…The diamond has many imperfections, which is why it's a Smarty Mart special. What else can you see?" She asked as she told him to have another look.

Ron was getting a little more confident, "Ummmmm…It looks slightly yellow, there's a stamp on the ring…10k?"

"Ahhhhhhhh sharp, 10 karat gold ring, yellowish diamond with many imperfections, here now try this one." She said as she handed Ron another ring.

Ron took the new ring and looked at it, "This one the points look rounder, it's very clear, there's a stamp on the bottom that says C.Z.?" Ron told her as he handed back the ring.

"Good catch on the points, this ring is cubic zirconium, that's why the C.Z. stamp on the setting. A real diamond will have sharper points from being cut rather than being pressed, also the lack of imperfections is another tip that it's not a real diamond….See your learning." She encouraged Ron.

"Now a lesson on cut, she held up two rings, which diamond do you think is heavier?" She asked.

Ron shrugged and pointed to the larger one on the left, "That one looks bigger." Ron told her.

"Nope, the one on the right, see the one the left is cut shallower to look bigger than the one on the right…So the one on the right actually weighs more and is more expensive but the one on the left is big and gaudy so it will sell faster." She told him.

Ron smiled weakly and nodded, "Great"

Ms. Lieberman reached into her purse and grabbed her cigarettes and a lighter, "See you learned something today, now you watch the front…I'm going to go outside and have me a smoke, be back in fifteen minutes." She told Ron as she walked quickly towards the door.

Ron watched her go towards the front and then just stared at all the rings and bracelets and watches, _"Great…This is stuff I'll never ever use in the real world." _He thought to himself as he let out a heavy sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Thursday night and Kim sat on her bed turning the little round plastic case round and round in her fingers, she read the instructions and understood them. She opened the container and looked at the round circle of pills. They were all the same color one for every day of the month, except for the light blue pills that were meant to be taken when she would be on her period.

She was waiting for Ron Stoppable to come and pick her up to go out to the Odyssey; he had taken other girls but never her. Tonight Kim was determined to make this a night that Ron would not soon ever forget.

Kim was nervous she had been on many missions and fought super freaks but now she was determined to take her relationship with Ron to a new level, _"I hope Ron doesn't get scared off she thought to herself as she looked at herself in the mirror."_

Kim was dressed in a revealing black Latino jersey dress, which just barely came to her knees, and a pair of black stiletto high heel shoes, _"I hope this doesn't look to slutty and scare Ron off…I wish I knew if I were doing the right thing."_ She thought nervously.

Kim sat back down on the bed and looked at the birth control pills again, _"I hope I'm not doing this just to try and keep Ron from leaving in June…No…I really love Ron."_ She continued to fret.

Kim continued to stare at the pills, _"If I don't take these I could become pregnant…If I became pregnant, Ron would never leave me."_ She thought idly.

She turned her head away from the pills ashamed of what she was thinking, _"I…I couldn't do that to Ron, he might end up hating me or resenting the baby…Where would we live…or worse yet…Ron might leave anyway."_ Kim thought sadly.

Kim looked at the pills again and then opened her nightstand drawer up and dropped them in. She took off the cloths she was planning on wearing and dressed a little nicer than she would normally for school and sat walked downstairs to wait for Ron.

She quietly opened the front door and snuck out when she saw Ron's car coming down the street, _"I'm not ready for sex yet."_ She thought sadly.

Ron pulled up in front of the house and Kim jumped in the car, and gave Ron a hug and a kiss. It was a rainy night so Ron had the windshield wipers going and the radio turned down low as he made the drive to the Odyssey.

Ron was driving with both hands on the wheel, he was thinking the roads might become icy sometime during the night and he didn't want to wreck his car. He was halfway to the club when he noticed that Kim was clinging to his right arm and had her head resting on it, not only that but she hadn't said a word since she got in the car.

Ron stopped at a red light and looked over at her, "You ok, KP?" he asked.

"Yea…I'm ok Ron." She said quietly.

Ron continued driving, _"Kim's acting strange, I wonder if she's getting the flu and doesn't want to miss the date?"_ Ron thought to himself.

"Hey did I tell you I got transferred at Smarty Mart?" Ron asked trying to perk Kim up a little.

Kim shook her head no and continued to hold on to Ron's arm, "Yea…they sent me to jewelry. I know all about diamonds now." Ron said happily.

The couple arrived downtown and the light rain had changed to snow, Ron parked the car and held out his hand and Kim took it. He gave it a squeeze and then kissed it, "You ok?"

Kim nodded, "Yea"

"Did I tell you that you look really good tonight?" Ron said trying to cheer Kim up.

Kim chuckled, "No…I…just threw these on."

Let's go see who's playing tonight, "I'm told Voice of God was signed to a label and they've moved on…I was kind of getting tired of the little guy in the nuns outfit anyway." Ron said happily.

Kim smiled and opened her door, _"I wish he knew how much I loved him."_ She thought as she took his hand to walk to the club.

Ron smiled at the name of the new band, "Voodoo Slaves…hmmmm…ok "Ron said as he paid the cover charge.

Once again they were banded to show they were minors and wouldn't get served alcohol, which didn't bother either of them because they weren't there to drink or get crazy. They were there to enjoy each other and listen to music.

Ron took her into the room where the band would be playing and took over his favorite table just off the floor, he saw a section of the floor had been taped off, _"I wonder why they sectioned the floor off?"_ he wondered.

"Kim, you want anything to drink?" he asked her.

Kim smiled and nodded, "Diet Coke."

She watched Ron walk away to get the sodas, _"He's going to think I'm childish for not wanting to have sex…Ron's going to leave for Israel thinking of me being childish…I better lighten up, Ron's worried about me enough already."_ Kim thought sadly.

Ron walked up to the bar, "Hey Jill, I need a coke and a diet coke."

Jill smiled, "Here ya go Ron Man, isn't that the red head you carried out of here about a month ago?"

Ron smiled and nodded his head, "Yea, she wouldn't let me carry her back in though…No sense of humor."

Jill laughed, "I'm glad Voice of God is gone, I was scared to death they were going to shut us down for serving minors."

Ron nodded, "Hey why is the floor taped off tonight?"

"Big mosh pit, you'll see once they get started." Jill told him.

Ron said his goodbye's to Jill and went back to the table to sit with Kim. The crowd was down tonight and that was fine with that. Kim was still a bit withdrawn, so Ron tried to cheer her up, "Want to hear my plan for Saturday night?" he asked.

Kim smiled and looked up from her soda and said, "Yea…I want to hear the plan."

Ron looked around and then he moved in close to Kim's chair, "Well I have made contact with the Kelby resistance fighters. Brick Flagg is going to pop the rear gym door open once he arrives so we can sneak in through the back door and stay low profile. Then when the moment is right…we will dance and mingle and near the end…we will quietly slip out the back door and make for my car…How's that sound?" Ron asked.

Kim smiled and nodded, "Sounds spankin' your getting the hang of the team leader business?"

"NO…not me." Ron said laughing at the thought.

The band started to come on stage and Ron moved his chair closer to Kim's and wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close and kissed her on the ear and whispered into her ear, "I love you Kim."

Kim pulled herself to him even tighter, _"I love you too Ron."_ She thought happily as the band started to crank up.

The bands music was loud raw and obscene but Kim didn't seem to notice anything other than Ron. She moved and sat in Ron's lap as she had seen Monique and Lacey do with Ron.

She was so jealous of them and now she was in his lap, _"I'm so happy…Ron's mine again…all mine…I don't know why I'm so nervous."_ She thought as she leaned her head forward and started kissing Ron.

Ron was enjoying himself completely, _"I've got my best number one girlfriend, a terrible band and $4.00 sodas life doesn't get much better than this."_ He thought happily to himself.

Ron kissed Kim's forehead and stroked her back, she smiled and stroked Ron's face and kissed his cheek. Kim took Ron's left hand and started to lick his fingers tentatively at first and then more passionately.

"_Wow, Kim's worked up."_ Ron thought as he was enjoying Kim's heightened arousal.

Ron pulled his hand away from Kim and kissed her passionately, he heard Kim whimper and felt her squirm on his lap suggestively. He half opened his eyes, _"She's cooking…I think it, may be time to get out of here."_ Ron thought as he moved his kisses to her ear.

"This band sucks, let's get out of here and entertain ourselves." Ron whispered into Kim's ear.

Kim nodded her head as they got up to leave, Ron turned his head and looked back at the mosh pit and shook his head, _"Better not let Kim see this or we'll be here all night."_ He thought.

Once out side Ron could see that the flurries that had started was now becoming a real snow storm, there was already about four inches on the ground and Ron could see that his car was buried.

Kim took Ron by the hand and pulled him to the car, "If we don't clean off the windows we can have some privacy." She said excitedly.

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Privacy for what?" Ron asked.

Kim smiled and winked as Ron opened the door to let her in the car. She unlocked the rear door and jumped in the back seat. Ron tilted his head to the side, _"Ohhhhhh noooo, I don't want do this in the backseat of a car…Kim…Oh why not."_ Ron thought as he joined her in the back seat.

Kim attacked Ron; she was kissing him and trying to pull his coat off. Ron was chuckling and told her, "Kim it's not a race."

"Yes it is, I have to do this before I lose my nerve." Kim said.

Ron narrowed his eyes and asked, "Kim...Is this really what you want to do?"

"Yes…yes, more than anything in the world, I want to be dirty with you…I…I…" She was trying to continue but the words quit flowing.

"No" she finally said softly.

Ron reached over to her with his index finger and poked her in the head and asked, "Kim, what is going on up there?"

She slumped down in the seat and stared at the floorboard and explained, "I…I want to Ron, but…I'm afraid that if I don't have sex with you that you'll lose interest in me and go back to Monique or Tara or someone like that."

"KIM" Ron said aggravated at his girlfriend.

Kim shrugged and looked away from Ron, "Kim…look at me." Ron demanded.

She turned her head to look at Ron, "Who does the dumping in this car?"

Kim gave a small smile and chuckled and answered Ron's question, "I do"

"There you go, I'm not going to dump you Kim and as far as sex goes….I don't want to have sex with you, make love to you, yes, sex, no…Sex is meaningless without love." He told her.

"_I can't believe this is coming out of my mouth, I should have just nailed Kim and taken her home."_ Ron thought clearly amazed at himself.

"Really?" Kim said obviously relieved by Ron's reaction.

Ron was startled back to reality, "Oh yea…Kim, I'm not going to try and force you to do anything that you don't want to."

Kim threw herself into Ron's arms and started kissing him, "I love you Ron."

Ron hugged her, "I know…I love you too, now I'm getting cold. Let me put my coat back on and I'll clean off the car. I think we'll be having a snow day tomorrow, no need to try to rush home."

The couple climbed out of the back seat and Kim sat in front as Ron started the car and turned the defroster on full blast and hit the button for the rear window defogger. Then he pulled the little lever next to his seat to pop the trunk so he could get his ice scrapper out and clean the windows off.

Ron started to clean the windows off and then he stopped in mid stroke, _"Kim's a thrill junkie…what happens if we ever do sleep together and I'm not good enough?"_ Ron shook his head to clear the thought out and continued cleaning the rear window off.

Ron moved to the side windows and knocked the rest of the snow off them and then started to work on the windshield. He could see Kim watching him so he stopped cleaning and stuck his tongue out at her.

She giggled and pointed to her side of the window, "You missed a spot." He could hear her say from inside the car.

Ron walked around the car and started to clean Kim's side off and then he stopped again, "You know what would happen, she'd drop you like a bad habit…she's done it before when you didn't measure up….yea." Ron shook his head again and the thought went away.

Ron finished cleaning off the car and put the ice scrapper back in the trunk, his hands were freezing and they were starting to turn red and hurt from the cold.

Ron jumped back in the car and pulled Kim to him, and then he ran his hand up her shirt and under her bra and grabbed a breast. Kim squealed and the sudden coldness that had just touched her body.

She started laughing and slapped at Ron's hand playfully, "Stop it, Ron."

Ron was laughing, "Missed a spot, huh."

Kim finally got Ron to let go and brought her arm across her chest and rested her head on his arm and continued to laugh, "That was mean."

Ron smiled, "You gonna say missed a spot again?" he asked as he backed the car slowly out of the parking spot.

Kim laughed, "Nooooooo"

"Ohhhhhhhh look, this one's all nipped out and the other one isn't." Kim said shaking her chest at Ron.

Ron started laughing, "Kim, stop it or you're going to make me drive into a ditch."

Kim sighed and moved closer to him and took hold of Ron's arm and closed her eyes for the trip home.

Ron slid to a stop in front of the Possible residence, "Kim your home." He said gently.

He got out of the car and walked her to the front door, "I had a good time tonight Ron." She said as she flung herself against him one more time and gave him a big soul searing kiss.

Ron returned the kiss and then opened his eyes halfway and spotted some snow on the stair railing; he carefully reached over and grabbed a hand full of it. He continued to kiss her as the snow melted in his hand.

His hand became cold again so he broke the kiss off and ran his hand back up Kim's shirt and grabbed her right breast. Kim jumped in the air and started to laugh and slap at his hand.

Ron laughed, "There a matching pair."

Kim was nodding her head really fast and was mouthing words but nothing was coming out and then she started pointing her index finger at Ron. He leaned forward and kissed it, "Love you KP" he said quietly.

Kim leaned forward and hugged him again, "Love you too Ron."

Then they separated and Ron walked through the snow to his car and drove off towards home.

Kim watched him leave and then she closed the door and went inside and walked right in to her mother, "Mom?"

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at her daughter, "2:30 in the morning?"

Kim smiled and sheepishly said, "Sorry"

"So did you…need the pills tonight?" she asked her daughter delicately.

Kim smiled dreamily, "No...No" she said as she drifted off upstairs.

Mrs. Dr. P. let out a deep breath, _"Good"_ she thought.

* * *

Ron was idly looking over rings in the jewelry section of Smarty Mart, Ms. Lieberman was out smoking and Ron was bored, _"This sucks…Oh well, it beats unloading trucks and it pays the same…Valentines day is next…what? Wednesday, I need to get something nice for KP." _Ron thought as he examined ring after ring. 

His thoughts were interrupted by a customer needing a new watch band, and Ron showed him the bands and he picked one out that he liked and Ron rang up the sale and changed the band for him.

Then he sat back down and started looking over the rings again.

"Your looking at those pretty hard must be looking for a nice one for a girlfriend?" Ms. Lieberman said as she returned from her break.

Ron chuckled and said to her, "Yea, I need a valentines day present for my girlfriend."

Ms. Lieberman was intrigued, "So have you two been going out long?"

Ron shook his head and said sadly as he looked over the rings, "We grew up together but haven't really got the couple thing down yet. I've been dumped twice and this is my third try."

Ms. Lieberman cocked her head, "Now why would you get dumped?"

Ron gave a sickly smile, "Well the first time…I didn't really rate being boyfriend material, the second time…I'm not real sure…I just don't want to screw this one up before I make my aliyah to Israel in June."

Ms. Lieberman laughed and said excitedly, "Ahhhhhh, you're going to make your aliyah, good for you…I thought about it but I guess I'm just not ready. I do have a lot of friends in Tel Aviv though. You'll love Tel Aviv the city never sleeps and the clubs. The clubs are fantastic."

Ron perked up, "You've been to Israel…How is it?"

Ms. Lieberman looked at him, "You've never been there? Do you have any family there?"

Ron shook his head no, "I have my reasons for wanting to go."

"Ohhhhhhhh sounds mysterious." She said mockingly.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yea…Kind of…I'll probably join the IDF as soon as I can to get it out of the way."

Ms. Lieberman made a face, "IDF…Is not for me, that is probably why I don't aliyah.. I like the party scene too much…Tel Aviv is a party town lots of good clubs and dancing, I suppose it's a little like the wild west used to be, except instead of gunfights you have to avoid suicide bombers and the occasional rocket that drops in for a visit." She said with a chuckle.

Ron started laughing, "Great Jewish Cowboys."

Ms. Lieberman laughed, "Yea something like that, how's your Hebrew?"

Ron bobbed his head around and told her, "Not so good, I've been practicing at home with mom and dad but there's isn't real good either."

Ms. Lieberman nodded, "Get good as quick as you can…How's your girlfriend feel about this?"

"She doesn't like the idea." Ron told her.

Ms. Lieberman looked at him knowingly and said, "Ahhhhhh she doesn't like the idea of being lonely between the thighs, huh."

Ron started to blush and cleared his throat and glanced around and said softly, "Ummmm…I guess."

Ms. Lieberman bit her lower lip and said quietly, "Sorry Ron I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"It's ok, we've never actually went that far yet." He told her.

"Awwwww…SOP?" Ms. Lieberman asked.

Ron shook his head and Ms. Lieberman filled him in, "Scared of pregnancy."

"Oh…I don't know…I think it's more of scared of performance on my end." Ron said as looked at the floor.

"Awwwww, afraid you'll be disappointing." Ms. Lieberman teased.

Ron looked at the ground, "Yea…something like that." He told her and then walked away to the other side of the counter.

Ron started to look at the rings again and his mind just chugged on, _"If I actually did it with Kim and wasn't what she thought of as very good…She'd be done with me for good, that sparkle in her eye for me would be gone…Oh who cares, I'm leaving in June anyway…I care…I better quit thinking about sex with her and concentrate on helping her get through high school unnoticed."_ He thought sadly.

Ms. Lieberman was watching Ron, _"Poor boy at this rate he'll never get laid."_ She thought sadly.

Ms. Lieberman walked up behind Ron and tapped him on the shoulder, Ron sprang up suddenly taken by surprise, "Sorry Ms. Lieberman, I didn't hear you come up." He said excitedly.

"Call me Tina, and once work is over you can follow me home if you want and I can give you some cool stuff on Tel Aviv." She said softly.

Ron nodded, "Yea…he, he, he, Ok, Tina that sounds great." Ron said nervously.

* * *

Once the shift was over Ron met up with Tina and followed her out towards Lowerton, they went to the older part of town and pulled into a large apartment complex. Ron parked next to Tina outside of her apartment and he followed her inside.

"It's not much but its home; I've been living here since I graduated from college a couple of years ago." She told Ron as she took his coat.

Ron looked around and all the pictures on the wall of family and friends, the furniture was older but it was still in good shape, "The place looks great." He told her appreciatively.

She told Ron to have a seat on the couch and then she left the living room and came back in with travel brochures, maps, books on the clubs, some older college catalogs. Then she excused herself so she could change her cloths.

Ron started looking at the brochures and all the pictures of the Tel Aviv night clubs, _"Man this place rocks."_ He thought excitedly to himself.

Ron heard her go past and into the kitchen, "Would you like some wine?" He heard her calling to him.

"No thanks" Ron said from the living room still lost in the books.

She came back into the living room wearing only a short bathrobe with a large brandy snifter half full of wine, "You don't mind if I smoke a little weed do you? The weed and the wine help me unwind." She explained.

"Uh huh" Ron said clearly not paying attention to what was going on around him.

She sat down next to him and scooted real close to catch Ron's attention, when she started to stroke his ears she got it, "Oh…Hey…wow, he, he, he, you…uh…definitely changed cloths alright." Ron said nervously.

Tina took a drag of her joint and looked at what book he was looking at she held her breath and then exhaled, "Clubs…I figured you for a party guy." She said as she offered Ron a hit off the joint.

Ron shook his head and told her, "No…No thanks, I had a bad deal with some pills a while back…I don't want that to happen again."

Tina nodded, "It's cool, I really miss the night life in Tel Aviv, the town never sleeps. The club district is hoppin' and then if you head just south of Tel Aviv there's some really large clubs going up." She told him as she took a drink of her wine.

Ron swallowed hard as Tina began to rub her foot up and down his leg, "So. So…When I make my Aliyah, I want to settle in Tel Aviv?"

Tina took another hit off her joint, held her breath and exhaled, "Yea…yea…I would…You…on the other hand are planning on going into the IDF…you will go where they send you."

Ron was staring at Tina, her robe began to open and he could see that she had much larger breasts than any of the girls he'd been with, "Ummmm…Tina do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

Ron smiled really big and began to think, _"I hope she says no, I'd hate to have a really big man come in now and try to kill me."_

Tina took a really long hit off the joint and held her breath and then exhaled through her nose and she began to giggle, "No…I'm currently…between boyfriends…That's why I thought I could help you with your little problem?"

Ron looked at her and asked, "My little problem?"

"Your fear of intimacy with your girlfriend because of your inexperience, you just need a more experienced woman to show you the ropes." She said as leaned over and stuck a tongue in Ron's ear.

"Oh…hey…he, he, he, yea…umm…I" Ron stammered trying to find a voice.

"Shhhhhhhhh, its ok…I'll be patient with you." She told him as she stood up from the couch and let her robe fall to the floor.

"I'll try to make your first time memorable." She said happily.

Ron smiled a happy little grin, _"Naïve' I may be but stupid I am not."_ He thought happily.

She knelt between Ron's legs and started to undo his pants, Ron's eyes were as big as saucers. Then she untied Ron's Smarty Mart shoes and took them off and then his socks, pulled his pants off.

She rubbed her head up and down Ron's inner thigh and looked up at him, "What do you want me to do first Ron?" She asked in a sultry voice.

Ron swallowed hard and tried to answer her, "Uhhhh…I…what ever you want to do…is…ok…I guess."

She pulled Ron's underwear and began to do things to Ron that he had never dreamed of in his life. Ron's eyes rolled back in his head, "Ohhhhhhhh yeaaaaa….Boo…Booyahhhhhh." he said excitedly.

Tina came up for air once Ron was finished, "Always remember Ronnie, mean people suck, nice people swallow…I'm a nice person aren't I?"

Ron started laughing_, "I finally meet a nice Jewish girl and I can't taker her home to meet my mother."_ He thought wickedly.

"Yes, you're nice, you're very nice." Ron said happily.

She stood up and held out her hand for Ron, he took it, "Let's go to the bedroom, it's your turn to repay the favor now."

Ron gulped hard, "My turn?"

Morning rolled around and Ron woke up and was vaugly aware that he wasn't at home, he looked around the room and looked up and discovered he was still between Tina's thighs.

Ron carefully slid out of bed and staggered down the hallway to the bathroom, it was a mess full of women's products and hair care stuff and makeup supplies. Ron lifted the toilet seat and began to take care of business.

Ron looked at the pictures on the wall, "Nice place, I can't wait till I can get a place of my own….must remember to lower the toilet seat." He thought as he staggered out of the room.

Tina looked up sleepily as Ron entered the room, "I forget you high school guys can go forever" She said lazily.

Ron smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Yea…Hey Tina…just out of curiosity…how old are you?"

Tina smiled, "Twenty-four…I must seem pretty old to you don't I?" she asked.

Ron shook his head and said, "Nooooo"

Ron climbed back in bed, _"Wow I was eleven when she graduated from High School…How weird is that?"_ he thought as he tried to get a little more sleep.

The alarm went off, "You have to go now Ron, I've got errands to run and then I have to have dinner with my parents…I finally meet a nice Jewish guy and I can't take him to meet my father." She said shaking her head.

Ron smiled, "Yea…ok"

"Come back next Friday night if you want to learn the really freaky stuff." Tina said as Ron left the room to find his cloths.

"Ok…sure" Ron said half asleep.

He got dressed and picked up the books that Tina had gave him and headed out the door. He put his new treasures in the backseat, _"Let's see what I learned, that sixty-nine thing is fun, there will be no snowballing…that's…just too much Josh Mankey territory there…Well I think I can definitely scratch lack of experience from my sex with Kim fear list."_ He thought to himself as he started his car.

"_Well one thing for sure, if Kim gets frisky tonight, I'm going to rock her world." _Ron thought happily as he made his way home.

Ron stopped at a red light and shook his head, "I am such a slut."


	3. Chapter 3

Sleep came easily for Ron when he returned home; he was out like a light once his head hit the pillow. He was dead to the world; even Rufus jumping up and down on his chest chewing him out for not coming home could wake him up.

He awoke early in the afternoon and looked on his chest to find Rufus dozing peacefully, _"I have to get moving, I have to run by and see Rabbi Katz, and then pick up Kim for the dance…Must shower first."_ He thought as he picked up Rufus and placed him back on the dresser.

Ron called Kim on the phone and he told her he'd be by at 7:00 to pick her up, then he jumped into the shower, got dressed, grabbed an unhappy Rufus and flew out the door.

The day was sunny and the temperature was trying to creep into the 40's, the snow was starting to melt and the streets were all wet and messy from the snow and the cinders the street department put on the streets to clear them off.

"_I can't wait till it gets warm again, I'll have to wash the car it's a mess."_ He thought as he made his way through town.

Ron pulled up in front of the temple and grabbed a very annoyed looking Rufus, _"Uh oh…I know how to cheer up Mr. Grumpy."_ He thought happily.

"Who's the chubby little mole rat, you are, aren't you, cubby, chubby, chubby mole rat." Ron said as he tickled Rufus.

Rufus laughed and then regained his composure and glared at Ron, "Ohhhhhh come on Rufus, daddies sorry…buy you some Bueno Nacho later…Huh, huh, how about it?" Ron said with a smile.

Rufus's tilted his head, "Ok, Ok" he said as Ron grabbed him and shoved him in his pocket and ran inside.

Ron walked up to Rabbi Katz's door and knocked, "It's open." He heard the Rabbi say from the other side.

Ron walked in, "Hello Rabbi Katz, sorry about not being here earlier….long night at work."

Rabbi Katz nodded and said, "Ronald nice to see you again…I thought you've forgotten about me."

Rabbi Katz smiled because he clearly made Ron feel guilty about not coming to temple since Chanukah, "I've been getting paper work in, so I see you've been filling out all the forms…I need you to fill out this packet…it's for a family to adopt you when you first arrive in Israel."

Ron smiled sheepishly and said, "Sorry I haven't been her lately…I've been busy…Who's adopting me?"

Rabbi Katz smiled and explained, "The packet is for the Aliyah group to find a family for you to stay with while you get all your paperwork done and to help you get used to living in Israel."

Ron nodded and gave a rundown on what he had accomplished so far, "I got my passport on Monday and I've got about three grants lined up."

"Ronald…are you sure that this is what you want to do?" Rabbi Katz asked.

Ron closed his eyes and nodded that he did.

Rabbi Katz let out a deep breath, "There will be a Mr. Halevy he is with the American Friends of the IDF, he will be here next Saturday to talk to you about being a Chayal Boded…Please be here next Saturday."

Ron lifted an looked at Rabbi Katz and asked, "Lone…?"

"Your Hebrew has still not improved, Lone Soldier, if you join the IDF and have no family in Israel that is what you are referred to as."

Ron nodded his head, "Oh"

"Ronald what nights do you have off from Smarty Mart?" The Rabbi asked.

Ron shifted his weight in his seat as he thought about his schedule, "I have Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights off."

"You will meet with me every Tuesday night from now till when you leave, you must learn Hebrew. Ronald knowing a little and trying to make do will not work, it is vital you learn the language." Rabbi Katz told him.

Ron nodded and asked, "Tuesday around 5:00?"

Rabbi Katz nodded and said, "That will be fine Ronald…Now go out and enjoy your day off."

Ron smiled and said, "Thanks Rabbi Katz, I really appreciate it."

Ron left the temple and headed up to Bueno Nacho for Rufus, he also wanted to meet with Ned to see if everything was in place for he and Kim to crash the dance. Ron strode through the door of the restaurant, he looked right, he looked left and then he approached the counter.

Ned saw him coming, he looked right, he looked left. It would not bode well if their conversation was overheard by people that wished to prevent Ron and Kim from going to the dance.

"I hear the nacos are a girl's best friend." Ron said in a low voice.

Ned looked around and responded, "The Chicken Santa Fe salads are made fresh in the morning."

Ron nodded and began, "Two chicken chimerito combos, grande sized, two nacos and how does everything look for tonight?"

Ned nodded his head, "That will be $7.38, Brick will pop the rear fire doors at 7:10pm, off to the left of doors will be a photographer that will have a large canvas backdrop hanging up, that will be a good place to hide until the lights go out and the dance get rolling."

Ron nodded and said, "The plan is solid, 4 Diablo sauces please."

Ron took his food and his diablo sauces and went to his booth and sat down with Rufus and said, "Here you go buddy."

Monique slid into the booth across from Ron, "Steel Toe is number one." She said.

Ron smiled, "I knew you'd see it my way." He said with a chuckle.

"Ron" Monique scolded him.

Ron laughed and held up his hands, "Ok, ok, Pain King's my boy."

Monique shook her head and said, "If your still going to do this, I'll make sure to have Bonnie and a couple of other cheerleaders fixated on the hot DJ, so you guys may be able to escape detection for a while."

Ron nodded and said, "Thanks Monique."

Monique frowned, "Let's just get one thing straight, I'm doing this for you Ron. I wouldn't piss on Kim if she was on fire…Got it?"

Ron winced at the visual image that Monique just drew in his mind, "Well thanks all the same…Sorry things didn't work out for us."

Monique rolled her eyes, "Yea…whatever." She said as she got up and left.

Ron started to eat his food, "I'm going to have to try and make things right with Monique." He told his little friend.

Rufus looked up with cheese dripping from his face, "Uh huh"

Ron smiled, "You remember what your supposed to do?"

Rufus nodded and said. "Yea, yea, yea"

They finished their food and Ron headed for home, it was time to get ready, his crack team was in place and he believed that he had prepared for every eventuality. Ron was getting ready to find out that there is no such thing as a foolproof plan.

* * *

"_This isn't a prom so I don't have to wear a tux; I will dress up a bit…Look nice for Kim, or look nice for the police mug shots."_ He thought to himself.

Ron dressed and looked at himself in the mirror, "Stoppable, Ron Stoppable." He said while trying to effect his best Sean Connery impersonation.

Ron pulled up in front of the Possible's house at 6:55pm, Kim got in the car. Her hair was brushed so that it partially covered her left eye, this way she'd have an excuse to flip it from time to time to catch Ron's attention. The dress she was wearing was the short red jersey dress and the red shoes she was going to wear on Thursday before she changed.

Ron lifted an eyebrow and said, "You look very…agreeable tonight."

Kim smiled and returned the compliment, "Your looking very agreeable yourself tonight."

"We have a fifteen minute window to arrive at the school and park outside the back door before Brick kicks open the back door." He told Kim.

Ron motioned for Kim to hand him the Ronnunicator he pressed the button and Wade Lode appeared on the screen, "Wade, how's my exit strategy coming?"

Wade smiled on the little screen and gave Ron his update, "Give the word Ron and the place goes dark."

"You Rock, Wade." Ron told the computer wiz happily.

Kim smiled and shook her head and in told him in astonishment, "You've really been working on this, haven't you?"

"Ohhhhhhhhh…You don't know the half of it." Ron said mysteriously.

They pulled up near where they would park for the MOKKIS classes and left the car, the time was now 7:10pm. Ron pulled his cell phone out and checked the time and nodded, "Five minutes." He told his girlfriend.

Kim pulled him to her and began kissing him, Ron pulled back from the kiss and playfully slapped her butt, "Head in the game Kim." He teased her.

Kim winced, "Ha, ha Ron" she said as they made their way towards the door that had just cracked open.

They made a hard left as soon as they entered the gym; the photographer's background was in place just where Ned said it would be. Ron poked his head out and took in the gym; everything was precisely where he thought it would be.

The lights hadn't gone out yet and Ron spotted two people he hadn't taken into consideration, Jim and Tim Possible. He ducked behind the background and looked at Kim, "Problems" He simply told her.

Kim shook her head, "What?" she asked.

"Your brothers are here." He explained.

Kim closed her eyes, "Oh No…I didn't think they'd be here." She told him.

"If they work their way back here I'll snag them for a little conference." He told her.

Ron watched them from behind the screen, Kim watched from the other side. The twins finally close enough for Ron to grab. He reached out from behind the background and grabbed them and pulled them back to where he and Kim were hiding.

"All right what are you twibes doing here?" Kim asked the twins

"We go to school here." Tim started.

"Unlike some others who go to school in a trailer." Jim finished.

Kim cringed and pleaded with the twins, "Come on guys, give us a break…I just want to dance with Ron and see my friends."

"Yea right, this our school now." Tim said.

"Let's get Kim kicked out." Jim said to Tim.

They tried to leave but Ron grabbed them first, "Guys, you can't do this to your sister, this may be the last chance Kim and I have to dance together before I leave for Israel." He told them, he was doing his best to reason with the twins but it wasn't doing much good.

"So what." Tim said.

"Watching Sis go psycho and fighting the teachers would rule." Jim added.

Ron winced, "Come on guys, she's your sister."

"And?" Tim said.

"What's in it for us, if we don't. tell?" Jim inquired.

Ron closed his eyes, _"There's only one thing that I have that these two would be interested in."_ Ron thought sadly.

Ron looked down at the parquet wood floor of the school gym, he swallowed hard and nodded and in a weak voice he said, "If you guys don't say anything and help your sister and me out…"

Ron stopped not quite believing what he was about to say, "When I go to Israel…I'll let you guys take care of Rufus." He told them sadly.

"Whoaaaaa" Tim said.

"You mean it, we get Rufus." Jim asked.

Ron closed his eyes and nodded, the twins gave each other high fives, "Bicka, bicka boo, boosha." They said as they ran off to help Kim and Ron out.

Ron felt a rustling in his pocket and he looked down and seen the very sad eyes of Rufus looking at him. Ron shook his head and in a sad soft voice, "I'm sorry Rufus, someone was going to have to take care of you when I leave." He tried to explain.

Rufus just shook his head and disappeared back into Ron's pocket.

Ron's mind went blank and then he felt Kim take his arm, "Ron…You didn't have to give away Rufus…We could of still left and no one would have ever known." She said to him.

The lights went down and the DJ started to play music, Ron stood up slowly and held out his hand to Kim, "Care to dance." He said sadly.

Kim nodded and took his hand and they appeared from behind the background screen and blended in with the other students at the dance.

They held each other as they danced with only the light from the glitter ball providing illumination to the room.

Kim could feel warm tears on her cheek and she knew that Ron was crying, _"He gave up the one thing in the world he loves the most….Just to dance with me."_ She thought as she pulled him closer and rubbed his back.

After the song was over, he wiped his eyes, "You go mingle and have fun and I'll keep watch." He told her.

Kim put a hand to the side of his face and said, "Are you sure?"

Ron nodded and then faded into the shadows, unbeknownst to Ron he was starting to develop and hone skills that would help keep him alive in the years to come.

Ron stood quietly and surveyed the gymnasium, _"The twins are keeping Principle Kelby occupied, Coach Barkin looks bored, and Mrs. Taylor looks loopy…punch must be spiked."_ Ron thought as he looked around the room.

Ron spotted Ned and nodded at him, Monique was doing a good job at keeping Bonnie and Tara occupied with the college DJ. Ron looked over at Kim and seen that she was having a good time talking to Brick and his girlfriend, _"What was her name again…She goes to Appleton…nice corn fed country girl."_ Ron thought while grinning to himself.

Kim took to the shadows and worked her way back over to Ron and said, "Let's dance some more."

Ron smiled and took Kim by the hand and carefully blended back in for the next slow dance, "Brick really seems to like his new girlfriend." Kim whispered.

"Yea, I can't seem to remember her name? It vexes me so." Ron whispered to her with a smile.

Kim pulled back and shot him a dirty look and whispered, "It's Jennifer, Mr. Smarty Mart…You know…Like that one girl's name that you kissed at the Odyssey that you won't talk about."

Ron thought for a moment, "Oh yea…She tasted like cigarettes." He told her quietly.

"Ewww" Kim whispered as she playfully slapped Ron's butt.

The dance ended and the couple retreated to the shadows again, Kim turned her back to Ron and wrapped his arms around her and rested her head on his arm and swayed to the music.

Ron was finally beginning to relax as the evening wore on, _"Everything is going as expected, and no one is paying any attention to us."_ He thought happily.

They filtered back out onto the dance floor for one more slow dance and then it happened, they were spotted.

Bonnie Rockwaller happened to glance over and seen the couple and Ron saw look back at the two of them quickly. Ron shook his head and mouthed the word "NO" at Bonnie but it was too late.

Bonnie had an evil little smile come over her face and then she balled up her fists and took off to find Principle Kelby.

Ron closed his eyes and pulled away from Kim, "Exit strategy time." He told her quietly as he looked up to see Bonnie talking to Principle Kelby.

"Meet me by the car." He told Kim as he walked quickly away to the shadows.

Kim turned and walked quickly to rear doors and disappeared through them and into the night.

Ron pulled Rufus out of his pocket, "Your on Rufus."

Rufus stuck out his tongue and gave Ron a raspberry, "Blppppppppppppp"

Ron looked at Rufus crossly, "We'll talk about this later, mission first Rufus."

Ron sat Rufus on the floor and he took off across the gymnasium to the refreshment table.

Rufus hit the punch bowel and it spilled out all over the floor, Ron walked by Principle Kelby and Bonnie and waived and then walked quickly out of the gym and down the hallway.

Principle Kelby took off in pursuit of him, "Stoppable, hold it right there." She said as Ron turned into the boys rest-room.

The door to the restroom hadn't even closed when Principle Kelby reached it and entered only to find the rest-room empty. She knew she saw him enter.

She started to look in the stalls, _"He has to be here somewhere I saw him go inside. He couldn't of just vanished."_ Principle Kelby thought clearly frustrated that she could not catch Ron before he vanished.

Ron was re-entering the gym when he pulled out the Ronnunicator, "Wade count to 10 and then put us in the dark." Ron said as he was making his way towards Rufus.

"Good distraction buddy." He told him as he scooped his friend up and put him back into his pocket.

Then Ron heard the familiar tone of Coach Barkin bellowing out at him, "STOPPABLE"

Ron turned to see Coach Barkin reaching out to grab his arm when the lights went out leaving the gym shrouded in darkness.

When the lights came back on Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible were long gone, but Coach Barkin did manage to get his hands on Josh Mankey.

"Mr. Barkin you have such a manly grip…May I call you Steve?" Josh said with his soft puppy dog eyes staring at his newest crush.

Coach Barkin released Josh quickly and said, "Ummmm…No"

* * *

Ron caught up with Kim at the car and Kim practically tackled him as she started to kiss him passionately, "Ron you really do know how to show a girl a good time."

Ron returned the kisses and closed his eyes and thought to himself, "Thrill Junkie"

"That was great Ron, now let's go into the backseat and take me Ron, I'm ready Ron, I'm ready to be your woman." Kim was babbling as she ran her fingers through his hair.

Ron froze, "_Come on, this is what you always wanted…come on…I can't…I can't do it."_ he thought sadly to himself.

"Ron…come on Ron" Kim was urging him.

Ron shook his head and was trying to talk, "I…uhhhh…can't, I don't have any…condoms…yea that's it…I don't have any." He said nervously.

"I'm not on anything either Ron, that'll make it more exciting the thrill of unprotected sex...Let's get in the backseat…NOW RON." Kim said radiating a red hot sexual heat.

Ron shook his head, "I can't Kim….I can't explain it…but I just can't…do it…I'll take you home." Ron said sadly.

The couple drove home in silence, Ron tried to strike up a conversation but Kim wasn't talking. He pulled up in the Possible's driveway and Kim was out of the car before it stopped and she stomped into the house and slammed the door behind her.

Ron closed his eyes, "Sorry Kim"

He drove home and walked dejectedly up to his room, pulled Rufus out of his pocket and looked at him.

"I'm sorry I had to use you like that back at the dance, but it's been on my mind for a while…Who'll take care of Rufus when I leave?" Ron said sadly.

Rufus sat on the edge of the dresser looking dejected, Ron shook his head and continued, "Mom and Dad won't have time to take care of you, and Kim won't have time for you…So the twins are the only logical ones to take care of you."

"Jim and Tim…Yuck" Rufus said angrily.

Ron chuckled and said, "Rufus…You know you'd have a blast with them, they'll have you flying all their experimental aircraft and they'd fight to see who feeds you first…I just hope that you won't forget all about me."

Rufus looked up at Ron and he nodded and said, "Yea, I know…I could never forget about you either."

* * *

Sunday afternoon at Smarty Mart, Ron was cleaning the glass of the display cases and just anything he could do to stay busy and keep his mind off of Kim.

Tina came back from her smoke break and she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer and asked, "So how did that hot date go last night? Did you get to curl her toes?"

Ron shook his head no and told her, "I couldn't do it…I wanted to…but I just couldn't"

Tina nodded and inquired a little further, "Sounds like you got issues. So tell me all about you and this girlfriend of yours and I'll look for a nice ring for valentines day for her."

Ron nodded and told her all about growing up with Kim and how they used to go out and save the world and how Kim used to take care of him. Then he told her all about what had happened during the last year, minus Monique, Yori and the ninja school.

She smiled and shook her head and informed him, "You my young friend and protégé have a Madonna complex."

Ron shook his head and said, "A what?"

"Here look at this sapphire and tell me what you think." She said as she handed Ron a ring.

Tina smiled and continued, "This Kim girl you've known all your life, she used to save you and look after you on these dangerous save the world missions and you began to look on her as a mother figure…That's why it took you so long to try and date her….Now the roles have reversed and you want to protect her much as if she were a sister."

Ron shook his head, "The ring has lots of little inclusions on the inside but it still looks pretty…I don't know if that's the trouble or not with Kim and me." He said as he handed the ring back to her.

"That's why it's got a Ron Stoppable affordable price to it…I think that is precisely the trouble you have with Kim…In your mind only cheap unclean women and whores have sex…and you don't think of Kim as either of those." She said giving Ron an elbow.

"Th…That's not true…I mean about women who have sex." Ron said defensively.

Tina nodded and put the ring inside the box and said, "Well true or not, you better get your head straight about her because she's looking for you to be her man, not her kid, or her brother….Now buy the ring and give it to her."

Ron took the ring and was staring at the floor, Tina looked at him, "Ron, Kim is not your mother and she is not your sister…If you want to keep her in your life, you are going to have to step up to the plate."

Ron smiled sadly and nodded.

Tina gave him a wink and said, "So you want to come over this Friday night and learn the freaky stuff?"

Ron laughed and shook his head and said, "No…I think I better just concentrate on Kim for a while."


	4. Chapter 4

Monday morning at school was very tense for Ron Stoppable, he had tried numerous times to call Kim on Sunday but she wouldn't take his calls. Ron sat at his desk and wrote a note and handed it to Kim.

She wouldn't take it, so he left it on her desk she picked up the note that read "I'm Sorry" tore it up and threw the pieces back in his face.

Ron closed his eyes and thought to himself sadly, _"This is not going to be a good day; I don't think things could possibly get worse."_

Mrs. Taylor entered the room and said, "Ron, Principle Kelby would like to see you in her office."

"_Things just got worse."_ He thought sadly as he got up.

He looked over at Kim and said, "I'll see you later…I guess."

Ron made the walk to Principle Kelby's office, _"I wonder what she has up her sleeve now."_ He thought to himself.

Ron went inside Principle Kelby's office and sat in a chair in front of her desk, "So Ronald, how did you like the dance last Saturday night?"

"Dance what dance?" Ron said evenly.

"You were seen at the valentines day dance by myself and two others." She informed him happily.

Ron shook his head and said, "I was working at Smarty Mart, I was no where near here."

"Do you have proof that you were working at Smarty Mart?" Principle Kelby asked.

"Do you have proof that I was at the dance?" Ron countered.

"Bonnie Rockwaller seen you." Principle Kelby said.

"Yea and Bonnie sees fairy princess too." Ron said confidently.

"You were there, you know the rules, your suspended for three days, you will put your things away in MOKKIS, leave the facility and if your are seen on school grounds for the next three days we will call the police and have you removed." Principle Kelby informed Ron of his punishment.

Ron stood up and walked out of the office, he returned to the MOKKIS room and picked his stuff up off of his desk.

He looked at Kim and shrugged, "I guess I'll see you in three days…Don't take any crap off of Carlton." Ron told her as he left for the day.

Kim watched Ron leave, _"Ohhhhhh nooooo, this can't be good…It doesn't matter…I'm still mad at him…I better call him later."_ She thought to herself sadly.

Kim looked over at Carlton and his buddies, _"I guess I'll have to be acting Sheriff while Ron's gone."_ Kim thought as she shook her head sadly.

* * *

Ron walked out to his car sat in the driver's seat a few minutes and said to himself, "I think it's time I call in Cousin Raffi."

Ron drove downtown past the club district to where all of Middleton's Government offices were. There in large early 1900's period house that was converted over into offices in the mid 1990's was the office of Raphael Stoppable, Attorney at Law.

Ron walked into Cousin Raffi's office and told the secretary who he was and that he needed to see his cousin on a business matter.

She pointed to the couch and told him to have a seat as his cousin was with a client.

Ron looked around the nicely appointed office; he flipped through the long out of date magazines on the end table.

Finally the door opened and an elderly lady walked out and cousin Raffi walked out, "Ronald, I haven't seen you since…Rueben's wedding, how have you been."

Ron shrugged and told his cousin, "Ok…I guess, I think I have a legal matter that I need your help with."

Cousin Raffi nodded and motioned for Ron to follow him into his office, "I hear you're going to make your aliyah to Israel, let me guess you got the red headed girl from Rueben's wedding pregnant and you need to get away."

Ron shook his head no and Raffi laughed, "Ok Ronald, why do you need my valuable legal services."

Ron went and told his cousin all about what had happened to him as school since he re-appeared from being missing just before holiday break, right up until this mornings three day suspension.

Cousin Raffi's eyes narrowed and he started taking notes; apparently he decided that Ron was in need of his services, "So what do you parents think about you being in…this MOKKIS thing?"

Ron shrugged and told his cousin, "They don't know."

Cousin Raffi's eyes grew big, "They weren't informed about this, how about your ten minute psychological profile?"

Ron shook his head, "Nope"

"Ronnie do you have time to follow me around for a while today, I'm going to get you back in school and I think I can get you some money in the process." He told him in a most serious tone.

Ron nodded his head, "Oh yea, I have time…How much money?"

Cousin Raffi smiled and said, "I'm going to sue the school district, Principle Kelby and this Dr. Klinghammer person for ohhhh…I don't know…Two hundred fifty million dollars…We won't get that much but they'll settle out of court and I'll get paid and you'll be receiving a nice chunk of change when your in Israel."

Cousin Raffi was Ron's size, minus the muscles with brown hair and a closely cropped moustache and beard, he stood up from his desk and slipped on his suit coat and London Fog trench coat, "Come Ronald, it is time for us to do business." He said as he escorted Ron from the office.

They walked up the street to a judges office and Ron repeated the story to the Judge, he in turn issued an injunction forcing the school to let Ron back into school. Then they left the judges office and headed back towards cousin Raffi's law office.

"Ronald, do you have your car handy?" He asked Ron.

Ron nodded and told him, "It's behind your car in the driveway."

Cousin Raffi smiled and told Ron about his next part of the plan, "I think it's time we paid Superintendent Rockwaller a visit and make him piss down his pants leg."

Ron swallowed hard and unlocked the door for his cousin, "Is this a good idea…I mean…I'm not going to get into any trouble am I?" Ron asked nervously.

"Ronnie they are the ones in trouble and if they cause anymore trouble for you, we'll just sue them for more…Remember don't get mad…sue." Cousin Raffi told him happily.

"Hey nice car, working at Smarty Mart really paid off, eh'" Cousin Raffi said as Ron backed out to the street.

Ron drove his cousin back towards Middleton High School he drove around towards the back and showed him where he had to attend classes.

He had Ron stop and pulled a digital camera from out of his brief case and got out of the car and walked around the small trailer and took pictures.

Once he got back inside the car Ron drove him down to the School District Administration buildings. Ron pulled the car up in front and he and his cousin got out.

Cousin Raffi stopped Ron before they walked through the door and told him, "Remember do not say anything till I tell you to and then we will sit back and watch this man piss his pants."

Ron nodded his head and they walked in through the doors, Raffi strode to the secretaries station, "I'm Raphael Stoppable, legal counsel for Ronald Stoppable and we need to see Superintendent Rockwaller."

"Now's not really a good time, he's almost ready to eat his lunch and he usually doesn't see people without an appointment." The secretary told Raffi.

Raffie flared up and told the secretary, "I did not ask you if it was a good time or not, he will see us and he will see us now."

"Uh…ok…uh let me call and see if it's alright to see him now." The secretary said obviously intimidated by Raffi's tone.

There was a voice coming through the speaker phone, "Tell them I'm at lunch and to come back later with an appointment." Superintendent Rockwaller told her.

"Uh…They don't seem to care much about your…lunch hour sir." She told him.

Raffi rolled his eyes, "This is a waste of time." He said as he walked past the secretaries' station and just opened the door and walked in.

Ron followed his cousin not knowing quite what to think.

Raffi pointed at a chair and said to him, "Have a seat Ronald."

Raffi turned his attention to the Superintendent of schools and help up his court injunction, "This is a signed order from Judge McKannis in the 4th district ORDERING you to reinstate Ronald Stoppable to his normal classes." He told him as he threw the order at the man.

"Uh…I…ok…I think you need to bring me up to speed a little here as I have no idea what you are talking about." The Superintendent told them.

Raffi snapped his fingers at Ron and told him, "Tell the Superintendent exactly what you have told me and leave no details out."

Ron went through the whole story again, up to and including his most recent three day suspension for going to the dance, when in fact he was still denying that he went to.

Superintendent Rockwaller started laughing and told the two, "There is no little trailer behind Middleton High School where your so called undesirable students are housed."

Raffi grinned like a cat and asked, "So if there was such a trailer in existence it would not be part of the school districts policy to forcibly educate undesirable students there and all without informing their parents?"

Superintendent Rockwaller shook his head and said, "Certainly not, there are no undesirable students in the Middleton School District."

Raffi nodded and smiled and reached into his brief case and pulled out his digital camera and said, "So if I had proof of such a building behind Middleton High School, it would be against district policy?"

"Yes…You have pictures?" Superintendent Rockwaller responded nervously.

"I think we've learned enough here today Ronald, Just to let you know we plan on filing a civil suit against the school district, Principle Kelby and this Dr. Klinghammer quack…Have a nice lunch." He told him as they left the office.

The two made it back outside, "That is how you do business, get the goods, put the screws to them and then watch them piss their pants." He said happily.

Ron smiled and asked, "So I can go back to school tomorrow?"

"Yepper doodles and if they give you any crap, don't loose your temper…that's my job." He told Ron.

Ron dropped Cousin Raffi back off at the law office, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem, I'll get working on that law suit and we'll hit them again…Where it hurts…the wallet." He told him happily.

* * *

Tuesday morning was not only Ron's first day out of captivity but it was also Valentines Day. Ron was excited and nervous, _"What if Kim's still mad and doesn't want the ring?"_ he thought nervously.

Ron was stopped just after he entered the building by Mrs. Taylor, "Acting Principle Barkin wishes to see you in his office." She told Ron happily.

Ron smiled and took the familiar walk to the principles office; He was shown inside the door and found Kim already waiting on him there.

Principle Barkin lifted an eyebrow and said, "So Mr. Stoppable, I hear you have a shark attorney working for you…Ms. Possible…I thought you were expelled and all this time you've been in that old construction trailer around back."

"Well the old trailer is gone now, so your going to have to get used to going to school with the rest of us now…So get out of here and go to class your all wasting my valuable time here." Barkin growled.

Ron smiled and said, "See you around Principle Barkin."

"Oh and another thing, Possible, don't you ever say FU to me ever again." He barked at Kim.

Kim smiled sheepishly and pulled her head into her shoulders, "Sorry Principle Barkin" she said as she left with Ron.

Kim looked at Ron once they were in the hallway and said, "Sorry I didn't get you anything for Valentine's Day…I am still really mad at you."

Ron was feeling devilish this morning, "Yea…I understand, I'm sorry about the other night and I don't blame you for dumping me again…" Ron said sadly.

Kim shook her head and in a panicked voice said, "I…I didn't dump you Ron."

Ron frowned and nodded, "Well in that case I guess I'll give you this." He said as he pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

"Happy Valentine's Day KP." He said as he handed her the box with the ring in it.

Kim took the box and opened it, "Ohhhhhh Ron it's beautiful." She told him.

"Yea it's a ¼ carat oval cut blue sapphire in a 10 carat gold setting, took a whole paycheck to pay for it…Just a small trinket of my affection…For a girl that didn't get me anything." Ron said sadly.

Kim put the ring on her finger and said, "Sorry…I'll make it up to you…I…"

Ron interrupted her, "It's ok Kim…I don't mind…I guess I'll see you after school? I don't think we have classes together anymore." He said sadly.

Kim nodded and said, "Yea…I forgot about that…I guess I won't have you all to myself anymore."

Ron shook his head, "Nope…I'll see you after school then." He said as he turned and tried to find his first class.

* * *

Kim stood in the driveway watching Ron drive off to see Rabbi Katz; she noticed that Ron hadn't said much on the ride home. She didn't think he was mad at her but she could tell that he had a lot on his mind.

"_He didn't even kiss me goodbye, I guess in all the excitement of getting to go back to school like normal people it…slipped his mind."_ Kim thought sadly as she walked into the house.

The twins met her at the door and they could tell that Kim was feeling down, "Hey, you get to go to school with us again." Tim said.

"Do you know when Ron leaves so we can get ready for Rufus to move in?" Jim asked.

Kim shook her head and said, "No…June sometime…I think."

She pushed past the two and walked slowly upstairs to her room, when she was inside she laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, _"I should have bought him something…I didn't think that he'd think we broke up again."_ She thought sadly to herself.

"_He didn't answer his phone when I called yesterday to check on him…Maybe I shouldn't have been so mad at him…Ohhhhhhh that look on his face when I tore up that note and threw it back in his face."_ She winced at the memory.

"_I wish he'd talk to me…I always liked it when he used to talk to me."_ She thought sadly.

Kim raised her head up, _"Sounds like moms car."_ She thought happily as she looked out the window.

Kim ran down and met her mother as she came in the door and asked, "Hey Mom, what did dad get for Valentine's Day?"

Mrs. Dr. P. looked surprised by the greeting, "Oh…You know your father, flowers at work with a rocket ship card that read Rocket to my heart…It was really cute." She said.

Kim held out her hand and said, "That's what Ron gave me for Valentine's Day."

"Oh honey that is a beautiful ring." Mrs. Dr. P. said.

"Now for my problem, I got mad at Ron again last Saturday night…I threw myself at him and he didn't want to…you know." Kim said sheepishly.

"Honey…Why not let Ron come around on his own? He has his own pace, look at how long it took him to tell you he liked you." Mrs. Dr. P. advised.

Kim rolled her eyes and whined, "At this rate I'll be a virgin until I'm 30."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head and told her daughter, "I don't know what else to tell you honey."

Kim frowned and thought of an idea, _"I think I may have a way for us to both get what we want."_

* * *

Ron met with Rabbi Katz and started his intensive training in the Hebrew language. They worked for about an hour and then Rabbi Katz gave Ron some homework to do and told

him to get the rest of his packets filled out so he wouldn't be stuck living in a hotel when he arrived in Tel Aviv.

Ron left the temple with his head swimming with information; he was trying to think in Hebrew but wasn't having much luck yet, _"Tense's, structure, male, female meanings, I hope I start to pick it up soon."_

He drove for home and he was tired, _"I think Kim liked the ring, at least she's not mad at me anymore."_ He thought as he pulled into his subdivision and drove by the Possible's house.

Ron entered a dark house and he smiled and thought_, "Dad and mom must be out celebrating…I think the baby will be good for them, I hope they don't spoil her too badly."_

He changed into a pair of jogging shorts and made sure that Rufus was settled into bed for the night before he sat at his desk in front of the mirror and started to work on the packets that Rabbi Katz had given him.

"_How many times do I have to sign my name and put in my social security number?"_ Ron thought shaking his head in amazement.

* * *

Kim was watching out her window for the little black car to come into the neighborhood, once she seen Ron pulling into the driveway, she nodded and proceeded to carry out her plan for Ron to have an unforgettable Valentine's Day.

Kim walked up the hill, she had seen the Stoppable's leaving for a party earlier and that is what brought about the inspiration for her Valentine's Day gift. Kim walked up to the front door and found it open, and she entered.

She quietly walked up the stairs to Ron's room and knocked on the door and said, "Hey Ron."

Ron turned and looked up and welcomed her, "Hey KP, I'll just be a second…Trying to wade through some of this paper work."

Kim nodded and smiled, "Take your time." She told him.

As she started to take off her shoes and pants, she saw Ron's letterman jacket hanging on the door knob to his closet and slipped it on over Ron's old hockey jersey that he used to wear that was now hers.

She froze when she heard Ron exhale suddenly; she turned slowly and saw that he was still working on his project.

She went and sat on the bed and waited for Ron to take notice, _"He's so wrapped up in that paper work. This ought to be good."_ She thought devilishly.

Ron finally put his pen down and rubbed his eyes, and then he turned to talk to Kim and just about fell out of his chair.

Ron stood quickly and began to stammer, "Ahhhhhhh…Heyyyyyyy…Ummmm…I…you look great…wow"

Kim approached Ron and put a finger to his lips, "Shhhhhhhh, happy Valentine's Day Ron…I'm your present." She said in a sultry voice.

Ron smiled and said nervously, "Ahhh…o….Ok…I like the shirt…it looks familiar."

Kim folded herself into Ron's bare chest, "Shut up and hold me Ron." Kim ordered him.

Ron held Kim and he felt her began to feel the muscles in his chest. Ron swallowed hard and kissed her forehead. He tried to pull a way and was shaking his head no. Kim smiled and looked into his eyes and said softly, "It's time Ron."

Ron watched mesmerized as Kim stepped back and shed the letterman's jacket and then returned to his arms and started to walk him back towards his bed.

Kim was working slowly, she didn't want to scare Ron or to make him feel overly nervous and it was working. She could feel the tenseness in his muscles starting to ease and tension starting to build in other parts of Ron's anatomy.

Kim could feel Ron's erection pressing against her waist through the thin material of his jogging shorts; Kim stepped back and pulled his old hockey jersey over her head.

Ron's eyes were huge he had never seen Kim in this light before and he liked what he seen. He pulled her to him and began to kiss her passionately.

"_This is what I've been looking for from Ron."_ Kim thought happily enjoying Ron's lips on the nape of her neck.

Ron laid Kim down on his bed and climbed in on top of her, he continued to kiss his way down her body.

When he reached her stomach he heard her giggle and say playfully, "Where are you going now."

He smiled at her and pulled her panties down and then he continued to kiss his way further down.

Kim's eyes grew big when she realized what Ron was about to do, "No…Ron…that's DIRTY, OHHHHHH…DON'T STOP…UHHHHHHHH." She yelled as she grabbed Ron by his hair.

Ron continued pleasuring Kim for the next ten minutes before kissing his way back up to Kim's face, she clutched at him and peppered his face with little kisses as she wrapped her legs around his hips.

Ron took Kim's virginity as well as overcoming his own personal anxieties concerning their relationship, even though it was not his first time with a girl, it was his first time with Kim and it would be a first time that he would treasure for the rest of his life.

After their passions were spent, Ron propped himself up on his elbow and stroked Kim's sweaty face and smiled.

Kim gazed adoringly into Ron's eyes, "Ron…Where did you…learn to do…you know…all that?"

Ron smiled and then made a face, "Pffffffftt, pubic hair." He said slightly annoyed as he tried once again to spit the small hair out his mouth.

Kim giggled and said, "That's what you get for going down there…Now where did you learn…your new found skills?"

Ron chuckled and waived a hand, "Oh…Ninja School." Ron said while he looked at the ceiling.

"Ninja School, huh…Ron….Why are you going to Israel?" Kim asked.

Ron frowned and swallowed hard and tried to speak, and then he just shook his head and said, "Because I have to Kim."

Kim stroked the side of his face, "I'm not buying this Ron, why won't you talk to me." She pleaded with Ron.

"Look…Kim…When I was in Japan…I learned some things….some things that make staying in Middleton…unwise." He told her sadly.

Kim narrowed her eyes and asked, "What things Ron?"

Ron forced a cheery disposition, "I can't tell you." He said as leaned down and nipped at her nose.

Kim was becoming annoyed, "Ron, we never used to keep secrets from one another and we never used to lie to each other. Now why are you going to Israel?" Kim asked angrily.

"Ohhhhhhhhh don't go there Kim. If I had a dollar for every time you lied to me, I could buy a nice little car in Israel." Ron said indignantly.

Ron immediately became aware that he had hurt Kim's feelings and he softened his tone, "Look most of the lies were to keep from hurting my feelings, some of the lies were actually to keep me from knowing that girls liked me, and at least twice that I know of…you lied to…ditch me…" he said as he winced at the memory.

He shook his head and continued talking to Kim, "Look…I have my own reasons for going….and…I had better keep them to myself." Ron said sadly.

The couple laid in bed in silence and Kim once again said weakly, "I wish I could understand why you can't stay here with me…I don't want you to go."

Ron closed his eyes and tried to be comforting, "Kim, I love you…I've loved you for a long time, but things happened in Japan that makes staying here dangerous for people around me….and I can't have the life I'd like to." He finished sadly.

Kim wasn't going to let this go, "Ron…I can't live with this and I need to know what is going on with you." She pleaded one last time.

Ron closed his eyes, _"She won't quit until I tell her…I think…I'd better."_ He finally decided.

After a long moment Ron began his story from the beginning, the halo Kim of Wade's his exposure to the Mystical Monkey Powers, Yori, Sensei, The Lotus Blade, he was trained over the month he had vanished to be an assassin.

He explained that he could never have a normal life because he would endanger every person who would try to be close to him. This was the reason he had to leave and make a new life for himself in a country far away, where he had no ties.

Ron also had thought about it during the summer, what originally appeared to be a youthful adventure, had suddenly become life and death business. Aliyah was now his only viable option.

Kim shook her head, "I should have been the one exposed to the Monkey Power, not you…I should have ditched Cousin Larry with the halo Kim." She said sadly.

Then Kim brightened and said happily, "Ron…You could still stay here and I could help you, you know I'm not afraid of anything."

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Where would I stay, I could never afford my own place working for Smarty Mart, my grades aren't very good so I would only be able to go to MCC…Staying here is not a very good idea." He said finally.

Kim tilted her head, "Why can't you just live here?" she asked.

Ron looked up hearing the noise of a car pulling into the driveway, "Mom and dad's home, looks like your stuck for a while….Kim, mom is pregnant, if all this nasty evil business is headed my way…do you really want to put a baby in danger…not to mention my sister?" He asked already knowing Kim's answer.

Kim cuddled closer to Ron, "No…I guess not." She said sadly.

Kim mind began to tackle Ron's problem_ "If what Ron learned at the Ninja School comes true…The decision to go to Israel now all made sense…He's not running away…He's trying to protect the ones he loves." _She thought to herself.

When Kim heard the front door open, she pulled Ron back down on top of her and began kissing him. Ron chuckled and started returning the kisses, _"Thrill Junkie" _He thought happily.

* * *

The next morning Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable were up and moving around, getting ready for work. Mr. Stoppable had already left for work and she was headed up stairs to wake up Ron for school.

She bumped into Kim coming down the stairs; it was slightly obvious by her appearance and her natural glow of just where she was coming from.

Kim smiled tightly and pulled her head into her shoulders, "HI" she said as she quickly let herself out.

Mrs. Stoppable stormed up the stairs ready to give Ron a good butt chewing, she opened the door and found Ron sitting on the bed nude covered in only a bed sheet. He turned and looked at her.

Mrs. Stoppable pointed a finger at her son and tried to make words come out, finally she found her voice, "NOT ON WEEKNIGHTS RONALD." She yelled as she turned and stormed back down the hall.

Ron rubbed the back of his head and lifted an eyebrow, _"She must have bumped into Kim on the way out…"_ He thought wearily.

* * *

Kim made a dash for home after she had bumped into Mrs. Stoppable, _"I hope Ron doesn't get into too much trouble."_ She thought and then she began to giggle.

"_Now for more pressing business, just how am I going to keep Ron from leaving…I understand why he thinks he needs to leave…If he leaves…I won't be able to help him."_ She thought nervously.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ok Ron, tell me what's wrong with this one?" Tina asked as she handed Ron another one of the wonderful Smarty Mart discount diamonds.

Ron smiled and said, "Thought you was going to throw me a curve did you…Light is leaking from the sides, its cut too shallow and the black spots in the yellow are carbon that hadn't fully crystallized yet."

Tina nodded and said, "Correct again Mr. Stoppable, your becoming quite the jewelry expert…How's things on the Kim front?"

Ron smiled and kind of craned his head to one side and said, "Ohhhhh I think I was able to function properly and take care of business…Thanks to a little coaching."

"Ahhhhh good, I was afraid we were going to have to get you some of those erectile dysfunction pills." She said with a laugh.

Ron blushed and shook his head and said, "No…no…Things worked the way they were supposed to."

"I had a line on a boyfriend, but I could tell it wasn't going to work out…So I continue my search." She told Ron sadly.

Ron looked at her, "How can you tell if a relationship is going to work out or not?" he asked.

"Well with this guy, I'm Jewish and he was Catholic. Kind of an odd paring, well we were ok with it but his mother and father hates Jews…So we decided to quit while we were ahead." She told him sadly.

Ron shook his head and said, "So what if they hate Jews as long as you and the boyfriend is ok with it."

"Well let's see if we were to go forward with our relationship and got married, his parents would never accepted me and if we had children…Hello…Look out, the whole religion thing and then it gets really ugly." Tina said.

Ron stopped looking a rings, "Sorry…I didn't realize there was so much too it." Ron said thoughtfully.

Tina nodded and said flatly, "Interfaith relationships can be very complicated…So is Kim Jewish?"

Ron shook his head, "No, but I get along with her family…They practically raised me. He dad gets a little difficult; I used to think it was because I was Jewish but not anymore." Ron told her.

"Ahhhhhhh the parents like you, so you thinking about getting married and staying home from Israel?" She asked.

"NO" was the flat answer from Ron.

Tina smiled uneasily she realized that she had hit a very sore subject with Ron, "So any big planes with Kim for the weekend?" she asked.

Ron nodded and told her, "Kim's kind of a thrill junkie so I thought we'd sneak onto Forester dam and do some night time bungee jumping."

"That not only sounds dangerous, it also sounds stupid." She said shaking her head.

Ron smiled and gave her a thumbs up sign and said, "Right up Kim's alley."

Tina winced, "Well don't get yourself killed trying to impress a girl…Then I'll have to train a new diamond expert…I might get stuck with Jeffrey Dallas in hardware...ewww." she said shivering at the thought.

* * *

Ron attended services on Saturday and then went into a small meeting room with Rabbi Katz and Mr. Isaiah Halevy of the American Friends of the IDF. Ron was about to be informed of all of the benefits due to him as a Chayal Boded. 

Rabbi Katz introduced Ron to Mr. Halevy, "So Ronald when do you plan to leave for Israel?"

Ron shifted his weight and said nervously, "I wanted to make my aliyah in June, middle to end of the month."

"Rabbi Katz told me you were interested in joining the IDF? You know you could live in Israel for up to a year before you will be called to join." Mr. Halevy explained to Ron.

Ron nodded and said, "I had thought about that, but I don't want to get involved in school work and then have my life interrupted for three years for the army…I'd rather get it out of the way as soon as I can."

Mr. Halevy smiled and nodded and said, "You seem to have given this a lot of thought and that is good. You will need to improve your Hebrew of course; Rabbi Katz has explained that he has started working with you on that."

"Ronald's Hebrew skills are still very weak." Rabbi Katz interjected.

Mr. Halevy shrugged, "No matter the IDF has a ulpan-or that will last a month and give you the language skills and the ability to communicate effectively in the military." He told Ron.

"How will I know when I my Hebrew is good enough?" Ron asked.

Rabbi Katz looked at Ron and informed him, "When you dream in Hebrew."

Mr. Halevy went on to inform Ron that he would be provided rent assistance, he would receive double pay, have two months of leave off a year, assistance with his utility bills, an extra two days off a month in order for him to conduct his personal business and Ron would also receive reduced city taxes and if he live in Jerusalem, he would have to pay no city taxes at all.

All the information was overwhelming Ron he just nodded, "Uhhhh so what do the American Friends of the IDF do?" he asked.

"We are kind of like the USO, we help you stay in touch with your parents, provide social opportunities to meet with other American Chayal Boded and to help you know of your benefits that are available to you for serving in the IDF." He told Ron.

Ron continued to look at the booklets and pamphlets that Mr. Halevy had given him, _"There is more to all this than I had thought."_ Ron thought to himself.

They finished up after meeting for two hours, Ron's head was starting to hurt, _"Good thing I have a date with Kim tonight….This stuff is going to drive me crazy." _He thought to himself

"Ok Mr. Stoppable, those booklets and pamphlets should help you stay up to date on your bennifits as a Chayal Boded in the IDF; there may be some new things that have been added. So be sure to tell your officers once you're in that you're a Chayal Boded and they can help you with any questions." Mr. Halevy told him.

"I'm sure I'll have questions later…This is kind of…over whelming." Ron told the man truthfully.

"That's why we're here…I'll look forward to seeing you in Israel Ronald." The man said as he held out his hand to Ron.

He shook it and said his goodbyes and Ron walked out into the late February afternoon, _"Ok…it's a hundred agorots to the shekel, no…yes…then there is ten agorots to the shekel, or two if you have a 50 agorot coin then it's two, there is a shekel coin, 5 shekel coin, 10 shekel coin…Oh man."_ Ron was becoming overwhelmed.

"_Ok then theirs the paper money, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 shekels…I understand that…I think I understand the coins…taxes, rent, utilities….If I buy a car my first one will be tax free?"_ Ron pulled to a stop at a red light and then the thought really hit home.

He never really looked at the nuts and bolts of moving before but it was finally starting to realize, _"Once I move over there…I will truly be on my own…I better go home and work on more of these packets."_

Ron finally arrived home and walked inside and sat at the kitchen table and started to go through the booklets and pamphlets. He pulled Rufus out of his pocket, "Did you take all that in?" he asked his friend.

Rufus shrugged, "I dunno"

Ron looked at him and said, "I did understand about the double pay stuff and two months leave a year…Sweet."

Ron started looking over the booklets; he looked at all the fighter planes for the IAF. He thought it would be cool to be a fighter pilot and then reality struck him, "Do you really thing they're going to turn me lose with a jet fighter?" he asked himself.

Rufus fell over backwards laughing.

Ron nodded his head and said, "Laugh it up pink boy…No…I'd probably be unloading trucks like at Smarty Mart."

Ron chuckled as he looked at one of the pamphlets for the IDF infantry and pointed a picture out to Rufus and said, "Ron Stoppable…Lone Soldier."

Rufus couldn't contain himself he laughed until he fell off the table, he hit the floor with a thud and a loud, "Ouch"

Ron smiled and said, "It serves you right…laughing at daddy."

Ron's mother entered the kitchen, "So is Kim spending the night tonight?" She asked in a slightly tweaked voice.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "No…at least I don't…think so." Ron said nervously.

His mother looked at the booklets and the brochures on the table, "You know Ron…You could always join the army over here." She reminded him.

"Mom, my minds made up on this…I'm going to live in Israel." Ron said looking at his mother.

"You and Kim using contraception?" She asked half afraid of Ron's answer.

"MOM" Ron said obviously embarrassed by his mother's question.

"Ronald, in this day and age there is no reason to have an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy…Your leaving for Israel in June, do you really want to leave Kim behind by herself with a baby?" She asked.

"K…Kim said her mom wrote her a prescription for some birth control pills." Ron said shyly.

Ron's mom nodded her head and swallowed hard and said, "I had to ask Ronald…You were unplanned and the one coming is unplanned….Your father and I are in better shape financially for the new baby…We weren't so fortunate with you."

"Mom…" Ron said struggling for words, he didn't know what to say; the conversation had caught him off guard.

Ron's mom wiped a tear from her eye, "All I am saying honey, is don't you put a baby through what we put you through…ok."

Ron stood up and gave his mother a hug and told her, "Umm…I'll just take Rufus upstairs with me for a while…I'm supposed to go out with Kim later."

Ron picked up his things and Rufus and headed up to his bedroom, _"I better talk with Kim and make sure she is on the pill, mom's right…I couldn't leave if Kim was pregnant."_ He thought to himself.

He entered the room and put his things on the desk and picked up his Ronnunicator keyed the button and on the screen appeared Wade, "What's the sitch Ron." He asked.

Ron shook his head, he was still not used to hearing that phrase directed at him, "Just curious if you had time to examine the layout of Forester dam yet? He asked his friend.

"I've analyzed when and where the guards patrol and I think you'll have a good window of opportunity for bungee jumping between eight and nine o'clock after that another security patrol is due by." Wade told him.

Ron nodded and asked, "How about cameras?"

Wade leaned back in the chair and smiled, "I have them all taken care of for one hour." He told Ron proudly.

"You rock Wade." He told him as he ended the conversation.

Ron called Kim on her cell phone, "Hey KP, you want to go out to eat at Bueno Nacho in about an hour, then go do date stuff?" Ron asked his girlfriend.

"An hour…Ok Ron, I've been missing you." She said in a sexy voice.

Ron smiled and returned the sentiment, "I've been missing you too…Oh wear your mission cloths and bring the hair dryer…I have to see if I can still find mine…Been ages since I saw it."

"Mission cloths…you lost me Ron?" Kim said over the phone.

Ron smiled and said, "You have no idea how hard I get just thinking about you in those cargo pants with that midriff black commando sweeter of yours."

Kim giggled, "You're a nut Ron…I'll see what I can do…With or without beret?" She asked.

Ron chuckled and said, "Without for tonight…We'll work the beret in another night."

Ron ended the call and looked over at Rufus, "Any idea where the grappling hair dryer is?" he asked the chubby mole rat.

Rufus shrugged and squeaked, "I dunno"

Ron started going through boxes in the closet and talking to Rufus, "Insanely stupid, dangerous, yea Kim's going to eat this up." He told Rufus.

"Ah Ha" Ron exclaimed finding the elusive box that held all of his old mission stuff that he had packed away from last May when Kim broke up with him the first time.

Ron got dressed in his mission cloths and then he dug around inside the box and found the old grappling hair dryer. Once he was finished he turned and looked at Rufus and asked, "What do you think?"

Rufus gave him two thumbs up and said, "Spankin'"

Ron put the boxes back in his closet and closed the door and looked at himself in the mirror, _"This is way too retro…I'm going to have to start going through my stuff, see what goes and see what stays…Give stuff to Kim for safekeeping."_ He thought absently.

* * *

At 6:00pm Ron pulled up in front of the Possible's house, he got out of the car and strode confidently up to the front door and rang the bell. 

Mr. Dr. P. answered the door and took one look at Ron and lifted an eyebrow and said, "Hello Ronald, is this a date or a mission?"

Ron smiled and fibbed a bit, "Mission, Kim broke up with me weeks ago."

"Well come on in then so, how's things at Smarty Mart?" Mr. Dr. P. asked.

Ron shrugged and said, "Ohhhhhhh, I've been transferred to Jewelry."

"Jewelry, you're on the way up Ron, pretty soon you might actually have a career there…Have a nice little frame house in Lowerton and make something of yourself." Mr. Dr. P. said happily.

"_I was ready for this one, there is something definitely wrong with his mind…Oh well…Nah…Let's not get him worked up."_ Ron thought as he smiled to himself and waited for Kim.

"So how are things at the rocket plant?" Ron asked not really caring just wanting to change the direction of the conversation.

"Well I could tell you Ronald but most of the stuff istechnical and I don't know if I could find the words that would be small enough that you would understand." Mr. Dr. P. said scratching his head.

Ron narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "Ohhhhhhhh humor me just this once…Somehow I think talking down to me isn't one of your weaker points."

Mr. Dr. P. rubbed his chin, "Hey Ronald, what brings you over this evening?"

Ron blinked and cocked his head, "Uh here to pick up Kim for a mission…Not a date mind you….a mission." He reminded Kim's dad.

"I thought you guys were dating again, you both made such a cute couple, so how are things at Smarty Mart these days?" Mr. Dr. P. asked Ron again.

"Spankin' just got transferred to Jewelry…" Ron answered again nervously.

"Jewelry…wow, bet you get to talk to all the gals when they come by the counter." He told him happily.

Ron nodded and said nervously, "Uh yea…all the girls."

Mr. Dr. P. turned and looked at Ron strangely and said, "Ronald, I see we're letting ourselves into the house these days? I don't know how things are done around your house but here we usually would like visitors to ring the door bell first…Why are you here anyway?"

Ron pointed at Mr. Dr. P. and said, "I…ummm…yea…I gotcha…I think I'll just wait in the car?"

Ron quickly left the house and called Kim on the cell phone, "Hey KP…I'm out front." He told his girlfriend.

"Why don't you come in for a while?" Kim asked.

Ron chuckled nervously and said, "I think we need to leave so we can get some quality snackage in before the mission."

Kim sounded obviously disappointed and told him, "Ok…I'll be right down."

Kim hung the phone up and left Ron to his thoughts, _"The old man has lost it…I knew it…He hasn't been the same since…When? Since the Drakken's brain tap machine…His mind has been scrambled….Wow…Why hasn't Kim or the rest of the family noticed…I guess they're too close to notice it…Maybe he's not as random around them? I better keep this to myself…They probably wouldn't believe me anyway."_

Kim came bounding down the front steps and slid into the passenger's seat, Ron lifted an eyebrow at the old mission cloths, and then he leaned over and kissed her hello.

"So what's the sitch?" Kim asked eagerly.

Ron smiled and replied as he backed out of the driveway, "I'm not going to tell you…It's a surprise."

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Ok"

Ron decided to change the subject so Kim would quit pestering him about the mission, "Mom wants to know where you're spending the night tonight?" he asked.

Kim giggled and said playfully, "I guess over at your house again…Do you think we could get breakfast in bed in the morning?"

"Only if I cook it, mom's kind of on the pregnancy rampage these days." Ron explained.

Kim chuckled and said, "I guess you had to answer a lot of questions then…Hope you didn't say too much?"

Ron looked at her and said, "What is there to hide, she already has two kids and knows where they come from."

"So what kind of stuff did she ask you?" Kim asked obviously intreagued.

Ron looked out the side window and smiled, "Ohhhhhh the usual stuff, if we were practicing safe sex, I told her that your mom got you setup on the pill." Ron said as he gave her a wink.

Kim shifted her weight and thought nervously, _"I guess it wouldn't be a good time to tell him I haven't taken them yet?"_

"She was also wondering why I couldn't just join the army here, and let's see…I think she's afraid I'm going to run off to Israel and leave you alone with a baby…You know I could never do that." Ron said as he pulled into the parking lot of Bueno Nacho.

Kim gave Ron a big hug and said softly, "You were never one for running out on me."

Ron touched her face and smiled, "Let's go eat, Rufus is starving." He told her.

They got out of the car and walked into the restaurant, Kim was quiet and in her own thoughts as she took Rufus when Ron handed him to her. She went and found their usual seats while Ron placed the order.

"_The only way Ron is going to stay here is if I get pregnant…I…I can't do that to him…I've already forgot to take the pills so I could already be pregnant."_ Kim thought nervously.

She smiled at him as he brought the drinks over and he patted her on the shoulder and left to wait for the food,_ "I don't want him to leave…Having a baby would be lots of work…I know Ron would help out as much as he could…I…think…I'm…I can't…but I already have."_ She thought nervously to herself.

Ron came back with a tray of food and started to divvy it up between the three of them, she giggled when Rufus tried to get more chips from Ron's basket and he scolded him for it, _"Still…He is daddy material…I can feel that he longs for a family…I think I'll just not take the pills and see what happens." _Kim nodded as she made up her mind.

They finished their meal and then left for Forester Dam, Kim was holding Ron's arm while he drove and was enjoying the mystery of what their date was going to be. Ron made the turn on the interstate and headed west towards Appleton.

* * *

Forester Dam, built as a WPA project in the early 1930's is the Tri-County Area Electrical Cooperative's massive hydro-electric plant that provides the electrical power for the entire region. The large curved designed dam blocks the water of the Victor, Melbourne, and Cascade Rivers to form Lake Littleton. The dam stands over 1,200ft. tall and tonight will serve as the platform for Kim and Ron's clandestine date, an hour of no holds barred bungee jumping.

Ron pulled over just out of sight of the dam in a scenic overlook; he climbed out of the car and opened the trunk and smiled at Kim.

Kim crossed her arms and asked, "Ok Ron, what we doing at Forester Dam?"

Ron threw her a bundle of bungee rope, "Bungee jumping" He told her.

Kim's eyes lit up, then she got excited, "Ronnie, you really do know how to show a girl a good time." She said as she started towards the dam.

Ron grabbed his bungee rope and the two hair dryers and took off after her, "Kim…wait up." He whispered urgently.

He caught up with Kim near the top and handed her the hair dryer she left in the car and then they worked their way to the center of the dam. They ran quickly along the length of the dam on a catwalk that the tourists use when they have tours during the daytime.

They climbed to the other side of the railing and Kim quickly attached the rope to the railing and then to her ankle. Ron attached the rope to the railing and then turned his head to look down, _"This is truly crazy."_ He thought as he looked down the concrete wall of the dam.

Kim turned to look at Ron. She smiled and shook her head, _"He's still a big baby about heights."_ She thought

"Head in the game,Ron." She said as she pushed him hard in the center of his chest.

Ron felt the hard push in the chest and he fell backwards, "KIM….NOOOOOOOOOO" he screamed as he fell from the catwalk.

Kim looked down at his bungee cord and realized it wasn't attached, She immedatley lunged off the catwalk desperately trying to catch up with her boyfriend. She could see him falling into the blackness but he was too far for to get to and then the bungee cord ran out and she was soon hurtling in the opposite direction.

She closed her eyes and waited for the sick thud to come that would end Ron's life and all she could think of over and over again was, _"I killed him…I killed him."_

Ron saw Kim make her desperate attempt to save him and then closed his eyes and waited for the end. He thought of when he and Kim were kids playing out by Lake Littleton on those hot summer days when mosquitoes just seemed to love him but they would ignore Kim and he smiled.

The days seemed to last forever then, much the same as the fall he was currently experiencing, _"This taking a long time….Maybe I've already hit the ground and I'm dead…I always wondered about those falling dreams if you hit the ground do you really die?"_ He thought as he waited to hit the bottom.

Ron breathed a deep breath, _"Ok…This is a good sign, I'm going to open my eyes now…If I'm dead…I hope I'm with Lacey."_ He thought nervously.

Ron opened his eyes and he could barely make out Kim dangling by her bungee cord and Ron swallowed hard, _"Poor Kim"_ he thought.

Then Ron turned to look at the ground beneath him and he discovered he was a foot and a half above the roof of the entrance building for the public tours. With his concentration broke he dropped the rest of the foot and a half and landed with a thud on the roof.

"_Ow…Next time I won't look down…I levitated…or something…Wish I could control some of this stuff, floating would come in real handy right about now."_ He thought happily as he got to his feet and tried to figure out a way back up top.

He looked and saw a metal latter that was attacked to the roof that led down to the ground He quickly surveyed his surroundings, _"If I go the long way, it would take most of the night to get back to the top and Kim would get caught and be in trouble again."_ He thought shaking his head.

Ron looked over to the right and noticed a stair railing, clinging to the shadows he made his way towards it, "These lead straight up the side of the dam." He thought as he started to run up the steps.

He made it a few hundred feet before he stopped for rest, _"I should have kept running my legs are dieing here."_ He thought sadly.

He looked up and could still see Kim dangling and then he pushed on, _"Oh I'm going to give her a piece of my mind when we get out of this."_ Ron thought angrily.

Ron made it another couple of hundred feet and stopped again, _"This is going to take forever…I have to think of something else."_ He thought sadly.

Ron looked up and around for anything that could use to get up to the top faster. Then an idea hit him, _"If I could lean off the stairs enough…I could use the hair dryer to pull me up 200 or 300 ft."_ He thought happily.

Ron climbed over the railing and leaned out and spotted a likely spot of railing that the hair dryer grappling hook could reach and fired. The grappling rope found it's mark and Ron swung free of the railing, then he pushed the button that would reel him in and up the side of the dam he went.

"_This was much quicker than the stairs, another two shots and I should be even with Kim."_ He thought as he was getting pulled further up the dam.

He finally pulled even with Kim and he could see her eyes wide open and yet unseeing, _"She's in shock…I guess I won't give her a hard time after all."_ Ron thought sadly as he looked for a way to reach her.

He pointed the hair dryer at spot near where Kim's rope was tied off and fired, it reached but just barely. Ron swung out and started to make his way towards Kim. He was able to work underneath her and then hit the button to reel them in.

The little hair dryer was running out of juice quickly and stopped about half way up. Ron wrapped his legs around Kim and found her hair dryer and pulled it free. He pointed the device at a spot on the railing and fired.

Her hair dryer had the juice to get them the rest of the way up to the catwalk. Ron struggled for a bit but finally managed to shove the limp form of his girlfriend onto the catwalk and then pulled himself up.

He lay staring at the night sky and trying to catch his breath, "I have so got to start running again, I am so out of shape." He thought as he pulled out his watch to look at it.

"Ok…7:40, we have twenty minutes to get out of her." His mind began to tick off the numbers as he started to gather the gear back up. Then he picked up Kim and as quick as he could ran for the car.

Ron threw all the gear on the ground and then sat Kim on ground and then he slumped onto the ground, Ron looked back up the hill and he could hear the guards starting their 8:00pm check.

Once they had walked out of ear shot, Ron began to tend with Kim, "Kim, I'm here it's ok…KIM" he said as he gently shook her.

She still wasn't coming around, Ron kissed her and gave her a big hug, "Come on KP, I need you…like…responding or something." He said desperately.

Then Kim began quivering and started crying, "I killed you…I killed you…I didn't mean to." She wept.

Ron started laughing out of relief, "It's ok…I'm not dead…See" He told her as he gave her a big hug.

She was still limp so Ron put her in the front seat of the car and closed the door. He put the gear up and closed the trunk, _"I hope this doesn't last long."_ He thought to himself.

Ron slid into the driver's seat and saw Rufus standing on the seat back tapping Kim on the head, "Hello…Hello" he squeaked.

"Rufus…not now." He chided the pink mole rat.

He pulled her closer to him and put his arm around her and held her tight and she wrapped her arms around him and finally started to speak, "I'm done…that's it…I'm done." She said in a very weak voice.

Ron kissed her forehead, "It's ok…I'm not dead Kim." He said trying to comfort her.

"What about next time." Kim said as she started to cry.

Ron started to laugh, "Well I hope you won't make a habit of this." He said as he was starting to feel relieved that Kim was talking.

"I'm serious…I'm done…I'm done…No more dangerous stuff for me." She said as she started to cry.

Ron closed his eyes and frowned and said, "Shhhhhhhhh…It's ok…Let's go home…ok."

Kim nodded her head and Ron started the car and drove back to Middleton, "You want to sleep at my house tonight?" He asked.

He could feel Kim nod her head up and down for yes, "Ok" he said as he drove to his house.

* * *

It was a little after 9:30 and Ron helped Kim out of the car and then he picked up Rufus and put him in his pocket. Kim was finally able to get her legs to work and she grabbed hold of Ron for balance as the two walked into his house.

They made it in the front door and then ran into Ron's dad, "Dad?" Ron said nervously as he took Kim upstairs.

Ron's dad watched the two go upstairs and then grinned, _"Takes after me alright…So good the girls won't let go of you."_ He thought happily as he disappeared into the TV room.


	6. Chapter 6

Mature alert for the next two chapters...They are not...appropriate for the Disney purists.

* * *

They entered the bedroom and took off their shoes and then Kim pulled Ron into bed with her and curled up around him and held him to her tightly.

Ron looked down at her, he could still feel her trembling, _"She's really taking this hard…I'm sorry Kim, I just wanted a fun date for you to enjoy…I didn't want this."_ He thought to himself sadly.

Kim started rocking and humming a nursery rhyme that Ron couldn't quite identify and then she started rubbing his chest, "Kim that's enough…I'm ok…Everything is ok." He said trying to bring her back to reality.

Kim looked up at him and said in small weak voice, "I almost got you killed." She said as she started to cry again.

Ron rubbed the back of her neck and said with a chuckle, "Kim, you've almost got me killed loads of times."

Kim looked at him and said, "Not like this…I was the one who almost killed you."

Ron shook his head and looked down on her, "Kim scoot up here and talk to me…I'm tired of talking to the top of your head." He told her.

Kim scooted up next to Ron in the bed, "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…I was only playing around."

"I know you were…I'm ok Kim." Ron told her reassuringly.

"Ron…How…I mean, umm…you didn't die?" Kim was almost ashamed to ask.

"Remember when we got dumped into that river and we went over the falls and you rescued Rufus and Yori rescued me?" Ron asked.

Kim nodded that she did and Ron continued with his explanation, "Remember how we thought Master Sensei went over the falls and died…Only to discover that he floated away to safety?"

Kim looked at him and said in disbelief, "You mean you floated away?"

"Not exactly…at Yamanouchi they taught us to levitate…I was never very good at it…Well I was about a two foot from being a red stain and…I just stopped falling." Ron told her.

Kim shook her head and smiled and said, "I should of stuck to babysitting…You ever wonder where we'd be if I'd stuck to just babysitting?"

Ron laughed and told her exactly where'd they be, "Well first off you'd be in bed with Brick or some other cool guy and I'd still be a big goofy dork that would be tagging along hoping that one day you'd notice me."

Kim propped herself up and looked at him and said, "You've given this a lot of thought."

Ron laughed and shook his head and said, "No thought involved that was just the way it was."

Kim frowned and put her head back on his chest and said, "Ron…"

He looked up at her and responded, "Yea?"

"I'm horny." Kim said giggling.

Ron started laughing, "Well I guess you are feeling better." He said happily.

He started move out of bed and then fell back chuckling, "My legs are killing me, I ran up most of those stairs and…I've kind of let myself go since Yamanouchi…Too much Bueno Nacho." He said shaking his head.

Kim pushed him back down and straddled him, "You lay there and I'll do all the work." She said as she started to tug his mission cloths off.

Ron lay on the bed and smiled, _"This is all right."_ He thought happily to himself.

* * *

The next morning at Ron tried to sneak down and make breakfast for Kim and himself. He had Rufus with him, he was going to feed him in the kitchen and accidentally leave him there in case Kim was still feeling frisky.

Ron was not expecting to find his parents there waiting on him, Ron swallowed hard, he had a pretty good idea of what was coming.

"She spent the night again didn't she?" His mom started the conversation going.

Ron shrugged, "It's not a week night." He said weekly.

Ron's dad let out a deep sigh and said, "Ronald your mother and I aren't young anymore and we need our sleep having to be kept up half the night listening to…."Oh God…Oh God don't stop" and "Oh yea there right there" is not conducive to good sleep."

"Ronald…Once you've moved to Israel and reach the peak of your Zionist fervor and have your own place. You can sleep with as many girls as you want but if you're going to be under our roof…It stops now." Ron's mom said angrily.

"Mom…" Ron started but never had a chance to finish.

"Your mother's right Ronald, although it is comforting knowing that my superior technique has been inherited and past on genetically…Maybe you need to slow down with Kim…Ok." His father told him.

"Superior technique, I guess he inherits rolling over and going to sleep after he's finished too." His mother said sarcastically.

Ron backed out of the kitchen quietly, _"Hey I was tired, and you try dragging Kim's semi-conscious ass up the face of a dam and see if you aren't a bit tired."_ Ron thought sadly to himself.

Ron walked back upstairs entered his room, Kim was still under the sheet naked, "No breakfast in bed….Mom says no more sleepover's either." Ron said sadly.

Kim gave her puppy dog pout, "Ohhhhhhhhh I was so looking forward to breakfast in bed." She said as she started sniffling.

Ron rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, "Sorry…I guess its breakfast out this morning." He told her.

"I'm horny again." She told him.

Ron's shoulders slumped, "Kim…I don't really want to go back to getting two and three hours of sleep a night….I'm only one man." He pleaded.

Kim pulled away the sheet and gave Ron a long sultry look and said, "But Ronnie…I have my…needs."

Ron's tongue began to roll out of his mouth, "Ok….just one more time." He said as he pulled his shirt off.

* * *

Kim wouldn't let Ron out of her sight during the entire day Sunday; she even followed him to work at Smarty Mart. She pretended to be shopping for other things but she never strayed far from the jewelry counter.

"So….I guess that's Kim?" Tina asked.

Ron nodded his head, "Yep"

Kim caught Ron's attention, smiled and waved at him, Ron smiled weakly and waved back.

"Ummm. Ron…She's been standing there for two and a half hours." Tina reminded him.

Ron winced, "I know…We had a little accident at the Forester Dam last night and now she won't let me out of her sight." He explained.

Tina looked at him and asked, "What kind of…little accident?"

"I kind of accidentally fell off the dam." Ron told her.

Tina pulled back, "No you didn't otherwise you'd be dead." She told him.

"I have this telepathic power to summon the woodland creatures of the forest and they came and saved me." Ron said with a straight face.

Tina giggled and said, "Oh well that explains it then."

Ron walked to the counter to help a customer, "Can I help you find anything?" He asked.

The man looked at Ron and said, "What do you have in engagement rings?"

Ron nodded and pointed to a couple of shelves and asked, "How much you looking to spend?"

"Nothing more than $300." The man replied belligerently.

Ron nodded and said, "Well that pretty much limits you to our fine Cubic Zirconium rings down here." He said as he pulled a selection of rings out.

"Than one there, the one for $269, that one will do." He told Ron anxiously.

Ron nodded and pulled out the ring for him to look at, the man looked it over and tossed it back at Ron, "Yea that'll do." He said.

"You know for an extra $20 you can get a ring that won't turn her finger green." Ron said helpfully.

The man head tilted to the side and he put his hands on his hips and said, "Look my girlfriend won't put out unless I make a commitment to her, I figure a cheap ring a little fun and if we break up…no big loss."

Ron put the ring in the box and rang up the sale, _"Ahhhhhhhhh who says there's no romance any more."_ He thought as he took the man's money.

The man took the ring and walked away from the counter, Ron shook his head, _"Some people just don't deserve normal lives."_ He thought sadly.

Ron's thoughts were interrupted by Tina, "Ron….Kim's starting to give me the creeps, can you go on break and do something about her?" She asked.

"Yea…I think I'd like a break." Ron said as he walked out from behind the counter.

Ron walked up to Kim, "Want to see the breakroom?"

Kim perked up, "OK" she said as she followed Ron to the back of the store.

Ron led her into the empty break room and made himself a cup of coffee, "Coffee? It's free." He asked.

Kim shook her head, "No thanks."

Ron nodded and mixed his creamer and sugar into his coffee and then said, "Kim…You can't keep following me all over the place…I'm ok…I didn't die."

"I know that, I just never seen you work at Smarty Mart before…Not very exciting is it?" She said.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "You ought to see this place during the holiday's." he told her.

"Ron…Let's do it…Right here." Kim said excitedly.

Ron froze and looked at her, _"She's still a thrill junkie."_ He thought.

"Ummmmmmm…Kim…I'm on the clock." Ron said nervously.

"The place is dead Ron…No one's ever going to know." Kim said as she started to pull her pants down.

Ron looked around quickly, _"Well if I get fired…at least I go down a legend." _He thought.

Twenty-five minutes later Kim walked past Tina and waived on her way out the front entrance, Ron was a just behind her tucking in his shirt and wiping sweat off his face with a paper towel.

Tina smiled and shook her head and said, "You didn't?"

"It was the only way to get her out of the store for a while; I gave her the keys to my car so she could go listen to the radio till I get off." Ron explained.

Tina smiled and shook her head, "My turn for break…I think I'm gong to have a smoke with your girlfriend…Maybe you both could come over next Friday and we can get really freaky." She said as grabbed her cigarettes and lighter and headed for the door.

Ron had a look of abject terror on his face and thought, _"Ohhhhhhhhhhh I hope Tina doesn't say too much…Kim's going to kill me."_

Tina walked outside and found Kim looking at the soda machines, Tina walked up beside her, "So you're the famous Kim that Ron always talks about."

Kim smiled, "Yea that's me…Does he talk about me a lot?" she asked.

Tina roller her eyes, "The boy's obsessed…I think he wants you to go to Israel with him…but he's afraid to ask." She told her.

"He's said something about it before…but it's his dream…I…I'm going stay here and go to Upperton." She said sadly.

Tina held out her cigarettes and asked, "Smoke?"

Kim looked around and grabbed the cigarette and told her, "I don't smoke very much…Ron gets all weirded it out about it…So I sneak one from time to time."

Tina nodded and told her, "Yea, Ron has a pretty pristine view of you."

"That sounds like Ron; we've known each other forever." Kim explained.

"So you guys going to call it quits when he leaves?" Tina asked.

Kim frowned and looked at the ground and said weakly, "I still hope he doesn't leave…If…if he does…I don't know…He'll be so far away."

Tina finished her cigarette and was getting ready to go back inside the store, "You had better do some serious talking about what your plans are going to be." Tina told her as she turned and walked back into the store.

Kim finished up her cigarette and walked to Ron's car_, "Maybe I should go with Ron…Mom and dad don't need me around for anything and the tweebs are in high school…I don't know."_ Kim thought sadly.

Tina made it back to the counter and Ron had a look on his face, "You didn't bury me in too deep did you?" he asked.

"Noooo…I do think you need to have a serious talk with about when you leave…Do you expect her to stay your girl friend when you leave…or are you going to break it off?" She asked Ron.

"I was thinking…we could still…I don't know…I mean…" Ron said and then he stopped and looked down at the engagement rings.

"Ron…Ron…Yoohoo honey…over here." Tina said trying to catch his attention.

Ron just shook his head and said, "It wouldn't be right to expect to stay together…I'll talk with Kim after work." He said sadly.

"Ron…It's not the end of the world…Enjoy the time you to have together, and you really look at if this is what you want to do." Tina said to him.

Ron made it through the rest of the shift, and clocked out. He walked out into a chilly night, he could see his breath and he could see Kim sitting behind the wheel of the car looking sad.

Ron plopped down in the passenger seat and looked over at Kim and in a very tired voice said, "KP…I think we have to talk."

Kim nodded and said quietly, "Yea"

Ron told her to drive home, Kim seemed happy to be behind the wheel and Ron just looked out at the road. They drove back to the Possible's house in silence.

Once they were there, Kim looked at Ron and said, "Want to come in for awhile?"

"Yea" Ron said quietly as he got out of the car.

They walked in the front door and then walked up the stairs to Kim's room and went inside. Kim sat cross legged on her bed and Ron pulled the chair out from her make up table and sat on it backwards so he could rest his arms on the chair back.

"I had a little talk with Tina in front of Smarty Mart." Kim started.

"You also had a cigarette with her too." Ron told her.

Kim narrowed her eyes and asked, "Did she tell you that?"

Ron laughed and shook his head no, "I can smell the smoke on you." He told her.

Kim cringed and said, "Well I didn't want to talk about me sneaking a cigarette, Ron what are we going to do when you leave?"

"I don't know Kim, I love you to pieces but…Come with me." He said trying hard to keep from having to make painful decisions.

"I can't Kim." Kim said sadly.

"So I guess we need to decide…what we're going to do…when I leave." Ron said nervously.

"You are going to leave then…No backing out, getting rid of everything and leaving?" She asked.

Ron nodded his head, "Yea…You know my reasons." Ron said.

"So I guess the real question is…Do we try to stay a couple or do we go our separate ways in June?" Kim summed it up.

Ron nodded and said, "I guess…I mean…We're just going into March now…June is still so far away."

"Ron your still skirting the issue, what are we going to do?" Kim said.

Ron started to talk and then stayed silent for a moment and said, "I was told by Sensei that I could never have a normal life…There is…a part of me that accepts this…Then there's the other part…that screams to me in the night…Kim, I don't want to be alone."

Kim looked at Ron and asked, "So you want to try and stay a couple if you leave for Israel?"

Ron nodded wordlessly that he did and Kim let out a deep breath and said sadly, "Ron…I…I don't know if I can do that."

Ron was flustered and uncomfortable, "Yea…I know what you mean…I…I'll…Ummm…I don't blame you…This is my problem and I shouldn't be dumping it on you…I'll pick you up for school tomorrow Kim." He said as he started to leave.

"Ron sit down." Kim said in a stern voice.

Ron sat down and shook his head, "I…I'm sorry I can't have a normal life…I still hold out hope…" Ron said still trying to keep from crying.

They sat staring in different directions for several minutes and then Kim trying to sound upbeat, "W…w…why don't we do this…We'll just play it by ear and see what happens…Anything can happen between now and June…Right?"

"He, he, he, yea sure…Anything can happen." Ron said nervously.

Kim held out her arms and said sadly, "Come hold me Ron."

Ron got up from the chair and climbed onto the bed and took Kim into his arms. He held her tight, "I…I don't want to lose you Kim." Ron said into her shoulder.

"I don't want to lose you either Ron." She said as she stroked the back of his neck.

* * *

"Shego are you feeling like your old self again?" The familiar voice asked.

"I…I think so…I don't think I'm Kim Possible anymore and I'm not in love with Ron…at least I think I'm not…Who is Ron anyway?" Shego asked.

"How do you feel about Kim Possible?" The voice asked.

"I'm going to kill her, I had to endure that barking loon for twenty-four hours, ohhhhhh I'm going to kill her, the middleton mad dog, The Man and anyone else connected with the princess." Shego raged.

"She didn't break us out, she toyed with us Shego…Now I believe I have it within my grasp to toy back…Are you with me Shego?" Doctor Drakkin asked his long time side kick.

"If it means getting another shot at the princess, I'm there Doc." Shego said happily.

Doctor Drakken pulled out a large homemade radio made from a large boom box radio that he specially modified to get in touch with a mole he placed on the outside, "Come in Dr. James Timothy Possible." The mad genius barked into the microphone.

There was much static and interference and then the voice of Mr. Dr. P. came over the speakers, "What is your bidding my master?"

Drakken giggled with delight, "What is the current location of your daughter?" he asked

There was a long pause and then the static filled response of Mr. Dr. P. crackled over the boom box, "She is in her room having so much sex with Ron Stoppable."

Doctor Drakken did a double take at the boom box and then turned and yelled to the cell across from him, "Shego, the Ron guy you don't love is named Ron Moppable or something and he's having sex with Kim Possible right this very minute."

Shego looked through the bars and asked curiously, "Is he any good?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Drakken said.

Shego rolled her eyes and then thought of something, "Hey where did you get the boom box?"

Drakken smiled and reminded Shego, "Remember Strange Sam always wanting to take showers with me…I stabbed him with the shiv you made me for Christmas and suddenly he didn't need it anymore."

Shego smiled and nodded her head it was all starting to come clear to her now, "So what's the escape plan?" she asked.

"Doctor Possible how is the rocket coming that will blow a hole in the prison walls so that Shego and I can make our escape?" Drakken asked the disembodied voice of Mr. Dr. P.

The static crackled over the box again, "It will be ready on schedule by early May as you have decreed my master."

Shego smiled to herself and returned to her bunk, _"Then I will personally kill Kim Possible and ride this Ron guy like a Harley on a rough rode before I kill him too."_ She thought wickedly to herself.

* * *

Kim shook Ron awake, "Ron…stop snoring, you're going to wake up mom and dad."

Ron opened his eyes and nodded and rolled over drifted off back asleep, Kim listened to the rhythmic sound of his breathing, _"You are not going to Israel…I'm just not going to let this happen. Tina said you were obsessed with me…I just hope that's true."_ She thought before she looked at the clock radio on her nightstand.

_"Hmmmmmmm only an hour before the alarm goes off…Let's see if I can get my daily dose of Ronshine this morning."_ Kim became aroused at just the thought.

Kim startled Ron and began to kiss her way down his body, Ron stirred and woke up and looked down to see where Kim was heading.

_"This is new frontier for Kim, I'm glad I woke up…wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world."_ Ron thought happily.

Kim looked up at Ron and seen him smiling at her, she lifted her eyebrows and continued her journey down his body.

_"I wonder if she's really…Ohhhhhh yea…she is."_ Ron thought as his head rolled back and his eyes closed.

"Ohhhhhh yeaaaaaa…booyahhhhhh" He moaned just before feeling something ice cold and wet hitting his body.

Ron jerked straight up in bed and Kim squealed, Ron turned towards the door and saw Mrs. Dr. P. was standing there holding a large red bucket.

She pointed at Ron and said, "You get dressed and get out."

Then she pointed at Kim, "You get dressed, we're going to have a talk."

Kim covered herself quickly in a sheet and Ron had to use the pillow that he was laying on to cover himself.

Kim looked at Ron and said sadly, "I am soooooo dead."

Ron sat up and gave her a reassuring hug, "It could have been worse." He said smiling.

"How?" Kim asked

Ron smiled real big and whispered, "You could have had a mouth full."

Kim blushed and hit him with a pillow as he started to get dressed, "Yea…that would have been bad." She said as she started to giggle.

Ron quickly dressed and shivered, "Ohhhhhh that water was cold."

Ron kissed Kim goodbye and said, "I'll be back in a few to pick you up for school."

Kim nodded and said wearily, "Ok"

Ron left the bedroom and found Mrs. Dr. P. just outside the door, "Sorry" He said as he started to go around her to go down the stairs and outside.

"Your turn's coming soon Ronald." She said angrily.

Ron flinched, _"Uh Oh"_ he thought as he went outside.

Ron drove up the hill and back to his house, he heard the Ronnunicator going off in the glove compartment.

He leaned over and retrieved the device, "Yea Wade…Isn't it a bit early for you?" He asked cautiously.

Wade smiled and gave him a thumbs up, "Been up all night trying to reach you…Started getting some weird EMF signals coming out of Middleton last night, tried to contact you…You've been leaving the Ronnunicator in the car." Wade said sounding slightly hurt.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck, clearly not in the mood for Wade's feelings at the moment, "So what's this have to do with anything?" he asked coldly.

"Well I did some thermal imaging of Kim's house and discover you and Kim going at it…Excellent four hours of entertainment there…" Wade said appreciatively.

"Wade are you going anywhere with this?" Ron asked becoming annoyed.

Wade held up his hands and said defensively and said, "Yea…sure…I mean I didn't actually watch you guys for four hours…I took breaks…anyway…the EMF signal started again, it was coming from inside of Kim's house."

Ron grimaced and told his friend, "Wade…Please don't be spying on me and Kim, it would just kill her if she knew you was watching us."

Wade closed his eyes and nodded, "I'm sorry Ron…It was just the novelty of it all. Anyway what do you think the EMF signals could be?" he asked.

Ron shook his head and said, "I'm not sure Wade, Jim and Tim play with all sorts of wild things down there…I guess just keep an eye on it and let me know when the signals are coming out of Kim's house."

"Hey Ron, do you think you could start carrying the Ronnunicator with you?" Wade asked.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Not a chance Wade." He said as he ended the call pitched the Ronnunicator back iinto the glove compartment and closed the door on it.

Ron got out of the car and went inside the early morning sun was just starting to come up over Middleton for a sunny Monday morning, _"Wade spying on me and Kim, which is just creepy…EMF signals coming from her house? I don't know, if it's going to be high strangeness why does it always seem to involve the Possible family?"_ He thought as he walked upstairs to his room to get ready for the day.


	7. Chapter 7

Kim quickly cleaned up the mess in her room and then showered and changed for school and then went and found her mother for "The Talk". Mrs. Dr. P. was waiting for her in the kitchen; it was still early and Mr. Dr. P. and the twins hadn't made it down stairs yet.

"Kim, follow me into my office." She told her daughter as she walked to the back of the house.

They reached her office and Mrs. Dr. P. closed the door, "I pulled this out of the trash yesterday." She said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the little round plastic case containing the birth control pills.

The color drained out of Kim's face, "Mom…I"

"What are you playing at Kim?" Her mother asked angrily.

"I don't want Ron to leave?" Kim said starting to tear up.

"What has this got to do with Ron leaving?" She asked.

Kim became real quiet and said softly, "I thought that if…I could become pregnant that Ron wouldn't leave for Israel."

"Oh Kim" Her mother said in disbelief.

"I just don't want him to go to Israel." Kim whined.

"Well what happens if you get pregnant and he goes anyway?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked.

Kim just shrugged her shoulders. Her mother paced the room a little bit more, "Another thing you have to work on is being discrete I had to chase Tim and Jim away from the door last night…Want to know the first question Tim asks me?"

Kim looked horrified and asked, "No…I…We don't make that much noise do we?"

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "Honey the whole neighborhood hears you, it's a miracle your dad didn't go up stairs and kill Ron…He's been in such a world of his own these days." She said wearily.

She crossed her arms and continued to chew Kim out, "So anyway Tim's first question to me is "Mom why does Kim want to be f'd like a dog?"

Kim really looked horrified now and she put her hands on top of head, "Oh My God."

"Oh yea, the whole house heard it, and believe you me…I'm still trying to work out an answer they'll believe." Mrs. Dr. P. finished.

"I'm sorry mom." Kim said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. heard the faint sound of a car horn outside, "You stay here, I'm going to get Ron." She said as she left the room.

Mrs. Dr. P. strode to the front door and opened it and waived for Ron to come in. Ron turned the engine off and swallowed hard and got out of the car and walked up the stairs to the front door.

"Come with me Ronald." Mrs. Dr. P. said as they walked to the back of the house.

She stopped by the kitchen and leaned in and said, "Jim take the twins to school, I have some business to attend to."

She didn't bother to wait for an answer as she continued back towards the office. She opened the door and motioned for Ron to go inside, "Kim, tell Ron the truth, tell him exactly what you told me." She said angrily.

Kim looked at the ground and moved her right foot back and forth as though she were drawing a line on the ground with her foot, "Ron…I haven't been taking the pill…I don't want you to go to Israel…So I thought if I could…become pregnant…You'd stay with me." She said quietly.

Ron's blood froze, and then he cleared his throat, "Oh" he said shakily.

"I'm sorry Ron." Kim said starting to cry.

Ron walked over and hugged her and said in a shaky voice, "I just really thought you…liked me a lot."

Kim giggled a little and punched him softly in the chest, "I do…You know that."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "That's very nice and all but what are we going to do if Kim is pregnant?" She asked.

She walked in front of Ron, "You want to go to Israel."

Then she walked over to Kim, "You don't want to go to Israel."

"So what are you going to do Ron?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked.

Ron squirmed and then looked at Kim, nodded his head and gave his answer, "I'll stay here."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded her head and asked, "Ok so you're going to stay…give up your dream and stay. That's very commendable of you, now how are you going to support that baby?"

"I…I'd join the army." Ron said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "So you're going to drag my daughter and a baby all over the country. How's she going to go to college that way?" She asked angrily.

"I…I don't know." Ron said truthfully.

"Kim what are you going to do, you going to drop out of college and get a job so Ron doesn't work himself to an early grave trying to take care of the two of you?" She asked her daughter.

"Well…Yea…I could work." She said

Mrs. Dr. P. started to laugh, "Kim…you don't work now. What are you going to do that will earn enough money without an education?" She asked.

Kim shrugged, "I don't know." She answered.

"This is going to sound ugly but it has to be said, it is clear you two are in no way ready for children…If Kim becomes pregnant the only logical and sensible thing to do would be to terminate the pregnancy." Mrs. Dr. P. said.

"Mom…" Kim said in shock.

"NO" Ron said angrily as he stepped in front of Kim, almost as if he were afraid Mrs. Dr. P. was going to perform an abortion right then.

"Ronald…" Mrs. Dr. P. started to talk but was cut off by Ron before she could start.

"Now you wait just a minute, your telling me you want to KILL MY CHILD, BECAUSE KIM MIGHT NOT GET A COLLEGE EDUCATION…What gives you the right to say who lives and who dies, just because you're a DOCTOR of something….If that's the only major concern that you have is Kim not getting a college education, I'll take this baby and raise it myself." Ron was starting to sweat and he wiped his face and shook his head and continued on.

"Oh yea…Go ahead and laugh. Stupid ol' Ron, doesn't do well in school, he must be a retard if he thinks he can raise a baby…I will do whatever is necessary to provide for that child, I may not be the brightest bulb in the bin but I do have a few skills….ONE THING IS FOR DAMN WELL CERTAIN, NOBODY IS GOING TO KILL MY CHILD BECAUSE IT'S AN INCONVIENENCE." Ron screamed angrily.

Mrs. Dr. P. had her mouth wide open, she had never seen Ron angry before and it shocked her.

Ron turned to Kim, "Let's go Kim or we'll be late to school." He said as he turned and walked out of the office with Kim following behind him.

_"That didn't go over well…I didn't mean to make Ron mad…I just want to the two of them to think about what they were doing…I think I crossed a line with Ron that I shouldn't have crossed…I'll try to talk to him again when he's calmed down."_ She thought sadly as she left the office.

Mrs. Dr. P. poured herself a glass of orange juice; it was hard because of how her hands were shaking from the emotions that were let lose inside the office. She took a drink and then took a deep breath to help alleviate the stress, _"Kim, I hope you aren't pregnant…I think Ron would end up hating you and then you two would be fighting over children."_ She thought as she shook her head.

She walked outside to her car and took another deep breath_, "If Kim is pregnant, I know Jim and I will help out all we can…I'll have to talk to Ron, not only do I think I may have hurt his feelings but I'm afraid I lost his trust…One thing for certain, he'll go to the wall for his kids…Now how am I going to tell Tim, why Kim would ever like to be f'd like a dog."_ She thought wearily as she got in her car to go to work.

Ron didn't say a word on the trip to school, Kim kept trying to draw him into a conversation but Ron wasn't talking.

They pulled into the parking lot and turned off the engine then he turned and faced Kim, "You lied to me." He said flatly.

Kim shook her head and said softly, "I'm sorry Ron."

"You lied to me." He said it again.

Kim didn't say anything this time she just sat in the seat and stared at her feet.

Ron took a deep breath and said, "I am very angry with you but I'll get over it…I'll talk to you after school." He told her as he got out of his car and walked towards the school building.

Kim smiled sadly, _"He never could stay angry at me long."_ She thought to herself.

* * *

Ron stomped into class and slid into his desk in his first hour class, the wheels inside his mind already turning, _"Ok...What now…New plan…Kim's not definitely pregnant…Israel is still on…Must work up a "Plan B" just in case….Of all the people in the world, I never thought I'd hear her recommend abortion…Would she have made that recommendation if I wasn't Jewish…No…No it's because like everyone else…no one thinks I'm very smart….What if they are right…and you are wrong…It's happened before."_ Ron squirmed in his desk at that thought.

_"I went down this path once before…I believed Kim would never break up with me…and I ate ashes for it…Maybe….No…I know I'm not an idiot…Might act like one from time to time…I just…wish…I'd kept my fly zipped…Then none of this would have ever happened…but I didn't…Funny…You think you know someone…Mrs. Dr. P….How could you…you of all people."_ Ron thought sadly.

Class had started and Ron didn't even notice, but Monique noticed and shoved him. He turned and looked at her and she whispered, "You ok?"

Ron shook his head no and crawled back inside his mind, _"Ok…Plan B…I will join the Army…Marry Kim…Least that way we would have insurance and we wouldn't get stuck with a big medical bill…Live on base for a while till I can get a second job off base…Kim goes to school…Everyone's happy…Except Mrs. Dr. P."_ Ron thought as he shook his head in disbelief.

_"I need a Plan C, I raise the baby alone…Kim goes to school, Mrs. Dr. P. is happy…I'm not but then again who really cares if I'm happy or not…The baby would care…Ok…Work? Who'd watch the baby? Army? Who'd watch the baby? Kill people for money? Where did that idea come from?"_ Ron rubbed his eyes and shook his head, he was tired and he knew it.

First period ended and Ron breezed out the door and headed to his second class, he waived at Bonnie as he entered the room, _"Ok…Let's just stick to two plans for the moment…Would Kim really go through with an abortion? No…I don't think she would…Still how many times have I been wrong before about Kim…lots…She'd do just whatever her mom and dad wanted her to do…I may be planning for nothing…Have to keep Kim with me…What if her mom gives her something to cause a miscarriage or something…"_ Ron shivered at the thought.

Ron's mind went blank as he listened to the Social Studies lesson drone on and on, and then a thought that was truly to horrifying for him to contemplate crept into his head, _"If she does have an abortion…we're done."_ He thought coldly.

The thought sent Ron reeling, _"Stop it, it's not going to happen…Your letting your mind run away with itself again…quit it…I'll talk to Kim later and see what she thinks…Then I'll work on Plan B."_ He thought resolutely.

* * *

Kim sat in her first period class worrying about Ron, _"He really let go on mom…I've seen him mad…She hasn't…She got a surprise…Ron's never got one of her lectures before, she was leading up to her finish and Ron stomped her…I hope Ron doesn't let he imagination run away with itself."_ She thought sadly.

Kim turned the page in the book to act like she was reading along with the class and continued thinking, _"If I am pregnant…I know Ron will be there…That's comforting."_ She thought happily.

_"If Ron's as mad at mom like he was at me after the chip…Poor mom…I hope she works it out with Ron…Talking to Ron will be tough…Ron will now avoid her like the plague and when he does see her…It will be forced pleasantness and she will be kept at arms length…That'll really hurt mom."_ Kim thought sadly.

They continued through their school day lost in their own private thoughts, this is the one disadvantage to the couple of having no classes together, it meant that they didn't see each other and they couldn't talk quietly between classes.

Ron met Kim back at his car and gave her a big hug. Kim seemed relieved and asked, "Not mad at me anymore?"

Ron shook his head, "No…Just had a lot going on up here during the day." He said as he pointed at his head.

Kim giggled and said, "Yea me too."

"Well I might as well get this out of the way early." Ron said shaking his head.

Kim pulled in her head not quite knowing what to expect.

Ron looked out the side window and then back at Kim and asked her, "Would you go to the prom with me?"

Kim blinked, "Ron…the prom isn't for another couple of months." She told him.

Ron laughed and nodded, "If I remember right a new guy shows up a week before the dance….I figure with my luck this year there'll be some male photo model from another planet drop in and he'll have a really pimped out car and pregnant or no, some how you'd be going to the dance with him and not me…So I figured I better ask you out first." He explained to Kim.

Kim frowned and scrunched her nose and then she punched him in the arm, "You said I was stuck with you." She reminded him of what he told her after their fight on a hilltop outside Tri-County Penitentiary.

"Oh yea" Ron said happily.

"Oh yea" Kim said mocking him.

Ron started laughing and said, "So I guess that's a yes."

Kim started giggling, "Everything that happened this morning and your worried about the prom…you're a mess…yes…that means yes." She said as Ron started to tickle her.

"You still mad at mom." She asked nervously.

Ron lost his playfulness and told her, "Do you remember how mad I got about that chip you an Wade put in me…I'm about ten thousand more times mad than I was about that."

Ron started the car and backed out of the parking spot and headed for Kim's house, "Hey would you mind getting some cloths together and staying at my house a few days?" Ron asked.

"Why?" Kim replied.

"I'm afraid…your mom might have you take something…that would make you lose the baby…you know…if you are pregnant." Ron said quietly.

Kim closed her eyes and fought off the urge to lose her temper, she could see that this was really bothering Ron, "Ron…If I am pregnant…you know I won't do anything without you being ok with it." She said reassuringly.

Ron nodded and looked over at her as they pulled into the driveway and said, "I…I'd still like you to come over for a few days…Just until I get some things lined out.."

"What kind of things Ron?" Kim asked nervously.

"I'm looking at the army again…thinking about a few other things but I still brainstorming…just…tired." He told her sadly.

She closed her eyes and shook her head, "It's all my fault…I never should have done anything without being on those pills." She said sadly.

Ron shrugged and said with a smile, "Well…we had a lot of fun…that water was cold this morning."

Kim started laughing and said, "You should have seen the look on your face, when you saw mom standing there."

Ron covered his face and Kim kept laughing and said, "Let me get a few things packed and I'll be back out in a second."

Kim was chuckling to herself as she headed back inside the house, _"I'll stay a few days, give the bed a chance to dry out."_ She thought.

Kim pulled a little pink overnight suitcase out of the closet and packed up some cloths and other things she'd need for a stay away from home, _"He's got a lot on his mind…I hope he doesn't stay mad at mom for long…I'll call mom tonight and let her know what's going on…I never thought any of this would happen…He's prepared to stay here now but he isn't happy about it."_ She thought sadly.

* * *

Ron sat in the car waiting for Kim and trying to come up with "Plan C" and then it hit him out of the blue. He closed his eyes and shook his head, there was really on one way that Ron could take care of a baby and earn a living.

He heaved a huge sigh, _"I will become an actuary and take over the family business."_ Ron thought to himself sadly.

_"I'm no good with numbers and I hate the business…It would make dad happy though…I'll talk with mom about it tonight…Mrs. Dr. P. is no longer anyone to turn to for advice…you think you know somebody…"_ His thoughts wee interrupted as Kim threw her bags in the back seat.

Ron looked at her as she pushed a large bag in through the small door, "You have everything?" He asked.

Kim stopped a moment and then blushed, "I forgot Panderoo." She said as she ran back inside.

Ron chuckled and thought to himself, "Possessed toy"

Ron helped Kim move in and then he had to leave for work, he wrote his mother a quick note letting her know he'd talk with her tonight and please don't throw Kim out.

* * *

Kim watched Ron back out of the driveway head to work, _"I wonder if that's what I'll have to look forward to if I have a baby…Ron leaving everyday to go to a job he hates to earn a living."_ The thought made her tired, so she laid down on Ron's bed to wait for her mother to come home so she could talk to her.

Sleep came easily for Kim; and when she woke up as the sun was going down. She checked the time it was after five. She looked out the window and seen her mom's car in the driveway, so she decided to try and call her on the cell phone.

She called her house and waited for him mom to answer, she heard the voice of her mother answer the phone, "Hey mom…how's it going?" Kim asked.

"You ok?" Her mother asked.

Kim nodded her head and told her mom over the phone, "Yea…I'm going to stay with Ron and his family a few days…Mostly to humor Ron…He's scared you're going to try and make me take something to get rid of the pregnancy."

"Awwww Honey…I was only trying to get you two to think about what you were doing…He does have quite a temper." Her mom said sadly.

"Yea now he's really mad at you…I figure I'll stay over here until my bed dries out…Someone dumped water on it this morning." Kim said as she chuckled at the memory.

Kim heard her mom let out a deep sigh and say, "Well…I had to get your attention somehow? I…I didn't think about he'd react…I'll…I'll try to talk with him later…Once he calms down."

Kim frowned and bit her lower lip, "I'd make it as soon as you can, he has a way of letting his imagination run away with itself." She told her.

"Ok…I will…I never seen him that angry before." She heard her mom say sadly.

"You pushed all the right buttons mom…He always dreams about having a family one day…and that terminate the pregnancy line…he flipped." Kim said wiping a tear from her eye.

There was a long silence and then Mrs. Dr. P. asked her daughter, "So when is your next period due?"

"Ummm Next week…I'm pretty sure, I have a little "p" on a calendar in my room." She told her.

"Well if you aren't and I hope you aren't…You take those pills from now on." Mrs. Dr. P. said clearly wore out from the days activities.

Kim chuckled and said sadly, "If I'm not pregnant…I don't think Ron will touch me again."

"Well…You have to admit one thing is pretty cute about the whole thing." Kim's mother said trying to sound amused.

"What's that?" Kim asked with a smile.

"It's kind of cute that you're in Ron Stoppable protective custody." Her mom told her.

"Yea…I'll talk with you later, mom." she told her as she ended the call.

* * *

Ron put in an evening's work at Smarty Mart, Tina could tell there was something wrong but Ron wasn't talking so the night passed by slowly for them.

Once the shift was over Ron drove straight home and found his mother waiting for him in the living room.

Ron walked in quickly and sat down, "Mom…I need to talk to you." He said.

His mother held up a hand and said, "In Hebrew…What I am likely to say, I don't want understood by Kim."

Ron nodded, he didn't see Kim around but he figured it was because things were about to get ugly.

Ron cleared his throat and started the conversation out in his broken Hebrew, "Mother…I have large troubles…ummmm…Kim…maybe with child."

His mother gave him a surprised look and said, "You do have big troubles…What makes you believe this?" she asked.

Ron closed his eyes and tried to get his thoughts together, "Kim say…she takes…pool…no…pill…she not takes pill…I did not know…I am sorry mother." Ron said shaking his head.

Ron's mom let out a deep breath and looked towards the stairs and shook her head, "So why is she here?" she asked.

Ron shifted his weight on the couch and explained as best he could to his mother in Hebrew, "Her mother…wants to take…ummm…die baby and I say no…I…I do not want to…lose baby…Kim may not be with child….if she is…I want baby…I tell her I take baby myself if I have to." Ron said starting to get angry at the memory.

"So tell me what you do you plan?" His mother asked.

Ron nodded his head, "If…Kim not with child…I go to Israel as planned…If Kim is with child I stay here and join army…marry Kim…If I have baby myself…I…I follow father in business." Ron told her sadly.

Ron's mother nodded sadly, "I think your father would like the last plan…I do not think you would like that plan."

Ron shook his head, "No" he told her.

There was a long silence, "Your father and I will help you as much as we can afford…I will support what ever decision you decide…but if Kim is not with child…You must send her away…She brings you nothing but trouble." She informed him.

Ron licked his lips and nodded, "I could try…but my heart gets in way." He told her.

Ron's mother nodded, "So what do you think is the most likely plan if she is with child?" she asked.

Ron took a deep breath, "My heart would like second plan but my head tells me…it will be third plan and I have baby alone." He said sadly.

His mother lifted her eyebrows in surprise, "Why you think this?"

Ron started to talk and then stopped, "Kim mother wants her to go school…she do not care about baby." He said sadly wiping away a tear.

Ron's mother sat next to him and put an arm around him, "No more funny stuff for you…you sleep in here tonight." She said.

Ron laughed and nodded, "I am sorry mother…I do not want to be bad son…I do not want to make you sad." He said as he started to cry.

She gave Ron a big hug, "You are not bad son…You make me very proud."

Ron smiled and nodded and wiped at his eyes, "I get ready for bed now…Must not let Kim see sad Ron." He said with a chuckle.

His mother watched him go up the steps, _"I hope she isn't pregnant…He's worked so hard on going to Israel…His Hebrew still needs work, but it's getting there."_ She thought to herself.


	8. Chapter 8

Ron walked into his room to get a few things and to say "Hi" to Kim before he went back downstairs to go to sleep. Kim was already in bed, dressed in pajamas as opposed to being naked. This made Ron feel much better.

"Hey KP…Just coming in to check on you and get a few things…Mom wants me to sleep downstairs." Ron said.

Kim smiled sadly, "Yea she told me how the sleeping arrangements would be…I see you really have been working hard on going to Israel…I've been looking through your stuff on the desk." She told him.

Ron nodded and looked at a few of the booklets and said, "Yea…Lot of work for nothing I guess." He said absently.

Kim flinched, and Ron looked around the room and noticed a lack of Rufus, "Kim…Where's Rufus?" Ron asked.

Kim covered her mouth and said, "Oh I almost forgot…He was…well…eyeing me when I was changing so I put him in a shoe box and put him in the closet."

Ron ran to the closet and started looking around and then saw a box moving and a muffled angry voice from inside, "There you are little buddy." Ron said as he picked up his little friend.

Rufus was not in a little buddy mood and he let Ron know about it, then he leaned over Ron's shoulder and shook his little fist at Kim.

Ron laughed and said playfully, "That's what you get for trying to peek."

He walked over to the door and sat Rufus outside, "Head downstairs buddy, I'll be down in a few minutes." He told him.

Kim had the covers pulled up to eye level when Ron came back into the room, "I was going to let him out….but I forgot." She said quietly.

"You probably have a lot on your mind now….I know I sure do." Ron said sadly.

Kim nodded and told him, "I talked to mom tonight…She wants to talk to you."

Ron nodded his head, _"Yea probably to get me to see reason on the abortion."_ He thought to himself.

"I think she pretty much made her point this morning." Ron said glumly.

Kim closed her eyes and dropped her head, "Ron…It's not what you think." She tried to explain.

"I'm pretty tired Kim, it's been a long day…I just have to get a few things and then I'm off to bed…Worry about everything tomorrow." He said as he got up from the bed and kissed her forehead and then walked out of the room.

Kim's eyes began to tear as she stared at the ceiling_, "This is not going as planned, he's resigned himself to staying here…I ...I think he's starting to resent me…He hates my mom."_ She thought sadly to herself.

* * *

A week went by and Kim had returned to living at her house, she bought a home pregnancy test and it turned up negative. That made Kim feel a little better, she could see the strain on Ron as the days went by.

He was still picking her up and dropping her off after school. He didn't talk a whole lot, he still hadn't got around to talking to Mrs. Dr. P. and she hadn't seen him smile for days.

Kim told him about the home test and he just nodded, she didn't think he understood the results or that he wasn't listening to her.

"Ron did you hear what I said?" Kim asked trying not to sound tweaked.

Ron nodded and stared straight ahead at the school, "That's great KP."

"Ron what's wrong…You never talk anymore." Kim asked desperately.

Ron winced and told her, "I've been trying to find a place for us to live in case you are pregnant…I can only find affordable housing in Lowerton, but no one will rent to us because of our ages."

Kim was shocked, she had no idea what Ron had been up to the past week, "Oh…Well the test was negative." She said trying to sound pleasant.

"Yea but they're not the most reliable things in the world." Ron said as he scratched the back of his head.

Kim swallowed hard and then Ron continued, "I'll be back to my old self once; we're sure about what's happening. I just don't want to mess anything up." He said sadly.

Kim grasped his arm and put her chin on his shoulder, "I'm the only one that's messed things up." She said sadly.

Ron tilted his head to the side, "That's not true Kim." He told her softly.

"It is true…I shouldn't have been selfish…I…should have let you go to Israel and not interfered. I never wanted any of this to happen and I didn't think of anything other than you were leaving." She said sadly.

Ron gave her a big hug and a kiss and said, "Let's go inside before we're late."

* * *

Monique had finally cornered Ron at lunch, "What is your problem, you haven't talked to me since before last week."

"Sorry Monique…I've had a lot on my mind lately." Ron told her.

Monique lifted an eyebrow suspiciously and said, "I smell Kim trouble."

"YES, YES IT'S KIM TROUBLE, DOES THAT MAKE YOU HAPPY NOW." Ron yelled at her.

"Sorry…ummm…want to talk about it?" She asked.

"No" Ron told her as he got up and walked away.

Ron shook his head as he put the tray up and walked back to his class, _"No sense telling Monique anything, then half the school finds out and it would be embarrassing for Kim…especially if it's not true."_ He thought angrily to himself.

Ron plopped down in his seat in his class, _"I feel very tired and I feel very old."_ Ron thought sadly.

Then Ron rubbed the temples of his head, he could feel a head ache coming on, _"Why am I thinking this is the end of the world? I might be a father…that's a pretty cool thing…I hope it's a girl…Boy would be cool too…I'd rather have a girl first I think."_ Ron began to relax and started to imagine playing with his child.

"_I'd like for her to take after her mother, don't want any big ugly ears that kids would make fun of….I think mom would enjoy being a grandma…even though the baby would have an aunt a few months older than them." _Ron smiled at the thought of seeing his parents as grandparents.

Then Ron's thoughts started to go dark again, _"Maybe Mrs. Dr. P. would come around and accept the baby…I'll have to make sure Kim goes to school…Doesn't matter if she accepts the baby or not she'd be daddies little girl anyway…and no one is going to take her away from me."_ Ron thought happily.

* * *

The school day ended and Ron met up with Kim at the car, she could see he looked visibly better, "You look happy today, what happened." She asked.

"Well I got my SAT results back and they labeled me too stupid to live…other than that I finally decided to quit brooding over the baby issue and if your pregnant to sit back and enjoy being a father." Ron said happily.

Kim smiled and said, "Enjoy being a father, huh?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea…How did your SAT go?" he asked.

"I got a 1400." Kim said proudly.

Ron nodded, "Of course you did…I want a girl." He told Kim.

Kim nodded and said, "I'll keep that in mind…I don't think I'm pregnant Ron."

"Well if you are…I want a girl first." He told her as he started the car and backed out of the parking spot and headed for Kim's house.

"I don't think I'm pregnant Ron." Kim said again.

Ron nodded, "Well if you aren't…I want you to help me get ready to leave…I need to get my business and possessions squared away…Shouldn't take too long." He told her.

Kim sighed, "I'll help you…I…I never realized how much work you've done to get to go…I'll…I'll miss you." She told him sadly.

Ron nodded his head and said, "I'll find ways to stay in touch as much as I can…I wish you could go with me."

Kim nodded her head, "It sounds like it could be a great adventure, I'm just not ready to leave home yet." She said wistfully.

Ron dropped Kim off and hugged her goodbye, "I love you Kim…I'll see you in the morning." He told her.

"I love you too Ron." Kim said as she returned the kiss.

Ron backed out of the driveway and left for work at Smarty Mart, _"Well Kim doesn't think she's pregnant…I guess she'd know best…I guess I'll relax and start working on going to Israel again."_ He thought to himself.

He could hear the faint tone of the Ronnunicator coming from the glove compartment, Ron reached over and hit the receive button, "Hey Wade." Ron said.

"Hey…I picked up more of those weird EMF readings, this time they centered around the rocket base." Wade said breathlessly.

Ron said nothing for a time and then said to Wade, "Did they center around Mr. Dr. P.?"

"They didn't last long enough to get a fix." He told Ron.

Ron pulled into the parking lot of Smarty Mart and parked his car, "Wade…Humor me…I have a weird request…Monitor Tri-County Penitentiary for those EMF signals." Ron said as he scratched the back of his head.

"You think it's Drakken?" Wade asked.

"I'm not sure…Just a suspicion." He explained to Wade.

Wade nodded, "Have you told Kim yet about the EMF signals?" he asked.

Ron shook his head and said, "No…Not enough to talk about right now." He told Wade.

Ron turned the Ronnunicator off and put the device back in his glove compartment, _"Mr. Dr. P. went through the mind tap…He starts acting all weird…EMF signals coming out of Kim's house…Now the Rocket base…It has to be Drakken."_ Ron thought as he got out of the car.

"_I should probably tell Kim…She's a Drakken expert…I wouldn't mind getting my hands on Drakken one last time…He stole my 99 Million…If I had that money now…The abortion question never would have been raised."_ Ron swiped his time card through the scanner hard.

Ron was becoming angry again, _"99 Million dollars…I had 99 Million dollars and he stole it…and what did I get out of it…a motorcycle…I probably paid for the bike…I think if I see Drakken again…I think…I will kill him."_ Ron stopped in his tracks, suddenly killing wasn't starting to sound like a bad thing and it was starting to un-nerve him.

"_Ok…We've been under a lot of stress her lately…Killing is wrong…Killing Drakken…would be wrong…it would be revenge…99 million dollars…I deserve revenge…I should kill him…grab him by the throat and squeeze until his eye start to bulge out and his…"_ Ron's thoughts were broken by Tina saying hello to him.

Ron was startled, "Oh…Hi Tina…Sorry I was…thinking about something." Ron said nervously.

Tina looked at him uneasily, "I'll say you were thinking about something…Your eyes looked like they were glowing blue." She said uneasily.

Ron was stunned, "Blue?" he asked.

Tina nodded, "Blue…and you were grinning but it wasn't your…normal grin…It was…evil." She told him.

"Oh" Ron said nervously.

Tina shrugged, "You're looking better today…now that your eyes don't glow and you haven't got the evil grin that is." She said trying to change the subject.

"Yea…yea…I feel better this week than I did last week." Ron said happily.

"So you want to talk about what was going on last week?" Tina asked.

Ron frowned and said quietly, "Me and Kim went through a pregnancy scare…She wasn't taking her birth control pills…Kim doesn't believe she's pregnant…So I'm not nearly as stressed." Ron told her quietly.

Tina let out a deep breath and said, "You avoided that problem…You going to keep dating Kim or are you going to break up with her?"

Ron shook his head, "No…I wasn't that angry with her…I was starting to enjoy the thought of being a father." He told her.

"Ahhhhhhhhh the domestic side of Ron Stoppable." Tina teased.

"Yea…half of me hopes that she isn't so I can go to Israel and the other half…wants to be a father…I can't explain it." He said with a far away look in his eye.

Tina nodded, "Kim doesn't think she's pregnant then?" She asked.

"No" Ron said evenly.

Tina nodded and reminded Ron, "Every time you unzip those pants with a girl Ron you take that chance…I'm on the pill but suppose I wasn't and you had two to worry about."

Ron blinked and said nervously, "Oh…yea…I never thought about that…That would have been…a big problem."

Tina laughed and covered her mouth, "Sorry Ron, it was just the look on your face…Raw Terror."

Ron chuckled, "Yea…Kim would have killed me…You probably would have killed me…probably together." He said shaking his head.

"Well if Kim isn't pregnant, you got lucky and you learned a lesson." She told him.

Ron looked down and nodded his head and said, "Yea"

* * *

Ron got off work and he decided to wonder the baby isles, _"They have some really neat baby stuff here…If Kim was pregnant, I could start buying up all kinds of stuff with my Smarty Mart discount card."_ Ron thought happily to himself.

Then Ron winced as another thought crossed into his head, _"I couldn't tell her that it came from Smarty Mart…She hates this place…I'll have to say it was from Baby Boutique."_ Ron thought as he shook his head.

Then he spotted it, it wan an Eeyore the Donkey toy that played baby music. Ron closed his eyes and he could see himself playing with the baby with the toy, _"Yea…I'll buy this one…If Kim isn't pregnant…Mom can still use it."_ He thought wistfully.

Ron stood in the checkout line thinking to himself about the toy_, "Manic depressive donkey…Yea, I think that fits me pretty well these days."_ He smiled unconsciously at the thought.

Ron drove home taking his time, the night wasn't too cold and he just wanted to cruise and listen to the music on the radio, it had been a long two weeks and Ron was tired of worrying and feeling down.

He finally drove down the road that led to his subdivision, he made the right hand turn that took him past Kim's house, he waived as he went by. He knew that Kim didn't see it but he was happy to do it all the same.

He pulled into his driveway and shut the engine off, _"Time for an oil change this…"_ His thoughts trailed off as he saw Mrs. Dr. P. walk out of the garage.

"_She gave Kim something to get rid of the baby and she's here to try and make me feel…good about it…No…Don't get carried away…Be cool see what she wants first."_ He thought nervously to himself.

Ron got out of the car slowly, "Hello" he said cautiously.

Mrs. Dr. P. pressed her lips together and said, "Hello Ron…I figured…I'd come talk to you since you haven't been coming by the house much lately."

Ron took a deep breath and looked away and nodded, "I've been busy…trying to get things going…and stuff."

Mrs. Dr. P. chuckled and said, "Yes…I've heard, you've drawn up budgets and everything…Kim said your math is wrong but it's in the ball park."

Ron frowned and swallowed hard, "Yea…well…I…I never was much good with numbers." He said sadly.

"Ron about last week…I never meant to hurt your feelings or make you mad…I just wanted you two to think about what you were doing." Mrs. Dr. P. said.

Ron nodded, "Oh…ok" he said as he continued to nod his head.

Mrs. Dr. P. was clearly nervous and Ron wasn't giving her much help on what he was thinking, "Kim started her period tonight…a few days early...So we don't have to worry about a baby now." She told him.

Ron winced and nodded, "Yea…I guess that's a good thing." He said as he looked away and accidentally squeezed the Smarty Mart bag too hard and the Eeyore toy started to play the comforting baby music.

Now Ron was clearly embarrassed and he looked away, "I…uh…bought this in case Kim was pregnant…Silly I guess, but I was going to start buying baby stuff now…I was going to tell her it came from Baby Boutique…She hates Smarty Mart…retail snob…anyway…I guess I'll give this to mom now for her baby." Ron said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. smiled, "Oh that's adorable…Kim wouldn't of minded where it came from." She said.

Ron took a deep breath, "Yea well…I guess…I guess." He said evenly.

"Ron…I never meant to say that you guys should abort the baby…" Mrs. Dr. P. was quickly interrupted by Ron.

"I believe it was the only logical and sensible thing to do." Ron said quietly.

Mrs. Dr. P. closed her eyes and let out a breath, "I guess I didn't really choose my words well." She said sadly.

Ron chuckled and shook his head, "No…you chose them pretty well, I hear them ringing in my head every single day since then…I know you were upset…but that is the last thing I ever thought I'd hear you say." Ron said sadly.

"I didn't know you were going to get angry…I…think next time I will choose my words a little more carefully." Mrs. Dr. P. said as she pulled her jacket around her to keep warm.

Ron licked his lips and shook his head and said, "You know…I…I've spent most of my life being knocked down…I never had any choice but to get back up…I've had people help me get back up from time to time…You guys when my parents were fighting when I was little, Kim when I'd get clobbered by Shego or some other freak, Lacey when Kim dumped me…Kim after Lacey died and I took those stupid pills…Yori…"

Ron stopped and took a breath and continued, "One thing never changed…I never gave up…I never gave up hope…I always hoped Kim would love me…Kids fantasy really…Marriage, kids…Rufus…I would always fantasize it with Kim…I can remember that as far back as seven years old…Kim and I would play house…She'd have me cleaning dishes and vacuuming carpets and I was all too eager to do it…Helped live out the dream."

Ron stopped and wiped away a tear, "Then I got a break at the prom last year, I got to dance with Kim and kiss her…Those old dreams started to come back and then Kim knocks me down…I get up and I go on…Then I get another chance later…I didn't get my hopes up that time…So when I got knocked down again…I was expecting it…Not much pain that time, but this time…I…I was starting to think we caught it…Finally…everything felt right…I…I don't know…I guess the last person I ever thought was going to knock me down was you." Ron said as he shook his head.

Mrs. Dr. P. wiped away a tear of her own, "I…don't know what to say Ron…I just know that a baby right now for you two would have been hard because your both so young." She said.

"Your probably right...I would have tried everything that I could think of to make it work…I do know one thing…I would never let anything happen to that baby…No...I would have taken the baby myself if I had to…" Ron trailed off because he could feel himself becoming angry.

Ron smiled and looked towards his house, "One thing good came out of this…My parents were going to back whatever I did…I wasn't really expecting it, but I'm glad that they would have been there for me…I was going to follow my dad in the business so I could take care of the baby and train with my father." Ron said with a sad smile.

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded her head and said, "Ron…I don't have any doubt that you'd make a good father."

Ron smiled and said, "I can live with good…I'm probably not smart enough to be a great father…but I'll take good."

"You know you're pretty hard on yourself." Mrs. Dr. P. told him.

Ron nodded and said sadly, "So…so many people believe…that I'm an idiot…Sometimes…I have to fight hard to not believe it myself. On good thing about Israel…No one will know me there…I'll have to prove I'm an idiot first."

Mrs. Dr. P. smiled, "So are you and Kim still going to see each other?"

Ron shrugged and said, "As far as I know…You have to remember Kim's the one that does the dumping…You might want to ask her."

Mrs. Dr. P. shrugged and said, "She thinks you're done with her now."

Ron winced and shook his head, "No...I've known her too long to do that to her…Tell her I'll be over in the morning, and that I still love her." He said as he looked down at the little Eeyore toy.

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded and started to leave, then she turned around to Ron and said, "Ron…Just so you know…I never thought you were an idiot, and I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to the baby either."

Ron smiled and said, "That's good to hear because I would have fought to the death for that baby."

Ron watched her walk down the street, _"I wonder if she would have come up here if Kim would have been pregnant?"_ Ron wondered to himself.

"_Kim did say that she wanted to talk to me last week…I guess she would have…I don't know…Time to go say "Hi" to Rufus and head to bed."_ He thought to himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Ron walked in the door and saw his mother standing there waiting for him, "So did you and Kim's mom make up?" she asked.

Ron shrugged and said quietly, "More or less…yea…I guess."

"I had a talk with her…It sounds like you really lost your temper." She said with a smile.

Ron shuffled his feet and shrugged, "I…she said something that I didn't like." He said softly.

His mother chuckled and nodded her head, "You come by your temper honestly…It's from my side…You must learn to control it or it will control you." She said as she poked Ron in the chest to emphasis her point.

Ron nodded and said quietly, "Yea"

Ron's mother smiled, "I'm sure you're relieved that Kim isn't pregnant." She said happily.

"I know it doesn't make any sense…I was starting to look forward to the baby…I don't know." He said as he handed the baby toy to his mother.

His mother looked at the Eeyore toy and told him, "There will plenty of time for children when your older…I just hope you find a nice Jewish girl over there and settle down."

Ron smiled and nodded as he headed up the stairs_, "Always the nice Jewish girl…Never the psycho red head."_ Ron thought as he smiled to himself.

Ron entered his room and patted Rufus on the head, Rufus was unhappy and let Ron know it. Ron didn't seem to notice, he went took off his cloths and sat on his bed.

"_I haven't meditated in so long…I think I'll see if Yori is ok."_ Ron thought as he crossed his legs and began to contemplate his belly button.

Ron found himself on that beach with the white sand and palm trees; he was seated in the familiar beach chair with a drink with an umbrella in it.

Ron looked up saw Yori and he smiled, "I hope you are well." He said to her.

Yori bowed and smiled, "Stoppable San…I had began to think you had forgotten me…I am well…I am very tired it is near the end of the school year here." She told him.

Ron smiled at her, "You think I'd ever forget you…I've been busy…school year here will end soon and then…" Ron paused to collect his thoughts.

Yori smiled and finished for him, "You will start a great journey…The journey will be a difficult one Stoppable San, remember your teachings at Yamanouchi and you may survive it." She told him.

Ron took a deep breath and Yori was gone, the vision replaced with the endless sand dunes of a desert, then a cruise ship, mountains, Ned's wedding, a large man with a pony tail.

Ron's eyes popped open, he looked at the clock radio and it was well after 12:00am, _"I wish those visions would make sense."_ He thought to himself as he lay down to go to sleep.

* * *

Ron pulled up in front of Kim's house, she came through the door. She looked at him nervously and Ron got out of the car walked to her and gave her a big hug and a kiss, "You look great…Let's go to school." He told her. 

Kim smiled and took her seat next to Ron, "I…I was afraid you were going to…" She started to say

"Duh' you don't think I'm goofy enough to dump the most bon-digity girlfriend in the whole universe, do you?" Ron asked

Kim shook her head shyly and said, "No…I just…thought…"

"Stop it…Let's go to school." Ron said happily.

Kim smiled and looked out the window as Ron backed out the driveway and headed for school. She felt a lot more at ease, they survived their first big crises and she learned a lot more about Ron in the process.

"Ron…Mom gave me your message…thanks." She said happily.

Ron grinned and said, "Like I said you're stuck with me."

She sighed and took hold of his arm and leaned against it, "Yea"

"I forgot to tell you…Wade's been picking up some weird EMF readings." Ron told her.

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Oh really…Does he know where they're coming from?" She asked.

Ron tilted his head, "He noticed them the first time when we were at your house…last time…before the water wake up call…and then the other day at your dad's work." He told her.

Kim looked perplexed and she started thinking out loud, "I don't think dad's been working on anything at home and Mom doesn't deal with that sort of stuff…The tweebs…wouldn't be at the Rocket plant…"

Ron nodded and said, "I'm having him monitor Tri-County Correctional facility…I'm just playing a hunch."

Kim nodded and said, "Good hunch….That's what I would have done."

"I had a good teacher." Ron said smiling.

Kim gave him an elbow, "If it is Drakken…What would he be doing playing with EMF fields?" Kim asked.

"Probably the same thing he always wants…escape rule the world, steal more money from me." Ron thought as his temper started to heat up again.

"Steal money from you?" Kim laughed.

Ron looked at her and said angrily, "Do you think your mother would have raised such a fuss about you maybe being pregnant if I still had that 99 million?"

Kim shook her head and said, "That's a good point, I forgot about that naco money."

"I never thought about it much either, it didn't seem to matter back then because you was still my buddy…now…I should have killed Drakken for that." Ron said angrily.

"Ron we don't ….kill people." Kim reminded him nervously.

Ron pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the school and shut the engine off, "Kim…We…go through a pattern with them…We fight them, they get away, or they go to jail, and then they escape or they come back somehow and we fight them again and again." Ron said as his temper was starting to flare.

"Ron…We don't even know if…" Kim was cut off as Ron continued.

"HOW LONG KIM, how long before they figure out what I've figured out…In the end there can be only one solution….US OR THEM, AND I PREFER US." Ron said angrily.

"Ron, we're about helping people." Kim reminded him.

Ron started to laugh and said, "What do we get for it, no thank you letters, no keys to the city….no 99 million dollars, we get the occasional ride…The last time we met those two we were slow and clumsy and if Global Justice hadn't of been there we would have been mopped up off the floor after they took the nuke plant."

Kim tried to speak but Ron continued, "Kim you have to see where this is going, Shego cut thru your battle suit last year, the suit healed it's self but I can still see the faint scars on your arm…Their starting to get it…The only way for them to win is to get rid of us." Ron said trying to explain his thoughts to Kim.

Kim shook her head, "That's not true…I mean…I was held prisoner by them last summer when you wouldn't go on that mission with me."

Ron looked at her and reminded her, "They hung you on a wall and left you to die…I came and got you and you hadn't eaten in two days."

Kim looked around the car, "Well what should we do then…Not go after them?" she asked.

Ron shook his head and frowned, "If this goes the way I think it will….I'm going to do everything I can to kill Drakken and if I were you I'd approach Shego the same way…It would kill me to have to watch you be buried Kim." Ron said as he got out of the car to go into school.

Kim sat in the car and thought uneasily, _"He is so prone to drama."_

Kim sat in her first period class, _"I…I think Ron might be right, at the Bueno Nacho world headquarters me and Shego really went at it, I kicked her into the debris of the collapsing antenna array and it set off the diesel tanks that they were using in case of a power outage."_ Kim remembered the events of a year ago.

"_She survived the explosion…Can Shego be killed? I know I can be killed."_ She thought as she pulled up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal the light scars from that night.

"_Slow and clumsy…Ron's became very strong and fast from Yamanouchi…I don't think I've lost anything…I'm still as fast as I ever was…after all…I'm not old"_ She reasoned with herself.

Kim twirled her pen in her right hand and ran down what was going on at home, _"Dad has been acting weird, mom's been running the show more these days…I know she's noticed, the tweebs have pretty much dedicated themselves to ruining my life."_

Kim shifted nervously in her seat, _"If Ron's right…Drakken is messing with my dad again…How soon before he goes after mom or the twins…or me."_ She thought to herself.

Kim could see no alternative to what Ron said, _"Drakken must be killed…I…I could never do it though…Ron will have to…He's supposed to be this big time assassin…He will have to do it…I wonder if he can…He is awful dark these days…I'm afraid he could do it."_ Kim thought with a shudder.

"_If he does it…My boyfriend will be a killer, my best friend since child hood will be a killer…Is…Is this something…I can live with…or will my feelings for him change?_ She thought nervously to herself.

Kim's lower lip quivered as the bell rang, _"The little boy that used to hide behind me to keep from getting beat up….Is going to become a killer…I…I don't know if I can deal with that."_ She thought sadly as she rose from her desk to go to her next class.

Ron sat in his first hour class privately stewing about what needed to be done, _"If I go to Israel and Drakken and Shego are still living, if they broke out Kim couldn't handle them alone…She tried before and became a piece of artwork in a cell."_

"_If this doesn't involve them two then I need to find someone that can help Kim in case these two ever do escape from prison."_ Ron thought.

Ron squinted_, "Who could I find to help Kim out while I'm…"_Ron's thoughts were distracted as Monique punched him in the arm.

He turned to face Monique, "You didn't have to yell at me yesterday." She whispered urgently to Ron.

Ron smiled a great big toothy grin, "Monique…I'm so sorry about yesterday…I had issues going on…I'll talk to you at lunch." Ron said happily.

Monique was taken aback by the sudden turn in Ron's mood, "Uh…well…ok…that is assuming I want to eat lunch with you…ok." She said cautiously.

Ron kept the grin as he turned back to his school work, _"Oh this is going to be too good, Monique and Kim fighting crime and going out on missions…We'll they will be two best dressed crime fighters in the game."_ He thought happily.

* * *

"You want me to what!" Monique said surprised. 

Ron twisted around in his seat in the cafeteria and looked over at Rufus who had stopped eating in mid bite to watch Monique's reaction, "Yea…it makes sense…You've been friends with Kim the last few years…Go out save the world once or twice a month…Do a little bonding." Ron said struggling for reasons on why Monique would want to help.

Monique put her hands over her face and begged, "Please tell me you didn't just ask me to be Kim's new partner."

"Monique at the end of last summer you were all gung ho to try it." Ron reminded her.

Monique's eyes bugged out of her head, "That was before I knew she was a freakin' fruit loop." She said angrily.

Ron started to look around and noticed people were staring, "Monique calm down…we're becoming the center of attention." He told her.

Monique gritted her teeth and looked around and spotted another girl watching her and Ron, "What you lookin' at…Uh huh…That's right, I'm talkin' to you…turn your ass around in that chair, we're having a private conversation here…Don't make me come over there and slap that fat head of yours." Monique growled.

Ron was trying hard not to laugh, Rufus was having no success as he was rolling all around the circular table, "You see that is why Kim needs you, your not afraid to take the fight to them." Ron complimented her.

Monique shook her head, "Oh no when we went and found you..." She stopped suddenly and looked around.

She then lowered her voice, "When we went to Japan to find you she damn near killed me…I never sky dived before…I tell her this, she tells me to count to ten pull the cord and don't hit the tail of the plane or you'll die… Then she says "Head in the game" and shoves me out of an air plane. She almost killed me Ron." Monique reminded him.

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Monique…Kim's almost killed me lots of times and you don't see me crying about it."

Monique was starting to turn a rosy red color and she didn't quite know what to say, "You…well…if…crazy…NO…NO…NO…Never again Ron."

"Monique…Do it for me." Ron said as he smiled and batted his eyes at her.

Monique turned away from him, "I suppose you'll use the puppy dog pout next if I keep saying no." she said dejectedly.

She turned back to face him and saw that he was holding Rufus and Rufus's smile was just as big as Ron's was, "I must be insane…I'll…ok…I'll do it." She said softly.

"Thanks Monique, I knew you'd see it my way, I'll see you around." Ron said happily as he got up quickly and ran from the table.

Monique sat at the table feeling sick, "I don't believe I'm going to do this." She said under her voice.

* * *

Ron met up with Kim after school, she looked depressed until she seen how happy her boyfriend was, "So…Why are you so happy?" She asked out of curiosity. 

Ron smiled and waved an index finger at her as he slid in behind the steering wheel, "I have some really exciting news…I found us a new team mate…Someone to help you while I'm off in Israel." Ron said excitedly.

Kim giggled and shook her head, "Ok..Who?" she asked.

Ron fired the engine up and leaned forward and kissed Kim on the nose, "Did I tell you how great you look today?" Ron asked enjoying the suspense that Kim was in.

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Yea…this morning." She reminded him.

"Oh yea, I forgot about that." He said happily.

"Ron…Who?" Kim was becoming slightly tweaked.

Ron chuckled, "Ron Who, no Ron Stoppable and your name again was?" he was snapping his fingers acting like he couldn't remember Kim's last name.

"Aurghhhhhhhhh Who!" Kim said starting to become more annoyed.

"Your going to love this one Kim, you'll never guess." Ron told her.

Kim reached over and grabbed Ron's right ear and twisted hard, "WHO".

"Owwwww, ok, ok, let go and I'll tell you." Ron yelped.

Ron smiled a big toothy grin and said, "Monique K. Jones"

Kim blinked her eyes, "No' was all she said.

"Yes" Ron replied happily.

"No" Kim countered.

"Shhhhhhhh side kicks should only talk when spoken too." Ron told her.

Kim socked him in the arm, "Ow…Is that anyway for a near mother to act." Ron teased.

Kim shook her head and smiled a devilish smile, "Your right Ron and I love you…and…I talk to Monique, can we all go to Forester Dam for some bungee jumping this weekend?" Kim asked innocently.

"Now, now Kim if I didn't know you any better I'd say that was a threat." Ron told her as he backed out of his parking spot and headed for Kim's house.

"Ron…Monique…Have you lost your mind." Kim asked.

Ron smiled and said, "Perfect choice not afraid to speak her mind, she can probably fight in a pinch and She smart enough to spot risk from you just being a thrill junkie."

"I'm not a thrill junkie." Kim said quietly.

"Now, now Kim, the first thing you need to do is to confront your problem, turning away from it won't help you get better." He told her.

"I'm not a thrill junkie." Kim repeated herself.

Ron pulled up in her driveway, "You like bad boys and I like deranged red headed thrill junkies…It's a passion I can't shake." He told her as he took her into his arms.

Kim kissed him and then pulled back, "Stay for a while." She said.

Ron nodded and told her, "I can only stay a short while and then I have to meet with Rabbi Katz."

Kim smiled, "What do you want to do?" She asked.

Ron smiled and looked up at the sun, and it was an unseasonably warm day, "Let's just sit on the stairs and enjoy the sunshine." He said as he motioned for Kim to sit on one stair and Ron sat on the stair just above it.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck, she leaned back against him instinctively. He closed his eyes and let the warmth of the sun fill his body, "If it all ended today, I'd be happy." He whispered softly in her ear.

She sighed and purred a little, "Ummmmmm hmmmmmm" as she enjoyed the feel of his touch.

Then the twins came home from school, "Hey Kim, mom told us you didn't want to be f'd like a dog but jumped like a frog…She said you guys were playing leap frog in your bedroom." Tim Said.

"We didn't buy it of course." Jim finished.

Kim turned her head and started to cry; Ron winced and tried to comfort her. Tim and Jim looked at each other, "What did you do to Kim to make her cry Ron." Jim demanded.

Tim knew immediately what had happened, "Uh…We're sorry Kim." He said nervously.

Ron looked around quickly and then put his hand in his pocket and pulled out Rufus, "Rufus is ready to look over one your new rocket planes." He told them.

Jim reached over and grabbed him, "Sweet, come on Rufus." He said excitedly.

"TIM" Ron yelled quickly.

Tim turned and came back towards Ron. Ron looked at him and said quietly, "Do me a favor and design an ejection seat for him…I wouldn't feel right over in Israel if I thought Rufus was taking any one way rides."

Tim nodded and said, "Sure…sure…Ron…No problem." Then he turned and ran off to catch up with Jim.

Ron turned his attention back to Kim, "Shhhhhhhh its ok." He said softly.

Kim shook her head and clutched on to Ron's left arm, "I can't even have a romantic moment around here without those two screwing it up; I have people laughing at me in the hallways and barking at me because they ran around telling everyone."

Ron's temper started boiling, "Why didn't you tell me about any of this?" He asked trying to control his emotions.

Kim shrugged and said quietly, "You were so worried about if I was pregnant or not that I didn't want to make it any worse."

Ron gritted his teeth and nodded his head, "I'll be right back." He told her.

Ron walked quickly around to the side where the garage was just in time to see the twins trying to stuff Rufus into a pilot's seat that was way too small for him.

"Cut it out." Ron yelled and the twins jumped.

Ron reached down and helped Rufus out of the plane, "You ok?" he asked.

Rufus nodded and then scampered back into his pocket, "I don't believe you two, I give you guys the best buddy I have in the world and you are trying to stuff him in a can like a sardine…You really think I'm going to take off to Israel and leave my little buddy here with you to DIE." Ron yelled.

Ron licked his lips and continued his butt chewing, "You guys really don't care about anything or about anybody but yourselves do you? Ohhhhhh, who cares if Rufus dies crashing one of our planes, we can always get another naked mole rat at Smarty Mart, WELL I CARE, BECAUSE RUFUS IS MY FRIEND." Ron screamed.

Ron pointed towards the front of the house, "You two have been making your sisters life miserable at school, oh but who cares, we look like big shots making her cry, WELL I CARE BECAUSE I LOVE HER. Now for your information she is the only sister you guys are ever going to have, and you won't find any more of her at Smarty Mart." Ron said angrily.

"I can't believe I was actually going to trust you two with Rufus." Ron said bitterly.

Then he turned to leave, "This is your sisters last year of school…Would it be so bad to let her enjoy just a little of it?" He asked them sadly.

The twins just stared at Ron as he left the garage, "Hey Tim…Did you see Ron's eyes." Jim asked.

Tim nodded, "Oh yea" he answered.

Rufus peeked out of Ron's pocket and said, "Oh boy"

Ron scratched the top of his head, "Sorry buddy, I didn't mean to make a scene." He told him.

Ron rejoined Kim out front on the steps and hugged her, "Jim and Tim should be better, if they're not call me and I'll make a few veiled threats and then we'll go from there." He told her.

Kim chuckled, "I shouldn't have said anything…I don't know...I'm just starting to feel like an outsider at school now…No more cheerleading, all the clubs…I don't know…At least Big Mike's still my buddy." Kim said giggling.

Ron laughed, "Yea, Big Mike, once your tight with him, you got it made in "D" Hall." Ron told her.

Kim smiled and nodded, "At least I got you." She said happily.

Ron smiled, "Your stuck with me…yea…Hey let's go out on Saturday night for a while and train the new side kick? Then we'll drop her off and have some fun on our own." Ron suggested.

Kim nodded in agreement, "Parachute jumping or bungee jumping?" She asked with a wink.

Ron laughed and said, "Let's start off slow with basic hiding and sneaking skills."

Kim looked up and reminded him, "I think it's time for you to go meet Rabbi Katz."

Ron stood up and hugged and kissed Kim goodbye, she watched with a wry smile as he pulled out of the driveway, _"Saturday night should be fun…I owe Monique big time for Japan."_ She thought wickedly to herself.

* * *

Saturday night came and Ron and Kim were dressed in mission gear and headed over to pick up Monique. Monique met them out in front of her house in a bright yellow skin tight jump suit. 

Ron and Kim just looked at each other knowingly and said nothing until she was in the car.

Ron started the razzing of the new trainee, "So Monique…Your looking very…ummmm bananaish today." He said trying not to laugh.

"Bananaish isn't a word Ron." Monique said trying not to sound tweaked.

Kim was trying hard not to laugh, "Well Ron you have to remember yellow is the new black this spring." Kim said while snickering.

Then Ron started to snicker and then Kim started laughing and pretty soon they both couldn't stop laughing at Monique's yellow jumpsuit.

"I guess what you guys are trying to say to me is to wear black from now on." Monique said shaking her head.

Kim turned around and gave her a slight pout and said, "Nooooooo, not at all, you look cute dressed as a banana, next time wear purple and you can go as a tall skinny grape."

Ron pulled into the commuter parking lot, "Recognize this hill Kim?" Ron asked.

Kim closed her eyes and nodded, "Yes Ron, it's where you stopped me from breaking Drakken out of prison."

Ron nodded and said "Correct and it's a quality place to train the new side kick on…well side kick skills."

Ron pointed over at the glove compartment, "Kim reach in there and hand me the Ronnunicator."

Kim looked over her shoulder at Monique, "The joys of being a side kick…You get to hand Ron stuff." She told her.

Monique looked at Kim, "I thought he was your side kick?" She asked.

Kim shrugged, "After I tried to break Drakken out of prison, I was voted out of the top spot." She told her.

Monique blinked her eyes, "Oh"

Kim handed the Ronnunicator to Ron and he keyed the button, Wade appeared on screen, "Hey Ron, What's the sitch." Wade asked.

Ron pointed the Ronnunicator at Monique, "Wade meet our newest side kick, Monique Jones."

Wade threw up his hands on the screen, "The light turn down the light, my eyes are too sensitive." He said while laughing.

Monique nodded and said in a terse voice, "Ok now that all of Team Possible has finished laughing at my outfit…"

Ron held up a hand and said excitedly, "Rufus…You're on."

Rufus popped up from the front seat wearing lipstick and with a large hat made of fruit on his head, "Hello" he squeaked.

Monique closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm going to get even with every last one of you guys." She promised.

Ron smiled and said, "Ok now that all of Team Possible is done laughing at Monique's…unique mission outfit, let's get some hard core training done."

They all got out of his car and Ron handed the Ronnunicator back to Kim so Wade could watch the training, "Ok let's start with the basics…Let me hear you scream in terror." He said to Monique.

Monique loosened her neck muscles and then shifted her weight on her feet and screamed, "Eewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwkkkkkkkkkkk"

Ron lifted an eyebrow and looked back over at Kim, she just looked at him and shrugged, "Ok…that was interesting…I looking for more of a AUGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…But that'll work too…I guess."

Ron looked at Monique and said, "Ok another important maneuver is the screaming and waving your arms around and running away move."

Monique looked at Kim and said, "Is he serious?"

Kim nodded and said, "Nobody better at doing that then Ron."

Ron chuckled and said, "Ok now you try."

Monique waved her arms up and down and ran in place screaming, "Ewwwwwwwwwwwwkkkkkkkk"

Ron looked down at the ground and Kim was trying hard not to laugh, then Ron put his hands up in front of him, "Ok…Ok let's try warning Kim, you have to say her name really loud and point in the direction the threat is coming from…Watch and learn." He told Monique.

Ron spread his legs and centered his weight and pointed behind Kim and he screamed, "LOOK OUT KIM SPINNING TOPS OF DEATH."

Kim immediately adopted a combat stance and spun around to face the threat behind her, then she turned around and smiled, "Yea that brought back memories." She said happily.

Ron smiled at his girlfriend, and then he turned his attention to Monique, "Ok…I know this is a toughie, but I know you can do it." He told her as he walked over to stand next to Kim by his car.

Monique looked at them and then she saw something coming over the top of the hill behind Ron and Kim, "LOOK OUT FLYING CAR." She yelled as she hit the ground.

Ron looked at Kim, "Flying car?" and then they both looked behind them and then dove to the ground as a hover car flew directly over their parking spot 100 ft. in the air flying towards the prison.

Ron looked at Kim, "To the top of the hill." He said as he got up and started to run up hill.

Kim was right with him; they both landed on the ground at the top and started to watch the hover cars movements.

Monique finally made it to the top and Ron saw her start to crest the hill, "Stay back people from Ironton can see you in that outfit." He said in an urgent whisper.

"You have the Ronnunicator?" he asked Kim.

She nodded and held it up, "Wade you there?" Ron asked urgently.

"Yea Ron" Wade answered.

"Kim point the Ronnunicator screen at the hover car, Wade take a look and tell us what you think." Ron said to him.

Wade watched the disk shaped craft float along the top of the walls of the prison till it was illuminated in a spot light and then the alarm claxons sounded. Then the hover car streaked away at a high rate of speed.

Ron looked at Kim, "Let's get out of here." He said as he started to work his way back down the hill.

The group ran for Ron's car and got in, Ron fired the engine and gunned the car towards Middleton, "Wade…What did you make of it?" he asked the computer genius.

"Definitely a Drakken design with some major modifications." He told him.

Ron looked over at Kim, "It's got to be Drakken." He told her.

Kim nodded and said, "I agree, but what was the hover car trying to do?"

Wade came back on and said, "Trying to find a weak spot in the prison defenses."

Ron nodded his head and said, "It was scouting the place out."

Monique decided to try and help, "If Drakken and Shego are still inside, who piloted the car?" she asked.

Kim shook her head, "You don't think…"

Ron nodded at Kim and said, "I think"

"Wade any weird EMF readings from the prison." Ron asked.

Wade typed on the keyboard for a few seconds and replied, "All kinds Ron."

Ron blinked at Kim and Kim shook her head, then Ron cleared his throat, "Wade get look over the signals see if there is anything you can make out of them and get back to us." He said as he broke the communications link and handed the Ronnunicator over to his girlfriend.

"Kim keep that with you for a while….We have some brainstorming to do." He said as they were once again back in the city of Middleton.

Kim nodded and smiled, "Only one place I know of good enough for brain storming."

Ron nodded and chuckled, "Right, Bueno Nacho." He said happily.

Kim beamed proudly, "I'm not a half bad side kick am I?" she said happily.

Ron smiled and chuckled, "You had a good teacher." He told her as they pulled into the parking lot of Bueno Nacho.


	10. Chapter 10

The team took their customary booth inside Bueno Nacho and started to compile a list of ideas on what Drakken could be up to, "What is it with you and your family wanting to break this Drakken guy out of prison." Monique asked Kim.

Kim glared at Monique, "and who said it was any of my family?"

"Oh that's right, it's probably just you then…Do you miss Shego that much." Monique said bitterly.

Ron came back to the table with a tray full of food and soft drinks, he put Rufus down on the table, "Have at it boy." He said as he turned the naked mole rat loose on the food.

Monique quickly grabbed a burrito, "I better get mine now, I'm not eating after pink freaky thing there." She said pointing at Rufus.

Ron looked at Monique and said slightly hurt, "Hey…Don't be dissin' the Rufus."

Monique shook her head and said, "Look at him Ron, he's covered with a few layers of dried up cheese and lipstick…You could give him a bath from time to time."

Rufus popped up from his food and glared at Monique and then sniffed under his little arm pits, then his eyes rolled up in his head and he fainted backwards into his nachos that were covered with extra gooey cheese.

Kim shook her head and brought the conversation back to where it needed to be, "So what is Drakken up to?"

Ron checked Rufus's pulse to make sure he wasn't dead, "I'll give you a bath when we get home buddy….What was that you were saying Kim?" He asked her.

Kim gritted her teeth and let out a small growl, "RRRRRRRRon…Pay attention to me." She said exasperated.

Ron smiled and pulled her closer to him, "I always pay attention to you…Mission cloths, the earthy smells of perspiration…It fires my loins, Kim." He told her in a low sexy voice.

Kim blushed and said shyly, "Ron…not in front of Monique and Rufus."

"Yes, you are right; we need to discuss…the flying car." He said as he shot Monique a smile.

Ron held out his hand, Kim looked at him and said bewildered, "What?"

"Hold the Ronnunicator for me." He said as if he were loosing patients.

Kim rolled her eyes and said to Monique, "See what I have to put up with, when he was a side kick, I didn't have to ask him for anything….Next thing you know I'll be toting Rufus around."

Monique gave her a half smile and reminded her, "At least Ron doesn't try and get you killed, the way some others do."

Kim glared back at Monique, and Ron confidently pressed the call button on the Ronnunicator in Kim's hand, "Wade…any ideas on the hover car?"

"It's a pretty sweet machine, much faster than Drakken's old one and it's complete with Stealth technology so I was unable to locate it on radar after it had left the area." He told Ron.

"It took off in the direction of the rocket base that dad works at, so Drakken's new lair is either at the rocket base or somewhere close by." She said with a perplexed look on her face.

Ron shook his head, "I doubt it's at the rocket plant…Too many people around." He said.

"Wade you still there?" Ron asked.

"Right here Ron…could you have Kim hold the Ronnunicator to the right just a little so I can see you?" Wade asked.

Kim rolled her eyes and turned the Ronnunicator to face Ron, "Ahhhhhhh that's better." Wade said.

Ron nodded at the figure on the screen, "Wade is there anyway to track the EMF signals around the rocket base? Looking for anything that could potentially hide a liar?" Ron asked.

"Sure Ron…I can do that…Hey…is that perspiration on your forehead Ron?" Wade asked.

Ron dabbed at his forehead, "Wade, you are correct once again…Ok, Monique take care of it." Ron ordered.

"Take care of what?" Monique said.

Ron rolled his eyes and told her, "Monique get a napkin and mop my brow."

Monique's eyes bulged out of her sockets, "Me, why can't Kim do it, she's closer?" she asked.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Monique, she is holding the Ronnunicator…It wouldn't be right to expect her to try and do that when your just across the table gorging yourself on burritos and nachos."

Monique started lose her temper and then grabbed a napkin and stuck it to Ron's forehead and left it partially covering his eyes, "There you go team leader." She said as she returned to her meal.

Ron shook his head, and looked at Wade, "See what I have to put up with Wade…I'm trying to talk to a computer genius, I have one whole functioning side kick, trying to train another one, and this is what I get…I had no idea how stressful this saving the world thing could be." He told him as the napkin finally fell off his face.

"Ron you've got to keep those girls lined out…Firm hand…Don't spoil them." Wade said with a smile.

"Thanks for the advice, Wade…I'll check back later." He said as he ended the conversation.

Ron waived the Ronnunicator away and Kim put it in her pocket, "Well let's call it a night shall we…Monique, go ahead and carry Rufus in your pocket till we get to the car." Ron said as he pointed at Rufus as he just sat up and rivers of gooey cheese running off of him.

Monique looked at Kim and she shrugged and said, "You're the one in training, better get used to handling the pink freaky thing."

Monique made a face as she undid one of her side pockets and then she tried to pick up Rufus but he was all slippery and he squirted out of her hands and Ron caught him before he could fly across the restaurant.

Ron shook his head, "Open the pocket and say "Here Rufus" Ron told her.

Monique did as he told her and Rufus jumped into her pocket and she made a face as she could see a large grease stain forming where Rufus had settled, _"I'll get you for this Ron" _She thought to herself as they headed out the door.

Ron dropped Monique off at her house and then he turned to look at her in the backseat, "Well not a bad first night…I know I'm eagerly waiting to see what color you show up in next Saturday night." Ron said with a smile.

Monique nodded her head and gave Ron a half smile, "Don't worry black commando sweater and khaki cargo pants…I got it, I got it." She said sadly as she pulled the flap up on her side pocket and let Rufus out into Ron's backseat.

Ron and Kim watched Monique walk inside the house and then they started chuckling, then they were laughing so hard that Ron could hardly drive down the street, "Kim did you see her face when I told her to mop my brow...Ohhhhhhhhhh that was funny." Ron said.

Kim curled up into a fetal position and started laughing, "Look out flying car." She squealed in laughter.

"She looked like a tall skinny banana; ohhhhh that outfit was too bright." Ron said happily.

Then Ron pulled up to stop sign and he looked in the backseat, "Rufus…Stay on the floorboard." He yelled into the backseat at the cheese covered rodent.

Kim was still chuckling as she pulled out the Ronnunicator and contacted Wade, "Hey…What exactly what did you mean by a firm hand?" She asked in a stern voice.

Wade smiled sheepishly, "I…I don't know…I just thought it sounded good." He told her as he started to chuckle.

Ron was laughing again, "Don't worry Wade, I'll take a firm hand to Kim later…Well I think we successfully hazed Monique and learned a few things in the process."

Kim elbowed Ron and nodded, "I'm afraid dad is involved…I'll have to keep an eye on him at home till we figure out what's going on." She said in a worried voice.

"Wade is there anyway to try and figure out what those EMF transmissions are?" Ron asked as he popped over Kim's shoulder.

"I'm working on it guys, the signals are so low powered that I'm surprised they're even being picked up outside the prison." Wade said.

Ron smiled, "Keep us up to date Wade." He told him as reached over and ended the conversation.

Kim put the Ronnunicator back in the glove compartment, "Ron…can we…you know at your house?" Kim asked shyly.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Not cool…how about yours?" he asked.

Kim shook her head, "Not cool there either." She said sadly.

Then they both smiled at each other and said at the same time, "Quarry Lake!"

Ron took off on the familiar road to his favorite parking spot in the world and Kim snuggled close to him and whispered in his ear, "Jinx…you owe me a soda."

* * *

"Uh huh…ok so explain to me why we have to wait till the second weekend of May again to get out of here?" Shego asked 

Dr. Drakken sat in the cell across from his loyal side kick and explained the whole plan to her, "One year ago last May Shego, I had Dr. James Timothy Possible exposed to me under the brain tap machine, it was then that I devised a failsafe protocol should the main plan fail…A series of safe words and a small microchip sized radio receiver implanted just behind his left earlobe." Drakken told her as he growled at the boom box in frustration as he tried to work on it with Shego's homemade shiv.

Shego looked bored, "Yea…I understand that part, but why the waiting?" she asked again.

Drakken looked up, "Now, now Shego, all good things…Well once Kim Possible showed up and wrecked everything, I filed my little sleeper agent away for safe keeping, I needed a few things before I could awaken the good Dr. Possible and control his mind….Namely a transmitting device…So thanks to our good friend Strange Sam and your shiv…I know possess…close to what I need, it's too low power though." Drakken said in frustration.

Drakken gloomed at the old boom box and continued, "So I awakened the good Dr. Possible with this…piece of junk…then I decided to work slowly this time and have some patience…something that I'm not normally known for." He said with a smile.

"Tell me about it." Shego said resting her head against the iron bars of her cell.

Drakken shot Shego a look, "Sounds like someone is being a grumpy monkey…Now let's see where was I? Oh yes patience, I needed a new lair and a rebuilt retooled hover car, courtesy of the good Dr. Possible. Well I have the lair and the new hover car, now I need an army, so I tried to contact ol' Jim again and the equations and instructions for the synthodrones was too large to be transmitted all over town. So I had Dr. Possible come within easy transmitting range of the prison and now he is busy manufacturing my new army." Drakken said happily.

Shego nodded and stared at him, Dr. Drakken noticed the stare, "What?"

Shego rolled her eyes, "Why do we have to wait till May?"

"Oh that's easy Shego, Kim Possible will be busy at the prom with this John Audible guy, and then we shall make our escape to our shiny new lair…Besides if we wait till May there is a certain…in your face factor to be had." He told her happily.

"Ok…I can deal with May…Now how are we getting out of here?" Shego asked.

Drakken looked across to Shego's cell and twirled his shiv, "Well…Ummm…That parts still under construction at the rocket base." He told her.

"Rocket Base? Doctor D what are you hiding?" Shego asked.

Doctor Drakken coughed nervously and looked around, "Well the escape plan has a small element of personal danger but I think we may actually live through it and not be incinerated." Drakken said smiling at Shego.

Shego nodded her head and said flatly, "If it means getting out of here, I'll take the chance."

Drakken smiled happily and said, "Good, I'm glad to see your feeling your old self again, being locked up with Kim Possible for twenty-four hours must have been pure torture for you."

"It was bad Doc, but I came to the realization that I'm in love with Kim Possible, yep…the freckled face, the blond hair, the hockey jersey…The little pink rodent Kim keeps in his pocket…Kim is just sooooooooo hot." Shego told him happily.

Drakken shook his head and thought to himself, _"Well, we're getting closer to having her mind put back together again."_

* * *

March and April passed by quickly, Ron and Kim trained Monique to be a highly competent side kick. Monique's most frightening weapon was her ability to taunt her adversaries. 

Wade still hadn't cracked the transmissions and the transmissions themselves dried up all together.

Mr. Dr. P. was at home quite a bit during the two months and appeared to be his old self again, with flashes of his high strange behavior appearing only once in a while.

Ron resigned from Smarty Mart at the beginning of May to spend as much of his time before he would leave for Israel with Kim and Rufus. He began to help his mother around the house more as she was unable to do them because of her pregnancy.

He also continued his Hebrew lessons with Rabbi Katz and was becoming more comfortable speaking the language. He was proud of the fact that he could now maintain entire conversations without errors or having to think about what he was saying too hard.

Jim and Tim treated Kim better in school and worked hard to win Rufus's trust again. They worked hard so that Ron would feel more comfortable about leaving Rufus with them when the time came for him to leave.

Dr. Drakken finally was able to bring Shego's mind back to around 98 of what it was, now she hated both Ron, Kim and Doctor Drakken. So he decided to quit while he was ahead.

Now it was Saturday one week before the prom and Kim was helping Ron go through his closet, to decide what he should take, what would get left behind, what would get thrown away and what Kim would keep.

Kim eyed the photo and picked it up, she turned it around and looked at the back, in Ron's chicken scribble hand writing was written, "Me and my buddy Kim, Wave Valley Water Park, June 14, 1995."

She smiled and wiped a tear from her eye, "Ron…can I have this one?" She asked quietly.

Ron looked at the picture and smiled, "Sure KP" He said softly.

Kim placed the picture in an already stuffed box full of mementos and trinkets of Ron's that she couldn't bear to be without, "I…Ron…I…feel like we're going through things of someone that's died." Kim said sadly as she picked up another picture from the box.

Ron nodded, "Yea…I…never thought I had so much, most of my really good stuff I gave to you when I was younger…I don't know." He said sadly.

Kim smiled and nodded her head, "You were always giving me stuff…I never really knew why?" She said.

"Less stuff I have the less stuff I have to move when the time comes…If I couldn't eat it or wear it…It was never much use to me." Ron said absently.

"I can't believe you knew ten years ago that you'd be leaving." She said sadly.

Ron nodded, "Yea…I never dreamed I'd be sorry to go or that I'd miss anyone other than you." He told her trying hard not tear up.

Kim smiled, "I know I've told you this about a million times…but…when you leave, I'm really going to miss you." She said sadly.

Ron moved a pile of junk off the bed and gave her a hug and told her softly, "I never get tired of hearing it."

The attention was diverted to the sound of the Ronnunicator going off in one of the boxes by Ron's dresser, "Opps, didn't mean to pack that away." Ron said as he started looking for the right box.

Ron pulled the device out of a box and smiled happily as he answered Wade's call, "What's the sitch Wade?" he said pointing at Kim and smiling.

"Hey Ron…I think I've managed to decrypt a few of the intercepted EMF signals, it's very fragmented but I think they're planning their move for next Saturday night…Not sure of a time though." Wade said.

Ron looked over at Kim, she just closed her eyes and shook her head, "Prom time" Kim said quietly.

Ron nodded and said to Kim, "Any new guys show up and school and ask you out yet?"

Kim wrinkled her nose and said, "NO"

Ron smiled and chuckled, "Well that's good, I would have hated to try and find a new date this close to prom." He said as he ducked a pillow that Kim had thrown at him.

"Wade any lead on a lair?" Ron asked quickly as Kim got off the bed to chase him.

"Remember the old Bueno Nacho World Headquarters?" Wade asked.

Ron and Kim both stopped in their tracks and looked at each other, "Wade…I don't think so…It's too far away from the Rocket base." Ron said

Wade shook his head, "Not if you travel by hover car."

Kim closed her eyes, "Right…Ron?"

Ron's eyes had turned dark as he started planning, "We meet with Monique at Smarty Mart at 4:00pm and we change out of our prom cloths and into mission cloths and drive north to the old World Headquarters site and surprise them after they break out."

"Why not try and stop them from breaking out?" She asked him.

Ron looked at Kim and in a deadly serious voice replied, "Because there would be more people in the way of me killing Drakken."

Kim swallowed hard and said quietly, "Ron?"

Ron turned his head from side to side, "Kim, we don't even know how their escaping, it's a good bet it will involve the hover car…It's a good bet your dad will be helping, if we stop them at the prison, what happens to your dad?" Ron asked.

Kim shook her head and said, "He's under some kind of mind control Ron."

"What proof do we have? We don't know how they're getting out, but we do know where they're headed." Ron told her.

Kim nodded, "Ok, but we have a week to try and figure something else out." She said sadly.

Ron nodded his head, "yea…a week." He said absently.

Kim looked around the room, "Well back to taggin' and baggin.'" She said sadly as she started to go through more of Ron's things.

* * *

The week moved by slowly, Ron had Kim tell him the colors of her prom dress so he could order a corsage for her for prom night. Kim also told him with a wink that the dress was strapless so he would know to order a wrist corsage. 

Ron told Kim that he was actually going to rent a black tux for the evening so she went ahead and ordered him a boutonniere for him to wear.

Wednesday night Ron received an urgent call from Kim, "Ron…Dad's missing?"

"How long?" Ron inquired.

"He left for work this morning and never came home, we called his desk and there wasn't an answer." Kim told him.

Ron looked at the clock radio, it was after 9:30pm, "You up for a drive to the rocket base?"

Kim was quiet for a long moment, "Yea, I'll get my mission cloths on and I'll meet you out front."

"Wear the beret." Ron said trying to cheer her up.

Kim chuckled, "Oh you and that beret." She said as she hung up.

Ron dressed in his mission cloths and quickly called Monique, "Hey Monique, feel up to a little late night reconnaissance work?' Ron asked.

"I just got off from work, I'm kind of beat, we have the summer fashions coming in and it's been pretty hectic…Sorry." She told him.

Ron nodded, "No big, just remember to be ready for the prom really early Saturday night? I forgot to ask who you're going with." Ron asked.

"Hey it's a friend of yours from the cross country team, J.D. Rottler, he asked me out…seems like a nice guy." Monique replied.

Ron was quiet for a long moment, "Great…I'll try and contact you before Saturday night." Ron said as he ended the call.

Ron walked downstairs and out to his car, _"Let's see Saturday pick up corsage, pickup Kim, pickup Monique, kill Drakken, punch J.D. Rottler in the mouth, dance with Kim…Maybe I should dance with Kim first, and then punch J.D….Man Saturday night is going to be busy."_ He thought to himself as he drove down the street to pickup Kim.

Kim came out to meet him but she wasn't in mission cloths and she was crying, Ron got out of the car and asked, "Kim what's wrong?"

"I…I didn't know…dad left a note." Kim said as she passed the note to him.

Ron held the note up so he could read it by the porch light:

"_To my beloved wife_

_It grieves me to inform you that I will no longer be coming home._

_I have met a much younger assistant named Sheila and we have fallen in love._

_I will be staying with her until we can work out a suitable divorce arrangement._

_JTP"_

Ron handed the note back to Kim and then the wheels started turning in his head, "Kim...mind control…think."

Kim shrugged her shoulders, "Ron, this was probably why dad was acting so flakey." She told him sadly.

Ron shook his head, "NO WAY, KIM…ok, let's start over from square one, your dad vanishes from the house, what do you normally do?" Ron asked.

Kim looked at Ron, "I'd get my mission cloths on and go find him?" She said cautiously.

Ron nodded, "Yea…and…if there is a note left behind explaining his disappearance what do you do?" Ron asked again.

Kim wiped her eyes and started to become angry, "I stay home and console my mother." She answered.

Ron nodded and said, "Correct"

"Give me five minutes to change." Kim said as she grabbed the note and started back inside.

"No" Ron said as Kim froze in her tracks and turned around to face him.

Ron walked closer to her, "Does your mom know anythingabout what's been going on?" he asked.

Kim shook her head, "No, I didn't think to tell her what we've suspected." She said.

Ron took her by the arms and asked, "What's your mom doing now?"

Kim looked back inside the house, "She's in her office crying and breaking dad's space toys." Kim answered.

"Kim you better bring your mom up to speed, and I'll go snooping around the rocket plant." He told her softly.

Kim nodded and gave Ron a big hug, "You be careful…I don't want to lose a team leader now." She said trying to smile.

Ron grinned and told her, "I'll call you once I get finished snooping."

Ron kissed her goodbye and drove off to the rocket base where Mr. Dr. P. worked, _"Security is an old man in a guard station at the front gate and a whole bunch of cameras…Shouldn't be hard getting in and out for a ninja…At least I'm familiar with the place from spending so much time there with Kim when I was little."_ He thought to himself as he drove the 4 miles to the base.

Ron drove by the base and saw the little old guy sitting in the booth, he drove a mile and half up the road and turned onto a gravel county access road and drove until he found enough room to pull off and park.

Ron walked down into a dried up drainage ditch and walked the length of the fence until he came to a section that wasn't lit as well as the others. He looked up and saw the razor wire on top of the 10ft. high chain link fence.

He scratched the back of his chin and then looked around, _"Can't go over the top, have to go thru."_ He thought to himself.

Ron looked around again to make sure he hadn't been spotted, and then he stepped back about five feet and ran into the fence and fell backwards onto the ground.

Ron scampered back down the hill and watched to see if he was heard, _"Now I did this at Yamanouchi, why can't I do it here."_ He thought angrily.

Ron walked back up the hill for another try, "_Try to think how I did this before…No that was it…Don't think…just do."_ He smiled as he remembered.

Ron walked up to the fence again looked around to see if anyone could see him, then he closed his eyes and emptied his mind and took off at a jog towards the fence, after he ran about 20ft. he stopped and turned and realized he was inside the base now.

"_Yes…Booyah, I can still do it."_ He thought to himself happily as he jogged towards the facilities that housed Mr. Dr. P.'s lab.

Ron reached building twelve the rocketry building, he moved crouched down to keep from becoming seen. He started to reach for a door but then pulled his hand back, and then he closed his eyes and did the same trick as he did at the fence.

He came through the door but hit the concrete wall on the other side and bounced off it. Ron fell to the ground holding his nose, _"I guess we can't walk thru concrete."_ He thought as he rubbed his nose.

He stayed to the shadows as he walked the familiar corridors until he reached the rocketry lab. He reached for the door and found it open, he quickly slipped inside. Ron walked the length of the office area, he pulled out the Ronnunicator and when Wade came on screen he held a finger up to his lips to signal he should be quiet.

"Wade, I'm got blue prints and a rather large rocket out in the lab that I need you to see." He told his friend.

Ron scanned all the blue prints and schematics that were on Dr. Possible's desk then he moved in front of the large glass window that looked out into the lab, "Wade, most of the rockets made here are launched straight up and down, why's this one on an angle?" Ron asked.

"It looks like he's trying to point it at something, see if you can get into the lab and nose around for me." Wade suggested.

Ron slipped out the door and headed down the two levels of steel steps to the rocket labs concrete floor. He held the Ronnunicator up and scanned everything that he thought could be useful to Wade.

"Ron, I'm picking up those EMF readings." Wade said urgently.

Ron quickly ducked under the metal stairs and looked around inside the lab to see what could be causing it. The door above him opened and someone was walking stiffly down the stairs to the lab, the figure turned on the lights and Ron could see it was Mr. Dr. P.

Dr. Possible walked over to the rocket and picked up a part and then took it over into a corner and started working the part on a grinding wheel.

Ron stayed hidden and whispered urgently to Wade, "Is the signal still there?"

Wade nodded his head yes, Ron licked his lips is there anyway to amplify the signal with the Ronnunicator to try and get a better signal?" He asked.

Wade nodded his head yes and then held up a finger, the screen went blank and text came across, _"Working on it now…Stay there keep connection open for a few minutes."_

Wade came back on the screen and gave Ron the "OK" sign. He started to move slowly out of his hiding place, until he was taken by surprise as Mr. Dr. P. stood straight up and then fell over to his left side.

Ron hadn't broken connection with Wade, so he asked him, "Wade…still getting a signal from here?"

"No Ron, it just shut off." Wade whispered to him.

Ron looked into the screen and said, "Mr. Dr. P. just shut off too…I'm going to scan him and then I'm going out the back door."

Ron walked up to the unconscious form of Kim's father and quickly scanned him with the Ronnunicator. Ron quickly broke the connection once Wade was secure in that he had enough information to look at.

Ron walked to the back door and looked at it, _"It's alarmed, I guess I have to go thru it then."_ He thought to himself happily as he was becoming more comfortable with the ninja trick.

Ron quickly made his way to and thru the fence, he worked his way back down into the dried up drainage ditch and then made his way back to where he parked his car.

Once he returned to his vehicle he turned it around on the gravel road and headed back for the road he came in on, made a left and drove past the unaware security guard in the booth as he made his way back home.

He picked up his cell phone and discovered he had 10 missed calls, _"Kim must be worried."_ He thought smiling to himself.

The phone rang again and Ron answered the call, "Hey KP, how's things at home?"

"Good to hear your voice, things are better here…Did you learn anything?" she asked.

"Lot's of stuff, they are controlling your dad some how, I seen him working on a rocket and then he just fell over as if he was turned off." Ron told her.

"Is he hurt, is he ok?" Kim's voice was a little frantic.

Ron shrugged and answered the question, "No he's not ok, his mind is being controlled? Is he alright physically? Yea I think so."

Kim let out a heavy sigh, "Well at least he's not got a girlfriend…That note really tore mom up…Ron…Drakken needs to die." Kim said sadly.

Ron bit his lower lip and nodded his head, "We'll talk more about it tomorrow Kim…I'm pretty tired."

"Ok…Love you Ron." She told him sounding very tired herself.

"Love you too Kim." Ron said as he ended the call.

Ron turned into the subdivision and drove up the hill to his house. He shut the car off and sat there staring at the stars, _"Drakkin really messed with them tonight, poor Mrs. Dr. P. that must have been way too much stress."_ Ron thought as he finally got out of the car.

Ron quietly opened the door and snuck inside, his mother was sleeping in the living room now, since the doctor told her to stop using the stairs. He crept up the stairs to his room and started to undress.

Ron lay in bed and pulled the covers over him, _"He stepped over the line with Kim, first her dad and now her mom…Well at least she knows what needs to be done now."_ Ron thought sadly to himself as he waited for sleep to come to him in the night.


	11. Chapter 11

Drakken threw the old boom box aside in a fit of despair, "Why oh why when I'm so close does fate deal me such a cruel blow." He cried out to the night, the mournful sounds echoing off the gray stone walls of the Tri-County Penitentiary.

Shego looked up from her bunk and yelled, "Hey some of us are trying to sleep here."

"Shego we're in trouble the boom box quite transmitting?" Drakken said as he gloomed at the ancient boom box.

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally hit the switch and move it to auxiliary again?" She asked trying to help.

Drakken growled at the voice coming from across the hall, "Yes…er…No, hang on…Ahhh yes back to tape…It was on auxiliary, good catch Shego." Drakken said as he happily began transmitting orders to Mr. Dr. P. again.

Drakken looked up happily, "Shego don't you want to hear again how were going to get out of here Saturday night?" Drakken asked.

Shego rolled over in her bunk and said, "Oh if you must."

Drakken was giddy with excitement, "6:00pm the missle that this hapless boob is prepairing will be launced at 6:05 it should impact the wall of this fine facility about six cells down from us, the resulting explosion will either break down our prison walls or bury us in rubble or incinerate us in flames." Drakken said happily.

Drakken then stood up and stretched and looked around his small cell and continued, "Soon after that Dr. James Possible whisks in with my highly advanced hover car and we move to our new lair where my new army of synthodrones awaits us."

Shego smiled and chimed in happily, "Then we go Middleton and I kill Kim, Ron, and The Man."

* * *

Ron and Kim drove to Quarry Lake after school, but today it wasn't to be for making out, it was to design an ambush and to kill Kim Possible's arch foes. 

Ron brought the Ronnunicator out of the car and sat it between the two of them on the picnic table and pressed the connect button, "Hey Wade what have you got for us?" Ron asked.

"Wade came on the screen, "Well Mr. Dr. P.'s not building a rocket, it's a missile complete with a warhead."

Ron nodded, "Could we change the direction of the rocket to where it impacts directly into Shego's cell? That would kill both of them in an instant." Ron suggested.

Wade shook his head and informed Ron, "I could do it Ron, but I'm not willing to kill them, I only do non-lethal weaponry."

Kim squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, "Do we really need to kill them…I…know Drakken's put my family through a lot…Is killing them really the answer?" Kim asked wearily.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck and then shook his head in disbelief, "Kim, He's got your dad under some kind of mind control, he has him leave a cruel note to your mother…If he doesn't die what is he going to do next to get at you?" Ron asked.

Kim looked down at the Ronunnicator on the picnic table and shook her head, "Ron, I've been up almost the whole night running this through my head, and…I just can't do it…I can't kill anyone." She told him as she got up and walked out towards the lake.

Ron watched as she picked up a couple of rocks and threw them in. The he turned his attention back to Wade, "Well Wade?" he asked.

Wade looked down at his computer key board for a long time, "I'm not going to help you kill them Ron." Wade told him.

Ron took a deep breath and looked back out to where Kim was still throwing rocks into the lake, _"I guess I'll have to kill them both myself."_ Ron thought to himself.

Ron turned back to Wade and asked, "Hey…Can you get Kim's battle suit back to her? She won't admit it, but she's lost a step or two." Ron told him.

Wade nodded, "Sure Ron."

Then Ron had another thought, "Wade…any chance you can have one ready for Monique?" he asked.

"I think I can make one, you want one too?" Wade asked.

Ron shook his head no and looked at the screen, "No…carrying this thing around is more gear than I ever wanted." He said as he ended the conversation and began walking towards Kim.

"_Do I need anything, if I would have said yes, I never would have received it anyway…He never did make cool stuff for me…Oh well."_ Ron thought sadly to himself as he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Kim's stomach and gave her a hug.

Kim pulled away from the embrace and looked at the ground, "I'm not feeling real good Ron…Could you drive me home?" She asked quietly.

Ron nodded and said sadly, "Sure KP"

They drove home together in silence and when Ron dropped her off in front of her house she just got out of the car and walked inside.

Ron sat there watching her go up the stairs, _"She knows what I'm about to do and is repulsed by it…If I do this I not only lose a girlfriend but I lose a friend."_ Ron thought sadly as he backed out of the driveway and drove home.

He entered his house walked up the stairs to his room picked up his squeaky clean friend Rufus and headed back out to the car for a trip to Bueno Nacho, "A few nacos may bring a few things into perspective." He said to Rufus.

He drove the few miles that it took to reach the restaurant, once inside he stood in the food line and seen Ned, "Hey guy…You ready for the prom?" he asked him.

Ned gave Ron a big grin and took his order and said, "Yep locked Tina up early, I was afraid Josh Mankey was going to ask me out so I figured I'd get a date as quick as I could."

Ned took Ron's money, "So you and Kim are going together this year…right?" he asked.

Ron shrugged, "That was the plan…" Ron said distantly.

Ned brought the food to the front, "Hey Monique's here with her new boyfriend, they're sitting right over there." He told him as he pointed to the back of the restaurant.

Ron nodded, "Great, at least she had the good taste not to put him at my table." He said absently as he walked over to his favorite table and sat down.

Ron started eating again and let his mind wonder_, "If I don't kill them and I leave for Israel, it will only be a matter of time before they break out again and kill Kim or some other member of her family…That is unacceptable…Better to kill them and lose Kim then to let them live only to kill Kim."_ He thought sadly.

Ron put his food down and looked out the window into the parking lot, _"I…I hope Kim can one day understand…I hope…"_ His thoughts were interrupted as he felt something bounce off his cheek.

He looked down and saw a little red pill, Ron looked over in the direction from which the object came, he saw J.D. glaring at him, _"Monique's not with him…Looks like I get to punch J.D. in the mouth tonight."_ Ron thought as he narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Monique came back from the rest-room and sat across from J.D., Ron turned to the window and was shocked to see his eyes glowing blue. He turned his head quickly away, _"Not here, control the temper take a deep breath…there that's better…Think about the tux…When do we pick it up? Oh yea, tomorrow after school…I'm going to look good."_ Ron thought happily as his momentary flash of anger subsided.

Once he calmed down he notice that Rufus was staring at him, "its ok buddy, nothing daddy can't handle." He said reassuringly to the mole rat.

Ron glanced back over towards the table where Monique was at and he saw that it was empty. He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, _"Well J. D. gets to go another day without being punched."_ He thought happily.

Unfortunately for J.D., he just wasn't ready to leave well enough alone, "Hey Monique wait here for a sec. while I say Hi to Ron…ok" He told her as he strode confidently over to Ron's table.

Monique nodded that it was ok_, "I don't know why I'm so nervous, me and Ron are still good…I think I'll go say hi to him myself." _She thought happily as she walked down the isle towards Ron's usual table.

J.D. walked up to Ron's booth, "Hey loser, I'm going to dog shit university because of your lame ass." He said to Ron angrily.

Ron narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Seems just the place for you." Ron sneered as he felt his temper start to boil.

J.D. shook his head and leaned over towards Ron and held out his hand, "How about a few pills buddy." He said as he extended his hand.

Monique stopped dead in her tracks, _"So that's who Ron got the pills from."_ She realized.

Ron began to shake and then turned his head away, Monique gasped as she saw his eyes go blue in the reflection in the window.

J. D. turned towards Monique, "Look the loser is jonesin' so bad he has to have em'" He said grinning at Monique.

Rufus sat upright watching what was going on in front of him, he took a bite of another nacho chip and said, "Uh Oh"

Ron reached out quickly and grabbed J.D.'s middle two fingers and bent them backwards quickly till he heard a snap and then he twisted the broken fingers clockwise as he rose from the booth.

J.D. screamed as he saw his fingers being bent and then when he heard the sickening crack of the bones he tried to pull his hand away but Ron wouldn't let him go. Then he looked up and saw Ron's grin and the glowing blue eyes and Ron bringing his left hand back for a punch.

Monique came out of her momentary shock at seeing Ron hurting her new boyfriend, "Ron…RON, STOP IT RON, RON I NEED A RIDE HOME." She screamed at him.

Ron turned and looked at her and the eyes went back to normal, and Monique chuckled nervously, "You don't think I'm going to ride home with white trash like him do ya?"

Ron let go of J.D's fingers and shoved him hard to floor, "Now you said what you wanted to say, do you feel better now…or worse?" Ron asked him not really caring if he got an answer.

He picked Rufus up off the table and the little mole rat stuck his tongue out at J.D. as he disappeared inside Ron's pocket.

"Come on Monique let's go." Ron said as he quickly cleaned up his trash and started walking towards the door.

Once they were inside the car Monique started to talk to him, "I…I didn't know Ron…I didn't know he was the one that gave you the pills."

Ron nodded, "I know he blames me for winning state and costing him a scholarship at a big time school and I've been wanting to get a hold of him over those pills…It was only a matter of time before we met up." Ron said sadly.

Monique smiled and explained nervously, "Oh good, I just didn't want you thinking I was going out with him to make you mad or anything."

Ron laughed and said, "Me angry? Nahhhhhhhh"

Monique looked around and saw that they were headed downtown, "I'm not really dressed for Thursday night ritual." She said.

Ron shrugged, "Neither am I…I just need someone to talk too." He said sadly.

Ron paid the cover for them and paid for a couple of sodas and they went into the small room and sat at the usual table, "I didn't notice who's playing tonight?" he asked Monique.

Monique smiled and shook her head, "Man Kim must really be playing with your head, if you didn't look at who was playing…I think its Kidney Stone." She told him.

Ron looked at her and smiled, "They can't be any worse than the band me and Kim saw here…and what makes you think its Kim trouble?" Ron asked.

Monique laughed and told him, "Because I'm here and she's not…So what's going on?"

"We have a small disagreement on the mission for Saturday…I want to kill Drakken and Shego and be done with it and Wade and Kim don't want to." Ron whispered to her.

Monique lifted an eyebrow, "That is a big disagreement…Why do you want to kill them?" She asked.

Ron looked around to see if anyone was listening and then answered, "Ok, me and Kim have fought these two over and over again for the last three years. Each time we fight them it gets harder and harder to beat them…Last year Kim fought Shego in a battle suit that Shego tore thru like a hot knife through butter…Kim's still got the scars."

Ron stopped and took a drink of his soda and looked around again, "Anyway Kim tried to go after them on her own last summer…after we broke up and they hung her on a wall and left her to die…Then we fought them again in August and we didn't do so hot, Global Justice showed up and arrested them…If things keep going the way they're going it will be us or them and I told her that I prefer US." Ron said urgently as he pointed at the table.

Ron took another drink of his soda and began again, "So anyway, Kim's dad is under Drakken's mind control and he has Mr. Dr. P. leave Kim's mom a note telling her he met someone else and wants a divorce…So now their messing with Kim's whole family…If these two get away this time or if they go back to jail…and I'm in Israel…It won't be long before they kill Kim and if that happens I come back here kill them anyway and then I burn this town to the ground." Ron said angrily as his eyes began to glow blue again.

Monique reached over and grabbed Ron's hands, "Shhhhhh..It's all right Ron, calm down…We'll just kill the bad guys on Saturday and be done with it." Monique said quietly trying to put Ron's mind at ease.

Ron simmered down and looked around again and smiled, "Ok now here's the other part of the problem, we were at Quarry Lake meeting with Wade and trying to devise a strategy and then she just went cold and walked away on me…I think if I do this I'll lose Kim as a girlfriend and as a friend…but at least she won't have to spend a life time looking over her shoulder." Ron said sadly.

Monique tilted her head and made eye contact with her former boyfriend, "Ron…Kim is a fruit loop and you know it…You may end up killing these two and she'll want to screw you on top of the corpses…I've told you once and I'll tell you again, your too good for her." She said forcefully.

Ron was rubbing the back of his neck, "It's just…If…I don't know?" He said as he dropped his hand to the table.

Monique chuckled and nodded her head, "Yea I know…So if she dumps you again…Will you be lookin'?" She asked trying to act casual.

Ron smiled and laughed and told her, "Monique I only have about four weeks left in town, once I get that diploma…I'm gone…It wouldn't be right to try and get in another relationship now."

Monique smiled and shrugged and told Ron in words that wouldn't be misunderstood later, "Well personally Ron if it does come down to us or them on Saturday night…I won't shed any tears if it's us."

The band came out and started to play, Ron reached into his pocket and pulled Rufus free, "Hey buddy want to see a rock band?" he said as he placed Rufus on the table.

Ron leaned back and listened to the band, _"These guys aren't too bad."_ He thought as he started to relax.

Ron looked down and chuckled as he looked down on the table and saw that Rufus was playing air guitar and head banging to the music, _"Is Kim a fruit loop…probably…Is Monique a fruit loop…probably…am I a fruit loop…Oh yea."_ He thought as he let out a deep breath and then he realized he was holding Monique's hand and he let it go real quick.

Ron jumped out of his chair and grabbed a CD as it sailed over his head, he brought the disc down and looked at it and then handed it to Monique. She smiled a sexy smile and mouthed the words "Thank You" to Ron.

Ron blushed and smiled, _"I never did give her very much when we dated…That is my one regret."_ He thought sadly as he remembered when they were a couple.

Once the concert was over Ron walked out with Monique to the car, Monique was feeling frisky, "Hey want to explore the backseat with me?" She asked while licking her lips.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Nope, past Rufus's bed time, wouldn't be a proper role model to have hanky panky in front of the child." Ron said playfully.

Monique looked at him and then tried again, "Oh come on…it'll be fun" She said.

Ron shook his head again, "I'm pretty serious about Kim right now…If she cuts me loose again on Saturday night…I'll be all for it….but not now." Ron said sadly.

Monique shook her head, "Your too good for Ron…You know that." She told him again as they got into the car.

Ron drove Monique home and dropped her off, "You know you kind of ruined my prom date." She told Ron.

Ron smiled and told her, "If Kim cuts me loose; you'll be the first one I call." He told her as she gave him a hug and got out of the car.

She stood on the sidewalk and watched Ron drive away down the street, "_You are too good for her."_ She thought sadly.

* * *

Ron was heading back home when his cell phone began to ring, he dug around and found it between the seat and he answered it, "Hello" 

"Hey Ron…its Kim…I noticed that your car wasn't home and…I thought I'd call and see if everything is ok?" Kim said sounding rather nervous.

Ron smiled and shook his head, "I'm still at home Kim, that Rufus took the car out again…I'm heading home…Thursday night ritual…I had Monique's with me…I kind of accidentally on purpose broke her boyfriends fingers tonight." He told her.

"A little jealous are we?" Kim said sounding slightly tweaked.

Ron shook his head, "KIM…Her boyfriend was J.D. Rottler and he started it and I finished it." He told her.

Kim was silent for a long moment, "Oh…Well you didn't have to take her to the Odyssey." Kim told him this time not bothering to hide her jealousy.

"Yes Kim I did, I needed someone to talk to and since you decided not to feel good…Look…I needed someone to talk to…ok." Ron said trying to tone his own emotions down.

"So did you talk with her in the backseat?" Kim asked trying to sound pleasant but failing miserably.

Ron pulled up out side of Kim's house, "KIM…I'm outside your house now…You want to talk come on out…if not…well that's fine too then I guess." Ron said more than a little tweaked as he hung up on Kim.

He turned the motor off on the car and got out and stood by the front fender, he looked up at Kim's bedroom window and he could see her looking out the window then she walked away from the window.

After a few minutes he saw the porch light come on and the front door opened and Kim came outside, "So you and Monique went to the Odyssey…What did you talk about?" Kim asked.

"We talked about killing Drakken." Ron told her honestly.

Kim shook her head and said, "Honestly Ron…I think your blowing this all out of proportion…Your starting to sound obsessed about killing them."

Ron closed his eyes and he shook his head, "Kim…" Ron stopped talking and shook his head again.

There was a long silence and finally Ron said, "I'm not going to talk about this anymore, I know what has to be done and I'm going to do it."

Kim shook her head and said, "Ron…I don't want to fight about this, I don't want to fight about Monique…"

Ron stared at the grass in Kim's front yard for a long moment, "So how's your mom doing?" He asked as he was trying to change the subject.

Kim looked away from him and chuckled, "She's ok…So what does Monique think?" Kim asked.

Ron shook his head, "So much for not wanting to fight about Monique, Ok…Monique is fine with it, either way it goes." Ron told her.

Kim turned her back and shook her head, "Ron…I'm fine either way…I still don't feel right about this…I feel like we're no different than they are now." Kim said sadly.

Ron took a deep breath and looked up at the stars, "Kim if Drakken and Shego fight us and kill us, they do it for power or money, land or…just because they enjoy killing us…When we fight, we never fight for all that and at the end of the night on Saturday the only thing we've really fought for….is each other…I don't know if that makes any sense…but it does to me." He told her as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys.

Kim nodded her head and looked back at her house and then said quietly, "I guess what ever happens Saturday night just happens…You picking me up for school in a few hours?"

Ron looked at the ground and said, "If you want me too?"

"I want you to." Kim said with a slight smile.

"I'll be here then." Ron said as he walked around the front end of his car.

Kim watched him drive up the street to his house, _"I wish he'd quit turning to Monique…I did sort of blow him off…I just don't like the whole thing…luring Drakken and Shego into a trap and then killing them…I don't know…I guess what ever happens, happens."_ Kim thought sadly as she turned and walked back inside her house and turned off the lights.

* * *

Saturday morning finally arrived, Ron went to temple to talk some more with Rabbi Katz, the conversation was of course in Hebrew and Ron held his own. 

He spoke the language of his forefathers without faltering or stumbling for words Ron believed that he was now ready to face his journey, but he did not know if he was ready to face the coming night.

He prayed during services for guidance and the strength to do what needed to be done, and that Kim and Monique would be uninjured at the end of the night.

Once services were over he drove to Smarty Mart and picked up the corsage for Kim, he had already picked up his tux the day before. He returned to the car and placed the corsage in the car and drove home confident that no matter what happened he would be ready.

He drove home and placed the corsage in the refrigerator and then walked upstairs to lie down until it was time to get ready. He looked at his Rufus waiting for him on the dresser, "You want to go tonight? I understand if you don't buddy." Ron said to him.

Rufus stood up straight and nodded.

Ron patted him on the head, "Are you sure…it could be…ugly." He told him.

Rufus nodded and squeaked, "Ugly…Yea"

Ron nodded and patted his head, _"Ugly yea"_ He thought as he lay down for a nap.

His cell phone woke him up and he rolled over to answer the phone, "Hello"

Kim was on the other line, "Just calling to see if we were still going to leave early?" she asked.

Ron smiled, "Yea, What time is it?" he asked as he quickly looked over at his clock radio.

Kim giggled, "It's 3:00" she told him.

Ron looked around the room, "Yea…I've got to shower and then I'll be over."

Kim stopped him, "Ron wouldn't it be easier to just wear the mission cloths and then change once it's over?"

Ron thought about it, "Yea your right, you want to call Monique and let her know?" he asked suddenly regretting he brought it up at all.

"No…no…I think you'd better do that." Kim said evenly.

"Right…ok…I'll see you in an hour then. He said as he ended the call.

He called Monique and let her know what was going on and she agreed that it was a better idea and that she would be ready when the time came for Ron to pick her up.

He took a shower and dressed quickly in his mission cloths and began to load up his car, _"Tuxedo…check….dress shoes and socks…check…corsage…in fridge." _He thought as he quickly turned to go back inside the house.

"_Packages bye the door?"_ He thought as he picked them up to look at them.

"_Ah…Battle suits, one for Kim and one for Monique…Good for you Wade."_ Ron thought as he placed them in the car.

He retrieved the corsage and drove down the street to Kim's house, once he parked he hopped out of the car and grabbed the battle suit and quickly ran up the steps and rang the door bell

Kim answered the door and Ron thrust the package at her, "Present from Wade."

Kim opened it up and jumped up and down, "Yes…the battle suit." She said as she quickly ran upstairs to change.

He saw Mrs. Dr. P. and waived.

She walked up to the door, "So how've you been?" She asked.

Ron smiled and said, "I was going to ask you the same thing."

The older woman smiled and told Ron, "Kim's filled me in on what your planning to do…Before the note I would have been against it…Now…What ever you decide to do…I'm ok with it…Just try to bring Jim back intact."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea…I think we can do that for you." Ron said trying to sound reassuring.

Kim came back down stairs wearing the battle suit, "How do I look?" she asked her boyfriend.

Ron leered at her and looked at Mrs. Dr. P. and said, "Cover your ears."

Mrs. Dr. P. laughed and shook a finger at him and said , "I know enough to walk away Ron."

Ron walked over to Kim and gave her a big bear hug, "You feeling better?" he asked.

Kim nodded and smiled, "It's starting to feel like a routine mission…Yea, I'm feeling better." She said happily.

They got in the car and went over to pick Monique up, Ron handed her a package and she disappeared inside the house and emerged in a few minutes wearing her suit.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"It looks like you've gained weight." Kim said with a smirk.

Ron smiled and cupped his hands in front of his chest, "Yea but the weights in the right spots." He said laughing.

Monique smiled at Kim, "The suit is a little tight but it only highlights my assets." She said thrusting her chest out as she climbed into the backseat.

Kim nodded and smiled and informed her just what she thought of her assets, "Monique the suit doesn't have to be tight to see you have a big asset."

Ron shook his head and laughed, "Meeeeeeeeowwwwwwwww, ok enough cat fighting, we have a bit of a trip in front of us." Ron reminded them.

Once they hit the highway Ron pointed at the glove compartment, "Time to call Wade." He told Kim.

Kim rolled her eyes and pulled out the Ronnunicator and hit the button to connect to Wade, "Hey guys, I see you're on the highway and that Ron is speeding." He said happily.

"Speed limit is 70 here Wade." Ron told him.

"65 Ron" Wade corrected him.

Kim interrupted the conversation, "Wade we just passed a sign that said 70." She told him.

Wade's lower lip shook, "You…you mean…the internet is wrong?" he said in disbelief.

Ron chuckled, "Sorry buddy, the speed limit is 70 that's why I'm doing 80 so we don't get run over by a big truck." Ron told him happily.

"Oh…Ok, sure laugh at the boy in his room…I see how you guys are, I design cool things to help you and you make fun of my internet resources." Wade said as he was starting to become angry.

Monique leaned over the seat, "You made this battle suit?" She asked trying to get Wade out of his mind set.

Wade perked up and said, "Yea…you like it?"

Monique smiled and said, "Yea it's spankin' a little tight but just tight enough if you know what I mean."

Wade blushed and looked away to one of his monitors and said shyly, "I…I didn't really have any sizes to go by…Ron just said you were…boobier than Kim."

Kim shot Ron a look, "Boobier" She said in a tweaked voice.

Ron cleared his throat, "Ummmmmmmm yea…Too much information there Wade." Ron said hoping Wade would get the hint.

"Oh right…Sorry Ron, so how's the mission going so far?" Wade said trying to help Ron out.

"BOOBIER" Kim said obviously not willing to let it go just yet.

Ron shrugged and said sheepishly, "I don't know sizes or bra cups or anything like that…I was just going on…ummm…handfuls…I'm not helping myself here am I?" Ron said becoming quite aware by the chill in the air that he wasn't.

Kim shook her head no and raised her eyebrows, "We are going to have a little talk once this is all over mister." Kim said as she pointed a finger at him.

Monique popped up between the two of them and said happily, "Not feeling inadequate are we Kim?"

Kim glared at her and then reached up and pushed Monique into the backseat, Monique was laughing and clapping and thoroughly enjoying herself at Kim's expense.

Ron looked at Kim and gave her a weak smile, "We'll talk later KP."

Kim puffed out her cheeks and said in a rather exasperated tone, "Oh yes we will."

* * *

Drakken looked out the bars towards Shego's cell and whispered, "Shego are you ready?" 

Shego strolled up to the bars, in a new green and black outfit with a plunging neck line and a skirt that barely covered her butt, and topped off with a pair of black high heels, "I'm ready to meet Kim…Do you think he'll like the new look?" She asked Drakken.

Drakken looked at her and made it obvious that he was rather annoyed, "Shego…Head in the game, we're getting ready to escape, not getting ready for some…prom." He reminded her.

Shego smiled at her boss and said, "Your just jealous of me and Kim that's all."

Drakken looked at his watch it was 5:50pm, he pulled the ageing boom box out from under his bunk and made contact with Mr. Dr. P., "Start launch preparations, I'm ready to leave now." Drakken told his drone.

Mr. Dr. P. responded to the commands, "Yes my master, missile moving into launch position….T-minus ten minutes and counting." He informed the voice in his head.

"Shego, pull the mattress off your bunk and wedge yourself behind the stool and keep your head down." He yelled across the hall.

Drakken pulled the mattress off his bunk and did as he told Shego, _"I hope that my calculations are correct…Or this could be awfully messy."_ He thought to himself.

Drakken quickly realized that he had forgotten the boom box and retrieved it and asked Mr. Dr. P. for an update, "What is the status now?"

"T-minus five minutes and counting." Mr. Dr. P. replied staring blankly at the video monitors observing the launch.

Drakken looked everything over and tried to remember if he had forgotten anything and decided that he hadn't, "Give me the ten second countdown." He barked over the boom box.

Mr. Dr. P. watched the digital counter on the control center console, "T-minus 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…ignition…missile away." He told the voice in his head.

Drakken started his own countdown in his head about how long it will take the missile to reach the prison, "Shego…Any second now…Keep your head down." He screamed.

The missile left the rocket plant and hurtled toward the penitentiary at supersonic speeds, the sonic boom that radiated across the Tri-County area set off car alarms and shattered windows in stores and private residences.

People went racing out in the streets in time to see a hover car flying over head, before they had a chance to react or call the police there was a deafening roar and an explosion from the penitentiary that shook the ground and threw stone debris hundreds of feet into the air.

Drakken was crouched behind his mattress and he could feel debris bouncing off the mattress and landing behind him. After all the noise and debris had finished falling Drakken looked up from his hiding spot and saw daylight.

He quickly looked over towards Shego and saw that she too was moving towards the opening in the wall, "Quickly Shego, the hover car will be here any moment." He said as he picked up his boom box.

The hover car appeared from just over what was left of the wall and Drakken and Shego climbed aboard, "Quickly to the lair." He told Mr. Dr. P. as they sped off to the north.

* * *

The three teenagers had just entered the old lair and were giving it the once over, "That's new." Kim said as she pointed towards the landing pad that was built where the old antenna array once stood. 

Ron looked around nervously and said, "I wonder what else is new?"

Kim noted his nervousness right away, "Not getting cold feet are you Ron?" she said smiling.

Ron recoiled from the comment, "Sha…I'm just nervous about our little talk that's coming." He told her.

Kim giggled, "You should be." She said mischievously.

Ron winced, "Look Kim…" He started to say before he was interrupted by the Ronnunicator.

Ron pulled out the device and hit the receive button, "What's the sitch Wade." He said unconsciously.

Wade's image filled the screen, "Drakken and Shego are airborne and headed your way." He told him.

"Remember Wade don't jam the signal controlling Kim's dad until after you make sure they've landed." Ron reminded him.

Wade nodded, "I got ya Ron." He told him as the screen went break.

Ron looked at Kim, "Show time…Head in the game, sidekick." He said with a smile.

Kim looked at Monique, "He must be talking to you." She told her in a snotty voice.

Monique had butterflies in her stomach and didn't care who knew about it, "Oh…Yea" she said in a quivering voice.

"Ron looked out the high rise lair and saw the hover car in the distance and said, "I think we should hide until they're on the ground and then make our presence known."

The hover car was racing towards the lair and a red light began flashing on the console in front of him, "Look Shego we have company." He said as he pointed towards the blinking light.

Shego smiled and said, "Get these bracelets off of me so I can kill Ron and have Kim all to myself." She demanded as she stuck her wrists out towards Drakken.

Drakken nodded and threw a switch, "Let's see how Kim deals with a blast from her past." He said as he turned to work on removing Shego's bracelets.

Kim looked at the torn wall hanging of the first Bueno Nacho when a door slid open behind her and she heard a familiar voice, "Hey Kim, still need a date for the prom?"

Kim's eyes opened up wide and her jaw fell open and then she turned around and saw leaning against a doorway Eric, "You…" Kim said as she tried to find words.

Ron saw Eric too and he came from around the corner and looked at him, then he slapped his pocket twice and Rufus popped up, "Uh Oh" he said as he scampered out.

He shook his head as he looked at theslick well dressed synthodronethat made him come out and admit his feelings for Kim, the memory of her waving at him as she rode by on the back of his motorcycle was starting to make Ron angry beyond comprehension.

Eric looked over at Ron and then back at Kim, "So you couldn't do any better, so you decided to get your freak on with this loser…Well I'm Eric 2.0 and I've had a few augmentations…you see Kim…I'm anatomically correct now…and I can please you better than OHHHHHHHHH." Eric 2.0 wailed in pain as Ron stepped forward and kicked him in the groin.

Ron then came back with a blistering right cross that drove Eric 2.0 to the ground, Ron then pointed to Kim with glowing blue eyes and an evil grin spread across his face, "Anatomically correct is right." He growled as he proceeded to start kicking the wounded synthodrone.

Ron finally rolled Eric 2.0 onto his back and he straddled his chest and began to punch him in the head, each punch saw streams of green goop gushing from Eric 2.0's ears and with every punch was accented with a word, "YOU…ARE…NOT…TAKING…KIM…FROM…ME…AGAIN…YOU…DIRTY…MOTHER…" Then he stopped and looked around and discovered he was kneeling in a pool of green goop.

Monique ran forward with a big grin on her face and told him, "Hit him again Ron, hit him again."

Ron stood up shaking the goop off of his hands and looked at the two girls, "I think it's obvious they know we're here now…Let's make for the landing pad." Ron said as he started up the stairs.

They made it to the top of the stairs and Ron ran to the left down the hallway and Kim started to follow then her attention was diverted to her right by an army of lumbering synthodrones.

Kim's smile was broad and she pumped her right fist into her left hand tilted her head to the left and thought, "_Show Time._"

Kim pointed to Monique and told her, "Let's get em', you go to the right and I'll head down the center."

Monique looked at the group of synthodrones heading her way and swallowed hard, "Ok, here we go." She said nervously.

Ron stopped his movement as he realized that no one was behind him except Rufus who stood up on his hind legs and pointed back down the hallway.

Ron slapped his pocket, "Let's go Rufus." He said as the little mole rat hopped back into Ron's familiar pocket.

Ron ran back to where he and had last seen Kim and there he found her. Ron smiled and leaned up against the wall. This was how he wanted to remember Kim.

She was bouncing from side to side like a pinball dismembering synthodrones as fast as they could come out to face her. Ron smiled as he noted that she had lost a step but she was still devastatingly destructive force to be reckoned with.

Ron laughed as he looked over at Monique running around in circles screaming, "WHAT SHOULD I DO, WHAT SHOULD I DO?"

Kim put her battle suited hand through another synthodrone and turned to yell towards Monique, "Hit someone."

After ten grueling minutes there were no more synthodrones. Kim stepped back and observed the destruction, "Whahooooo, how many of them did you take down Monique?" she asked excitedly.

Monique was jumping around looking at the fallen synthodrones, "None…how about you?"

Kim laughed and told her, "I got the rest."

Ron stepped forward and said happily, "Now that was a battle worth watching." He told her.

"KIM POSSIBLE" came the cry from down the hall.

Ron immediately knew that the voice belonged to Dr. Drakken himself.

The smile came off of Ron's face as he started to walk down the hallway to do what had to be done.

Then Shego stepped in front of Dr. Drakken and smiled wickedly at Ron, "I've decided that I love you Kim…Now I must go and kill the others…bye bye." She said as she vaulted over him.

Ron blinked and watched her engage Kim and Monique in battle, _"Wow…She's hot…confused…but hot."_ He thought as he turned his attention back to Dr. Drakken.

Kim and Shego started trading blows, neither having a clear advantage. Shego landed several feet from Kim after a thwarted acrobatic attack, her hands began to glow green just before she was punched in the back of the head.

Shego growled and spun to find her new attacker trying to get away, Monique dodged the plasma energy blasts from Shego, she turned to look at Kim, "KIM, HELP" she yelled as she found an open door and quickly ran inside.

Shego pursued her down the hallway and tried to open the door only to be kicked in the head and to be rendered unconscious.

Kim looked at the figure on the floor and shook her head, _"I can't do it, I can't kill Shego."_ She thought to herself sadly.

The door opened a crack and Monique popped her head out, "Where's Ron?" she asked.

Kim looked up and then took off to where she had seen Ron last. She ran to the spot and they weren't there, she continued up the stairs to where she could hear a struggle going on.

Drakken was desperately trying to get away from Ron and Ron was giving him an inch. Ron grabbed Drakken by the back of his collar and pulled him back into the old waiting room with him.

"Let me go, I'm defeated, I want to go back to prison…I don't want to die." Drakken wailed as Ron had finally got the upper hand in the fight.

Ron in a move he'd seen Steel Toe perform so many times on TV drove Drakken head first into the ground before he straddled him and began to choke the life out of him.

He had both hands wrapped around his throat and Drakken's eyes bulged from his head, his tongue was hanging out of his mouth and his skin began to turn a much darker blue. Ron was squeezing as hard as he could, "You stole my 99 million" he repeated over and over again.

Kim finally snapped out of her shock, "RON STOP IT, LET HIM GO…RON."

Ron ignored her as he continued killing Drakken, Ron felt a hand on his arm and he turned as saw Kim's face, "We've won Ron…stop…please." She said softly.

Ron was short of breath and was sweating and he let of Drakken, "You sure?" he asked.

Kim nodded and said, "Yea"

Ron looked sick as he got up and walked out of the room, he walked past Monique and didn't even notice her as he was headed back to his car. He noticed armed men rushing into the building and saw that it was Global Justice.

Ron walked past them and out into the old Bueno Nacho World Headquarters, _"I've failed…I should have killed him….I failed."_ Was all he could thing of to himself.

Drakken looked up at Kim and in between gasps he said, "Thank you Kim…Could you call an ambulance for me….I think…I think Don broke my back and I'm afraid to move."

Drakken began to cry, "I never wanted to hurt anyone…I only want to rule the world…is that so wrong?" he asked.

Shego came in her wrists bound in the white bracelets once again escorted by Global Agent Will Du. She sank to her knees and put her head on Drakken's chest and stroked his face.

Drakken looked down at his sidekick and swallowed hard, "Ummmmm…Shego…our relationship is purely professional." He reminded her.

Shego here eyes welling with tears looked at her boss, "I know…purely professional." She said sadly.

Kim remembered her dad and ran towards the landing bay where she saw him looking over the hover craft, "Dad…are you….dad?" She asked.

"Hey Kimmiecub, I was just looking over the craftsmanship of this hover car…It's a sweet ride." He said admiringly.

Kim hugged him, "Good to have you back, let's go home." She said to him.

They walked back into the building and saw Drakken being placed on a back board with a brace on his neck. Shego was holding his hand oblivious to everyone.

Agent Will Du walked up to Kim and told her angrily, "You tell Mr. Stoppable that he's lucky I don't have him tried in the Haig for violating this man's human rights."

Kim nodded and asked, "What's going to happen to them?"

Agent Du turned and looked at her, "Well since it seems that United States is unable to handle these Super Criminals, we're going to transport him to Switzerland where we can keep him contained." He told her.

Kim nodded and walked with her dad to where Monique was, "Mr. Dr. Possible how are you feeling today." She asked Kim's father.

James Possible smiled and said, "I'm fine a little tired…I don't really know…how I got here." He said absently.

They walked outside and saw Ron leaning against his car staring at the ground, Kim waked up to him and hugged him, "It's a good thing you didn't kill Drakken, Will Du says would have stood trial for it." She told him.

Ron glared at her, "Du's an idiot." He snapped.

Then Ron turned his head away and then looked at her, "I failed Kim…I failed." He said sadly.

Kim shrugged, "Maybe it wasn't meant to be…You did kill Eric 2.0 though." She said trying to cheer him up.

Ron smiled and nodded and tried to talk and then finally said quietly as Monique and James Possible climbed into the back seat, "I…I couldn't handle him showing up again…I just remember you and him together and I snapped."

Kim hugged him and told him, "Don't worry if you didn't kick him in the groin…I would have." She said smiling.

Ron smiled and asked her, "Want to buy a car?"

Kim shook her head, "What?"

"I'm going to be leaving soon and your going to need a car to go to school in Upperton…You want to buy mine?" he asked.

Kim lifted her eyebrows and asked, "Can I test drive it?"

Ron smiled and handed her the keys and then the group left for Middleton.

Once they arrived home they dropped Monique off so she could get ready and then they raced to Kim's house to change and get ready.

Ron had his picture taken with Kim by Mrs. Dr. P. as Mr. Dr. P. put his arm around his wife, "Ronald…You know what time I expect her home?" he asked.

Ron lifted an eyebrow and said, "Dawn?"

They had a good laugh and then the couple drove off to pick up Monique, she ran to the car and pulled Ron out of the driver's seat, "Sorry Kim have to borrow him for a picture."

Ron stood beside her as the picture was taken, Monique's brother Kejay got after Monique for not dating a proud black man and Monique let him know what she thought, "Keyjay, Middleton isn't exactly teaming with proud black men, the only black guy I know is 14 years old and never leaves his room."

Ron smiled at the reference to Wade and then Monique piled into the backseat and Kim turned to she her, "You look spankin' Monique." She said politely.

Monique smiled and repaid the compliment, "You look great too Kim." She told her.

Ron looked at them and said, "You both look great."

Kim turned to Monique and lifted an eyebrow, "Ok…Here's the ground rules, I get the slow dances and you can have the fast ones, no hands below the waist…got it?" she asked.

Ron laughed and pumped a fist in the air, "BOOYAH…I got two dates." He screamed happily.

Kim smiled and reminded him, "Ohhhhhhhhh we still have to have our little talk."

Ron pulled his head into his shoulders, "Oh…Sorry…I forgot about that." He told her.

They arrived at the prom and Ron danced and danced and danced for the final two hours of the dance. Monique and Kim were having fun trading Ron back and forth, Kim made sure to not let Ron out of her sight and Monique never pushed her luck.

After the dance was over he stood outside staring at the gym with Kim, Monique, Tara, Bonnie, Brick, Ned and Tina. None of the group said anything they just looked at the school with the coming realization that they would all be graduating soon and going their own ways.

It was a bittersweet moment, it was sad but it would go down in Ron's memory as one of the happiest moments of his life. He was relieved that he could enjoy the moment without any blood on his hands and that Kim was with him.

He put his arm around Kim and drew her tightly to him, "I love you Kim." He whispered in her ear.

Kim smiled and closed her eyes and whispered back to him, "I know."

The group broke up finally and Ron dropped Monique off at home, she hugged Kim and then him and waived as she went back into her house.

Ron looked at Kim, "I guess we're going to have that talk now aren't we?" he asked nervously.

Kim laid her head against the head rest and smiled, "What talk…I want to go to Quarry Lake." She said happily.

Ron chuckled and nodded, "Booyah" he said as he pulled away from the curb and drove off into the night.


	12. Chapter 12

Ron sat at the kitchen table with his Rabbi Katz, his mother and his father discussing his trip to Israel that he would be making next week, "It is normal to be nervous before such a life changing event Ronald, are you sure this is the direction you that you want to take." Rabbi Katz asked.

Ron licked his lips and rubbed at the back of his neck, "I will not say that I am not nervous…I…I feel I need to do this but it so…I mean…Have I done everything right…I think I have…I don't want…to forget anything." Ron said trying as hard as he could to make sense.

"Ronald you know I'm not wild about you leaving before the baby is born, but I talked to the Oster family and they seem like nice people…and I'm told they have a cute daughter about your age." His mother teased trying to make Ron feel better.

Ron smiled and blushed, "Mom…I…don't know about that." He told her shyly.

Ron's mother reached out playfully ruffled his hair, "Honey do your mother a favor and try to find a nice Jewish girl over there and settle down…" She stopped talking as her emotions took over and then she hugged Ron.

His mother regained her composure and looked over to her husband, Ron's dad rubbed his face and nodded, "Your mother and I will give you $2,000…We would like to give more but with the baby coming and all…" He left his thought unfinished.

Ron nodded and lowered his head, "That's great dad…I really appreciate it." He told him honestly.

Rabbi Katz looked at Ron, "You have done all you need to do, your grant money and plan ticket are all paid for, you have a family to stay with until you go into the IDF or if you should change your mind and do community service instead….You don't have to go into the IDF if you don't want to you know." The Rabbi reminded him.

Ron looked at Rabbi Katz and nodded, "I'm going to get through graduation on Thursday night first…I'll decide what is right once I'm in Tel Aviv." He told him.

The family saw Rabbi Katz to the door and thanked him for all his help. Ron walked outside and looked up into the night's sky, he could see a few stars and the moon was starting to rise.

He felt the Rabbi's hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at him, "Ronald…I'm still not convinced this is what you want to do in your heart but remember this…There will be no shame if you should return…ok." Rabbi Katz told him.

Ron smiled and shook the Rabbi's hand again, "In the long run….I think this is the best choice." He told the Rabbi.

Ron watched Rabbi Katz get in his car and leave and then Ron turned to the big empty space in the driveway where his car used to sit. He smiled sadly and thought to himself, _"Well…It's in good hands…Kim will take care of it." _

Then his attention was drawn to a loud thumping sound coming his way from down the street, _"What did she do to my car?"_ Ron looked on in horror as he seen a car that resembled his was coming up the street.

Ron's little black car now had tinted windows and was covered in vinyl stripes and blue neon light was coming from underneath and there were large 19 inch chrome spinner wheels surrounded by low profile Toyo tires and a large wing on the trunk.

Kim rolled up into the driveway, "Hey Ron how do you like the changes I made to MY new car." Kim asked with a grin.

"It's spankin' KP." Ron said as he tried to muster a smile.

Kim smiled and bobbed her head back and forth, "I took it up to Mr. Cruz's detail shop, since he owed me one from when we rescued his detail shop from the freak sandstorm that Dementor whipped up a few years back" Kim said happily.

Ron nodded and smiled at the memory, "I remember that one…It was the 50th time my pants fell off in a mission." Ron reminded her.

"Was it? I reminded him that you were there and then he spat on the ground and said he didn't want to talk about it." Kim said sounding rather perplexed about the whole thing.

Ron winced, "I didn't know the difference between a buffing bad and grade five sand paper back then…How long is he going to hold a grudge about that one little mistake?" Ron said sadly.

"I've updated the sound system dual 400 watt amps powering two 12 inch subs in the trunk…Listen to how loud it gets." She said as she cranked the volume up.

Ron felt as if someone was punching him in the chest over and over again and he nodded and screamed at the top of his lungs, "THAT'S PRETTY LOUD KP."

Kim turned down the volume, "What?" she asked.

Ron smiled, "Sounds great….Ummmmmmm just out of curiosity…How much did all this cost?" Ron asked.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Ron…If you have to ask how much it cost you can't afford it." She told him.

Ron nodded, _"Well she got that right."_ He thought to himself.

Kim smiled when she heard a song come on the jam CD she liked and looked at Ron, "Come on Ron sing with me." Kim told him as she started to bob her head.

"_Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger_

_  
But she ain't messin' wit no broke niggaz_

_  
Get down girl gone head get down_

_  
Get down girl gone head get down_

_  
Get down girl gone head get down"_

Ron just stared at her as she was dancing and moving her hands back and forth to the song, _"I should have sold the car to Monique"_ He thought sadly.

Kim giggled and stamped her feet on the ground, "Get in but go around the back and see what it says on the back." She told him.

Ron did as he was told and he walked behind the car and saw in bright red vinyl letters across the trunk lid the words "Bitch Slap."

Ron stared at the words and smiled, _"Got that right." _He thought to himself.

Ron got in and they turned around in his driveway and Ron heard the grinding on the curb of the ground effects, Kim pulled her head into her shoulders, "I guess I shouldn't have let Jim and Tim lower it two inches." She said sheepishly.

Ron just smiled and shrugged, "So where we headed?" he asked.

Kim leered at him, "My house, no brothers tonight and mom and dad are on another weekend retreat." She told him.

Now Kim looked at him sadly, "This time next week you'll be on a plane." She said sadly as she pulled up in her driveway and turned the engine off.

Ron nodded his head and said softly, "Yea"

"Let's go up to my room." She said as she was getting out of the car.

They began to make love but it wasn't a hurried carnal process they spent most of their night simply holding each other. Their remaining time together would be precious and they didn't want to have a single wasted moment together.

On Thursday night they would graduate from High School and on Sunday afternoon, Ron would be leaving on a Northwest Airlines flight to New York and then on to Israel.

The reality of the enormity of Ron's decision to leave was settling in on both of them, Kim rested her head on Ron's chest and asked, "You nervous about next Sunday?"

Ron lay on his back stroking Kim's arm and staring straight up into her ceiling replied, "Not so much nervous…scared is a better word." He told her.

Kim moved up closer to him and rested her weight on her elbow so she could look down on him, "I'm scared too." She said as she kissed his lips tenderly.

He took his free hand and pushed Kim's hair from her face and told her, "You are so very beautiful and I will miss you very much."

Kim rested her head back on his chest, "I wish you wouldn't go…I still think I can help you when the time comes…We could face whatever the evil is together." She told him.

"I'd like to but Sensei said I'd be endangering the ones I love…So I couldn't have you around when ever this big battle between good and evil start…I have a feeling once the battle starts that I won't live to see the finish." He told her sadly

Kim looked up at him and then started to tickle him, "Your not going to die until you're an old man so get that out of your head." She told him.

Ron was laughing and squirming on the bed, "Ok, ok, stop already."

Kim looked up at him again and said quietly, "This'll make the second birthday of mine that you've missed."

Ron nodded as he thought it over, "_This time last year, I was dating Lacey and this year I'll be out of the country."_ He thought to himself.

"I'll have to get you a present then before I leave." He told her.

Kim bit him on the shoulder, "Quit giving me things, I'm still trying to find places in my room for all the stuff you let me have from your closet." She said with a chuckle.

Ron started laughing and said, "I'll buy you a warehouse."

Kim laughed and rose up on her elbow and punched Ron in the shoulder and said, "Smart ass"

Ron smiled and looked at his girlfriend in the moonlight that was coming through the windows, "Kim…What do you think you'll be doing after college?" He asked.

Kim shook her head and raised her eyebrows and replied, "I have no idea what I want to do. Mom wants me to be a surgeon or something medical. Dad wants me to study rocketry…I thought about doing something in law enforcement…work for Global Justice…but Will Du gives me the creeps…How about you?" she asked.

Ron chuckled and told her quite seriously, "I'm going to become an assassin, it would make Master Sensei proud of me…I've been studying up, Eastern Europe has enormous growth potential for someone like me."

She smiled and shook her head and teased, "You used to be such a people person."

He smiled and responded quickly, "That was before I had to kill them."

The two lovers broke down laughing before they dozed off to sleep in each others arms.

* * *

Graduation day had finally arrived Kim was very nervous as she stood in front of her mirror in a conservative black dress. She took a deep breath and felt better_, "I lose Ron in three days…In three days I watch him board and airplane and leave…Maybe…I should go too?"_ she thought to herself as she looked into the mirror. 

"_I'm not ready for this…I guess I am, I wish we had another year or two left…I'd do some things over gain…I'd of dated Ron sooner…I'd have ignored Eric…I would have let myself be exposed to the Mystical Monkey power instead of Ron."_ She thought sadly as she headed out the door and down the stairs to see her parents.

Kim gave her mother and father a hug and the twins took pictures of them together, and then Kim posed for a picture with the twins and she hugged both of them, "Thanks guys for letting my final few months be fun." She told them happily.

The same scene was being played out over at Ron's house, he wore his black suit that he had purchased for Lacey's funeral and got ready to pose with his mom and dad once his dad figured out the ten second timer function on his camera.

His mother leaned over and told him, "Your father and I are so proud of you." She said she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

Ron liked hearing this and he stood up just a little taller than normal, _"I think the last time I felt this good is when they took me with them to France for a family vacation."_ He thought happily to himself as his father figured out the self timer on the camera.

Then they left their house for the trip to the high school, Ron rode in the back seat. He checked and double checked to see if he had his cap and gown with him. He looked inside his hat to make sure he had his name in it for when he would throw it up in the air after the ceremony was over.

They arrived at school and Ron put on his gown and then his cap, he couldn't remember which side the tassel was supposed to go on so he just shrugged and thought _"I'll ask KP when I see her in the line up."_

Kim saw Ron getting out of his families car and walked over and gave him a hug and adjusted his tassel, "Move it to the other side when you receive the diploma." She reminded him.

Ron chuckled and nodded, "Right I gotcha." He told her happily.

The two walked to the double file line of graduating seniors and found their place in alphabetical order. Ron was just behind and to the left of Kim and Bonnie Rockwaller was in front of him.

The excitement began to build Kim turned and waved at Ron and he waved back, Bonnie just rolled her eyes, "Mad Dog…Never mind" she decided that whatever she was going to say just wasn't worth it.

The parents took their seats in the football stadium and then over the loud speakers came the familiar music of Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance and the double row of seniors made they're way to the football field.

Ron could hear various parents cheer and as they saw their son or daughter emerge with the group, the walked around the track and began to take their prearranged seats on the metal folding chairs out on the football field.

Ron started to smile and he looked over a few seats down the row to Kim, and she raised her eyebrows at him. The senior class as a joke decided to have each graduate carry a marble up to the stage with them and then when acting Principle Barkin shook their hand, they would give him the marble in the hand shake.

Ron had his marble in his pocked and he reached in and claimed the little glass ball and smiled, _"This will be my last school prank."_ He thought happily.

Acting Principle Barkin approached the podium and began to speak into the microphone, "ALL RIGHT PEOPLE LISTEN UP, there that's better…Welcome to the Middleton High School graduating class of 2007."

The crowd and the seniors began to cheer and Barkin glowered at everyone, "DID I TELL ANY OF YOU TO APPLAUD." He thundered into the microphone.

Principle Barkin looked around and then nodded his head and continued"Good that's better, I hate making speeches…That's why we pay people to come speak and motivate us and stuff…So let's have a big round of applause for class Valedictorian Justine Flanner."

A rather bored and precocious teen approached the podium and began to speak, "Thank you Principle Barkin, I'd like to say a few words…Small words so that my fellow…seniors can follow along. First of all I would like to say that I hate my parents for not letting me go to M.I.T. when I was 10…The whole Justine you have to learn to live like normal people…Sure ok, I have an IQ the size of a planet for crying out loud…You can tell that from just looking at my forehead…This year would have been a total waste of my time, but I found love…"

Ron leaned out and looked at Kim and she just looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders.

Then they turned their attention back to Justine's speech, "That's right love, you see I met this musician named Dork, he plays bass for the rock band Voice of God…Yea a think I saw a few of you losers down at the Odyssey…I was the one dressed as a nun."

Ron about fell out of his chair,_"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I recognizer her now." _He thought wickedly to himself.

Justine nodded her head and smiled wickedly, "I'm also pregnant with Dork's child…I know what your thinking…How could I ever love a guy calling himself Dork…Well he's a genius too…A musical genius…Our children will be musical prodigies. So now I say screw M.I.T. I'm hitting the road with the band as soon as they finish they're new album…So mom and dad take your normal people crap and stuff it in your pipe and smoke it." She said as she finished her speech and walked off the stage.

Ron jumped to his feet and pumped his fist in the air and screamed "BOOYAHHHHHHHH" and then he realized he was the only one standing and quickly sat down.

Acting Principle Barkin approached the podium once again and said uneasily, "Well I'm glad to see Miss Flanner managed to inspire at least one person out there."

Bonnie Rockwaller punched Ron hard in the ribs, Ron turned and looked at her and she pointed towards Kim.

Ron leaned out and looked down the isle at Kim, she pointed her index finger at him and then shook her fist.

He held up his hands and nodded his head that he understood.

Acting Principle Barkin cleared his throat, "I'd like to introduce our featured speaker this evening, he is the President and CEO of Henchco Industries, please welcome Mr. Jack Hench."

Ron leaned out again and discovered that Kim was already out in the isle waiting for him, she pointed at the podium and Ron just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

Jack Hench approached the podium as the applause started to die down, he smiled and began his speech, "Students of Middleton, I know you're all wondering why I, a man who designs products that have been known to be used in various illegal ventures would ever be asked to speak at a high school commencement? I wondered the same thing, but hey your eighteen thousand dollar check spends just like the rest of them so I told then Principle Kelby that I'd give it a shot."

Jack interrupted his speech to take a drink of water and then he continued, "You all look like good kids, I doubt if any of you will ever purchase any products from me, but hey I'm trying to reach an untapped market…Now just on the chance that one of you'se is some sort of mystically powered ninja assassin, hell bent on going to the rich untapped market of Eastern Europe…You're the one I'm trying to reach."

Kim couldn't contain herself any longer as she yelled, "SHUT THE F' UP."

She quickly put her hands over her mouth and then she was punched hard in the arm by Bonnie Rockwaller, "That's from Ron." She said in most annoyed voice.

Kim leaned out and held up her hands as Ron was busy shaking his fist at her.

"…Now I know one of you'se is thinking hey I wanna rob a bank, Jack what have you got for me…Well I'll tell you'se what's I got…Proton Jet Packs…Lightweight…Bullet proof…" Jack Hench's speech was cut short as Acting Principle Steve Barkin yanked the microphone away from him.

"For the love of all that is right in the world, what kind of whacko are you advising our graduating class to rob banks and become assassins." Barkin demanded of the man.

Jack Hench put a finger in Barkins face, "Your on your own Acting Principle, I'm out of here and your not getting your money back either." He told Barkin as he stomped off the stage.

Acting Principle Barkin approached the podium once again, "Ummmmm…to you graduating seniors…Robbing Banks and Killing People is wrong and 9 times out of 10 you may end up going to prison…Ok….Good….Let's hand out some of these diplomas." He said as he searched his pockets for the graduating senior list.

Kim and Ron sat and waited for their names to be called, they applauded as people they knew received their diplomas.

Finally their row was being called, "Kim Possible" Kim walked up and took her diploma and shook Acting Principle Barkin's hand giving him yet another marble.

Acting Principle Barkin rolled his eyes, "Bonnie Rockwaller" Bonnie walked up to the stage and went through the same routine that Kim had just done and Barkin dropped yet another marble on the stage.

"Ronald Stoppable" He barked out and Ron approached the podium and received his diploma and shook Barkin's hand and left him with his marble. He then turned and started to walk off the stage and accidentally stepped on about three marbles that rolled out onto the stage.

Ron yelled for help and promptly tumbled off the stage; he landed on his back and was looking at the sky.

Kim rushed over, "Ron are you ok?" She asked.

Ron shook his head, "Why of all nights did this have to happen tonight? Kim….Do I still have my pants on?" He asked.

Kim put her face real close to Ron's and whispered, "For the moment Ron, for the moment."

He smiled and held up a hand for Kim to help him up.

"BOOYAH" He screamed as he waived his diploma in the air.


	13. Chapter 13

Ron awoke Friday morning to gray overcast skies; he lay in bed careful not to wake Kim. In two days he would be leaving to start a new life in a country on the other side of the world.

He had spent the night in her room, Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P. turned in early, Kim's mother giving her a knowing wink and a reminder to keep the noise down to a roar. He remembered her blushing at the request and how she was still red in the face as they began to make love in her room.

Now it was a new day and Ron would have to finish his personal business up with his bank. It was time to close his account out and have a certified check cut so that he would be able to start a bank account in Israel.

He also had to buy Kim a birthday present and he wanted it to be very special, _"I have known Kim now for 14 years…I will buy her something nice since I missed last years birthday…She missed mine too but I was so wrapped up with Lacey dieing, if she did give me anything…I don't think I would have remembered it anyway."_

_"I think that I'll visit Tina at work and see what she thinks…let's get this thought out…Bank…Smarty Mart…Should I let the twins have Rufus today or tomorrow…Tomorrow…I know I will cry…I have to stop thinking about it, I'm ready to cry now."_ He thought as he gently unwound Kim's arm from his body and walked to the window to look outside.

He parted the blinds on Kim's window and looked outside, he saw that Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Possible had gone to work and his mom and dad didn't. This meant they wanted to spend some time with him before he left.

He knelt down and kissed his sleeping girlfriend on the forehead; she stirred and tucked her pillow up under her head. Ron softly chuckled as he began to get dressed, _"I have to make sure all my laundry is clean, I'm only taking cloths and pictures with me. Everything I own in the world will be in one duffle bag and three suit cases…How depressing is that."_ He thought as he picked up his shoes and left the bedroom quietly.

Ron ventured down stairs and finished dressing; Tim came running into the living room and told Ron to follow him into the basement. He could tell that Tim was very excited so he did as the one twin requested and followed.

"See Ron we've made an area just for Rufus, he has a place to play and place to sleep and we've made a little area for him to eat." Tim was obviously proud of what he and Jim had built for Rufus.

Ron looked the spread over carefully looking for anything that could be a problem for his little buddy and then he spotted it, "Ummm this is really spankin' Tim but…could you do me a favor and move it upstairs somewhere…Rufus enjoys looking out windows and sunning himself from time to time."

Tim took Ron back up stairs and showed him a likely spot that was in the Possible's screened in sunroom, "Do you think Rufus will like out here?"

Ron looked over the spot and then looked into the back yard and saw the birds feeding in the bird feeder and Ron thought about Rufus laying around out here and he decided that this would not be a bad spot for a mole rat to enjoy life.

"I this will work…Now your designing ejection seats for those test planes right?" Ron asked as he lowered his eyebrows and his voice.

Tim nodded, "Oh yea and Jim's working on a system too."

Ron chuckled, "Nothing against Jim but I know you've always been the idea guy and he's always been more nuts and bolts…I feel more comfortable with you building the seat….I don't want to come back here and see a little grave in the backyard."

Tim stammered nervously, "No…We'll take good care of Rufus."

Ron nodded apparently satisfied with Tim's answers, "So how'd you two like high school?"

"It was ok…We missed our friends from middle school…" Tim looked at the ground and shrugged.

Ron smiled and nodded, "Believe it or not…I've been an outsider a time or two myself…I'm glad you guys took it easy on Kim…She was really down there for a while."

"So when's Rufus coming over?" Tim asked as Ron was turning to leave the room.

Ron stopped and gave the question some thought, "I'll bring him over tomorrow evening…I don't think I could take saying goodbye to Rufus and Kim all in one day…I'll see you later…Tell Jim I said hi."

Ron left the room and walked through the living room, he stopped for a moment at the bottom of the stairs and thought about giving Kim a wake up call but decided that there was too much to do as he picked up his suit coat, tie, cap, gown and finally the long sought after diploma and walked home.

_"Ok money rundown, I have $4,000 from the aliyah assistance league for housing, $4,000 from the Israel foundation for moving expenses, $12,000 from the bike, $2,000 from the car, $2,000 from mom and dad, $1,000 from what I saved from Smarty Mart…more or less…$25,000 that should make things easier once I'm on the ground over there….I still wish I had my 99 million."_ He was still calculating as he entered the house and walked up the stairs to his room.

His mother caught him in the hallway and she let him know that she was not happy with him, "Oh look our son the future Israeli has decided to grace us with his presence this morning."

"Sorry mom….I…uhhh…spent the night at the Possible's." He explained as he tried to side step her and go into his room.

His mother let him slide by, "You go shower and then come down stairs, I can still smell Kim all over you."

Ron chuckled as he entered his room and he patted Rufus on the head, "Don't worry buddy we'll spend the next couple of days together."

He quickly showered and changed, he turned and looked at his barren room and nodded as he grabbed Rufus and quickly headed back downstairs to meet with his mother and feed Rufus.

"So you…ready to go?" his mother asked as she made him a bowel of toasty O's.

Ron nodded, "I will be soon have to get Rufus fed and then I'll be ready."

His mother slid the bowl of cereal in front of him, "Here eat this, I'm sure Kim didn't get up and fix you anything to eat."

Ron chuckled, "and just what makes you think that?"

His mother laughed bitterly, "I didn't see any fire engines out in front of their house this morning."

Rufus fell over backwards laughing and Ron poked him in the stomach, "Eat"

Ron's father came into the kitchen, "So Ronald what have you got to do today?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Close out my account at the bank, say goodbye to the some people at Smarty Mart, and buy Kim a birthday present….finish packing."

"So are you getting nervous about Sunday?" His father asked as he took a seat at the table.

Ron tried to answer for several seconds but the only word he could think of was, "Yes"

Ron's mother placed her hand on her stomach, "We've decided on a name for your sister."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Oh yea"

His father beamed with pride, "We're going to name her Rhonda."

Ron started to choke on his toasty O's and gasped out, "NOOOOO"

Then his parents laughed and his mother pulled on his ear, "Gotcha"

His father shook a finger at him, "You should have seen the look on your face Ronald."

Ron brought both hands up and covered his eyes, "That was good dad."

His mother patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry honey we're looking at the S's this time, Shari, Sheryl and so on."

"Now tomorrow we go to temple and meet with Rabbi Katz, and then we'll go out for a nice lunch." His father informed him.

Ron nodded his head, "Sounds like a plan.'

"Is Kim staying here tonight or…" His father never got a chance to finish his question.

"I do not approve of her being here, you know how I feel about this Ronald…She is nothing but trouble for you." His mother reminded him in no uncertain terms on her feelings about Kim.

Ron closed his eyes and thought to himself, _"Looks like I spend the night with Kim again."_

* * *

Once breakfast was finished he drove his mom's car to the bank and closed his account out, after that he was headed over to the Smarty Mart to say his farewells there. Before he could get out of the car however his cell phone rang.

He picked up the phone and looked to see who was calling, "Kim" he muttered to himself as he answered the phone, "Hey KP, what's up?"

"You could of at least woke me up to tell me you were leaving this morning." Ron smiled, he could hear that Kim was a bit tweaked but he knew it wasn't anything serious.

"Now KP, I didn't want to disturb you…Your so cute when your snoring like a freight train." He teased as he looked out of the side window on the old Ford.

"I do not snore like a freight train…Do I?" she asked

Ron was trying to hold back his laughter, "Kim…Those breath right nose strips help keep you from snoring…Not saying you do but…You know I was…I mean…I'm normally an early riser."

There was a long moment of silence and Ron half thought that he had hurt her feelings when he heard her say, "Oh…Will you be over later?"

He breathed a sigh of relief; he was just having fun and didn't want to hurt Kim's feelings. Especially not since he was so close to leaving, "Yea, I think I'll be spending the night again if that's ok?"

He heard her chuckle, "Of course it's all right, I didn't hear one complaint from mom when she came home and dad…You know how daddy is?"

Ron smiled, "Yea…Well I'm going to get running, I have some people that I need to say goodbye to here at Smarty Mart…Ok?"

She said goodbye and Ron put up the cell phone and got out of the old Ford Crown Victoria station wagon of his mom's and went inside the store. He went to the back and found Mr. Dotson and shook his hand and told his old supervisor goodbye.

"Well Ron, I don't really understand why you're going, but good luck to you…If you do join the IDF…You'll want to carry the squad automatic weapon…Otherwise you'll eat a lot of sand marching in the back…alphabetical order." He explained to Ron.

Ron nodded his head, "Ahhhhhhh…I gotcha…I never thought about that."

Mr. Dotson looked around, "You may want to look into volunteer service…I was in the Persian Gulf…The desert can be very, very hot."

Ron swallowed hard and nodded, "I'll keep that in mind…Would you say goodbye to Lacey's parents for me?"

Mr. Dotson nodded, "Sure Ron, and once again….good luck."

Ron turned and headed to the jewelry department and found Tina, "Hi Tina"

Tina smiled, "Ron, I guess this is a so long visit?"

Ron nodded, "Yea, I leave for Israel on Sunday…I also need to pick up something for Kim for her birthday."

"How about an engagement ring?" Tina said with a wink.

Ron shook his head, "No…I'd…I'm not quite ready for that."

"Give her a nice friendship ring then." Tina advised looking over the ring selection.

He shook his head again, "She's a little more than a friend."

She frowned, "Your not going to make this easy are you?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm a little picky, I'm…sort of afraid…I might not see her again."

Tina nodded and looked around the case some more, "How about a tennis bracelet?"

"That sounds promising, show me a few." He told her as he continued to look over the jewelry.

Tina brought out a small tray of bracelets, "These are the only ones worth looking at."

Ron picked out a couple to look at a couple of bracelets and then Tina put her hand on top of his, "Pendants…give her a pendant."

He shook his head, "All the pendants look like they come out of one of those quarter bubble gum machines in front of the store."

"Well excuse me Mr. Jewelry expert." She said as she reached out and punched him in the shoulder.

"Well they do." Ron said as he punched her back. "This one looks nice…purple amethyst, it'd match the ring I bought her for Valentine's Day. He passed the necklace back for her inspection.

Tina looked it over, "Thin sterling silver band small purple amethyst crystals, not too gaudy…Yep…I'll ring it up and I'll let you use my Smarty Mart discount."

She rang the purchase up and then came back with the total, "That'll be $38.63 big spender.

Ron pulled out his billfold and handed her a two twenty's, he could see carefully folded up on one side of the billfold was the cashiers check, he pulled it out and carefully stuffed it into one of the side pockets of the billfold so there would be less chance of it jumping out.

Tina handed him back his change and Ron put dumped the coins in his right front pocket and put the dollar into the billfold.

She handed the little white plastic bag to him with his purchase. "Hey Ron, they had a suicide bombing a couple of days ago in Tel Aviv…Guy blew himself up outside a little street side food stand…Do me a favor and avoid large clusters of people and if you take a bus….try and sit in the back, if you see any bags or anything without anyone around them, walk away from them…I'd kind of hate to hear about you being blown to bits."

Ron swallowed hard and nodded, "So…You going to be going to Tel Aviv one of these days?"

Tina smiled, "I'll be there around Chanukah and go out and hit some dance clubs, give me your email address and I'll look you up."

They exchanged email addresses and then Ron left the store, it was time to go home and then he'd go down the street and visit Kim.

Ron pulled into the driveway of the with his mom's station wagon, the Ford was well over ten years old but for what little his mother drove it, the old tank was still in good shape.

He walked into the house and pulled Rufus from his pocket, "We're headed to Kim's but I'm not leaving you there yet…OK?'

Rufus looked sad and nodded, "Nachos?"

Ron noticed he perked up a bit at the mention of his favorite food, "I'll see if I can get Kim to give us a lift up to Bueno Nacho…I'd like to see Ned one more time before I leave."

Ron quickly wrapped Kim's present in some old Garfield and Friends wrapping paper that he found in a closet once the gift was wrapped he smiled, _"Kim will love the wrapping paper…I think I may have used that on a present when were….eight maybe?"_

Ron picked up Rufus and the present, "Let's go for a walk buddy."

Ron walked slowly down the hill he had traveled up and down so often in his life, he looked at the other houses in the neighborhood and the well manicured lawns and how quiet everything was.

He was getting closer to Kim's house now and he could see his old car in the driveway and he winced, he hated what she had done to it. The car was not a show car by any stretch of the imagination but at least it wasn't gaudy. Ron walked by his old car and he could swear he heard it weeping.

He knew he would miss the car and this place and he knew he would miss her; so he forced the thoughts to the back of his mind as he neared the door, _"Smile dummy, we don't want Kim to see a sad Ron do we?"_

He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer; Mrs. Dr. P. answered and told him to head up to Kim's room. Ron walked up the steps to her room and knocked on the door.

The door opened and Kim leaned against the door frame, "What makes you think I should let you in?"

Ron was startled, "Uhhh…uhhh I…I…ummm…bought you a birthday present."

Kim smiled and hugged Ron and gave him a big kiss, "I guess that's a good reason."

He returned the hug and continued to hold her for a few more minutes and then he handed her the small box.

She looked down and smiled at the wrapping paper, "I used to love Garfield."

Ron smiled, "Happy Birthday KP…I know it's a bit early…"

Kim put a finger to his lips and silenced him and then she opened the present, she smiled and her eyes lit up when she saw the necklace, "Ohhhhhhh it's gorgeous."

She put it on and modeled it for Ron, "It looks good on you, Kim."

She gave him another hug and a kiss, "Thank you"

He nodded, "Uhhhhhhh…Kim can I ask you for a favor?"

"Sure…anything" She said as she held him as tightly as she could.

Ron was almost embarrassed to ask, he was so used to having his own car and just going places but now he needed a lift, "I need to say goodbye to a few people and I was wondering if you could drive me around?"

Kim kissed him, "Sure…Let me get my purse."

Ron had a little half hearted smile on his face as he watched her search her room for the purse, _"I am going to miss you so much."_

He had her go by the mall first, Kim wasn't too crazy about it but Ron insisted on saying goodbye to Monique.

"Ron…I'm not OK with this, if I could go in the store it would be different…" She was cutoff in mid-sentence by a slightly tweaked response from Ron.

"Who was it that decided to trash the store and get a restraining order placed on them?" He reminded her as he got out of the car and walked inside.

_"Hated to remind her like that but I just don't have time for petty jealousy right now."_ He thought to himself as he entered the mall and walked into Club Banana.

He smiled and waived at Monique who said something to another girl that worked there and then she came outside the store and gave Ron a hug, "I've got ten minutes…So you're still leaving on Sunday."

Ron nodded, "I just wanted to come by and say goodbye…I also wanted to tell you how much your friendship has meant to me…I feel bad about how we broke up…I really enjoyed dating you."

Monique nodded, "It's always been about Kim with you…I remember when we first met…You were jealous of me…I was taking Kim away from you."

Ron chuckled and looked down at his feet, "Yea…I remember…it seems rather…childish now I guess."

Monique smiled, "A lot's happened over the last two years, listen you ever wise up about that red headed psycho…Remember me…OK?"

He turned and looked around the mall, "Do me a favor…Keep an eye on Kim…I don't want her to end up in jail or anything."

She laughed at the statement, "Now that's a tall order…Kim's gonna do what Kim's gonna do…You guys going to try and stay a couple or…are you splitting?"

Ron let out a deep breath, "I'd like to…but realistically I'll be 2,000 miles away…I think she'll meet some cute guy and then I'll just be a fond memory…as for me…you never know, I might meet that nice Jewish girl mom keeps talking about."

Monique laughed, "Good luck Ron, and always remember Pain King can kick the crap out of Steel Toe any day of the week."

Ron smiled, "I don't know about that."

They hugged each other for long minutes, and then Monique broke away, "I have to go back to work…Remember now…you're too good for her."

He smiled and nodded his head, "Good luck to you Monique, you'll be great at whatever you choose to do."

They parted and Ron watched her go back inside the store, then he waived and walked back out to car where Kim was waiting.

"Any more ex-girlfriends we have to say goodbye to." She asked as Ron slid back in the passenger seat.

Ron scratched the back of his head, "No…I don't think so, I took care of the others during the day."

Kim punched him in the ribs and then cranked up the stereo, "YOU DON'T MIND IF WE LISTEN TO SOME BONE THUGS DO YOU?"

He reached over and turned the music back down, "Yes, take me to Bueno Nacho."

She nodded and then reached back over and cranked it up and started groovin' and singing as she drove out of the Middleton Malls parking lot.

"Some niggas be passin' that weed on

To them thugsta niggas from Cleve-lawn

Gotta smoke 'til it's all gone

Now what a BONE cuz a nigga be creep on

Call all my thugstas, all them niggas drink

Call all my thugstas, all them niggas smoke weed"

Ron started to squirm in his seat, and then finally he could take it any longer and turned it off.

Kim glared at him, "What did you do that for?"

Ron shook his head, "KP you can act like a psycho after I leave…Your wierding me out, you never used to listen to this stuff and you used to never sing about Niggas and thugs…and WEED."

She smiled sheepishly, "I guess I'll leave my socks on then tonight?"

"KIM WHAT DID YOU DO?" Ron was horrified, he knew what the answer would be and he was starting to get queasy thinking about it.

"I had a rose tattooed on my left calf." She told him as she cranked the music back up.

Ron sat in his seat with his mouth hanging open, he was stunned and didn't hear Kim singing about slapping ho's and busting caps at cops or blowing weed and getting high. All he could focus on was Kim's tattoo until they reached Bueno Nacho.

Kim parked the car and turned down the stereo and turned and saw Ron in another dimension, she reached out and tapped him on the shoulder, "Ron…I was only messing with you…I didn't really get a tattoo."

He pulled Rufus out of his pocket and started towalk into Bueno Nacho, Kim locked the car up and quickly followed Ron inside, "Ron, did you hear me…I was only kidding about the tattoo."

Ron nodded his head, "Yea…that's pretty funny stuff there KP."

"Hey you guys." Ned said happily as he greeted the couple.

Ron perked up, "Hey Ned, two chicken chimerito's combo's grande sized, two nacos and...you hungry KP?"

Kim nodded, "Sante Fe salad and diet coke."

Ned smiled and rang up the order, "That'll be $11.95 Ron…Hey Kim I saw you down at Needle Dan's today, what kind of tattoo did you get?"

Kim giggled nervously and Ron closed his eyes as he handed Ned the money. Ron stood there not quite knowing what to say. So he decided to say nothing.

The silence made Kim nervous and she tried to speak to Ron but he ignored her, finally the food came and Ron took the food over to his favorite table and took Rufus out of his pocket.

The naked mole rat's eyes lit up and he smiled, "CHEESE"

Ron looked at Kim with his sad brown eyes, "Look…I'm going to be a few minutes while I say goodbye to Ned….I'll be back."

Kim watched him walk away, and she started to eat her Santa Fe salad, "Chew slowly Rufus…This maybe the last time we're all here together."

Rufus looked around and nodded his head sadly and began to eat slower.

Ned took a break and he and Ron walked outside, "Wow Kim really pimped your ride."

"Yea, the cars spankin'" Ron said quietly as leaned against the fender.

Ron looked at the ground, "I leave on Sunday and I thought I'd just drop by and tell you how much fun I've had here over the years and how I appreciate you hooking me up with a job last summer…I couldn't have got this car without you Ned."

Ned wasn't used to Ron being so straightforward and he didn't know what to say, "Ron…You would have found a way to get that car…Now if you wouldn't of pushed me so much…There's no way I'd of asked out Tina."

Ron started laughing, "That's true…at least the car will be around so you two can reminisce about the backseat…So where you going to go to school?"

Ned smiled, "I was going to go to UTEP, like dad did and then I found out Tina is going to Upperton….So I decided to stay close to home."

Ron shook his head, "So that means, you, Tina, Kim, and Monique are all going to Upperton….Incredible."

"You could always stay and go too." He reminded Ron.

He frowned and shook his head, "No…I wish I could, but no…I'm going to miss you Ned."

Ned was stunned when Ron embraced him, he tentatively hugged him back, "Uhhhh…Ron…your not…going all Josh Mankey on me are you?"

Ron started to laugh and then gave Ned a big kiss on the forehead, "It's the sweet smell of nacos Ned it just drives me insane."

Ned was blushing as he shoved Ron away, "You won't miss me, you just want me for my nacos."

They shared a good laugh as they went back inside the restaurant; Kim looked relieved when she saw Ron come back to the table smiling, "So you said goodbye to Ned?"

Ron nodded, "Yea"

He reached into the food and pulled out a chicken chimerito and gave Rufus the nachos, "You can have daddy's nachos."

He rubbed Rufus's head as he started eating the nachos, "I'm going to miss all this…I'd like to think I'll be back some day."

Kim squirmed nervously in her seat, "You know you'll be back."

"So tell me about Needle Dan's?" He asked as he turned his attention back to Kim.

Kim rolled her eyes, "It's my body Ron and if I want a tattoo, I'll get one."

Ron nodded his head, "Yea"

She crossed her arms and glared at him, "What is it with you and tattoos anyway?"

Ron finished the chimerito and opened up his naco, "Well from the time I was able to remember going to temple it's been pounded into my head that tattoos are a form of idol worship and is an abomination before God…That's why I reacted so strongly about the chip, I do not want to have my body defiled…It's your body, get as many of those nasty things as you want."

Kim blinked her eyes, "Oh"

Ron finished his naco and downed the last of his soda, "Well, thanks for driving us around tonight…I think Rufus and me are ready to call it a night."

Kim watched him get out of the booth, he patted Rufus on the head and put him back inside his pocket, "Time to go home buddy."

Kim looked shocked, "I thought you was going to spend the night?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders slowly and in a quiet voice explained, "I think it might be better if me and Rufus spend our last night together alone."

He dumped the trash and waived at Ned as he walked outside, Kim followed him out slowly, _"Why does he have to be so closed minded, am I really acting so much differently?"_

They drove home together in silence; Kim pulled up in front of Ron's house and let him out on the curb.

He patted her twice on the leg, "I'll see you later KP."

Then he lowered his head and walked slowly into his house. Kim sat on the street for a few minutes till she saw the light go on in his bedroom. She stuck her tongue out at the house, _"If I want to listen to gangster rap and smoke and get tattoos there's nothing you can do in Israel about it, can you?"_

She put the car in gear and drove down the street, _"He just can't deal with the fact that we're not in Pre-K anymore…Go ahead and go on your great finding myself adventure, it's not my fault you got…It's not my fault…It is my fault you got those mystical monkey powers."_

She got out of her car and stomped upstairs, _"No, I'm not going to feel bad…He just can't grasp the fact that tattoos are an art form…Silly religion, can't eat pork, doesn't celebrate Christmas, no tattoos…I bet he doesn't even know nacos have pork in them…I should tell and then laugh as he…What am I going to do when he's gone?" _


	14. Chapter 14

Ron walked into his room and found a package sitting on his bed; he opened the package and found a cell phone inside.

The phone rang and Ron opened it and answered it, a small flat panel display of Wade popped up, "Hey Ron…I made this phone just so you could talk to us back here from Israel."

Ron smiled, "Or keep track of me while I'm in Israel."

Wade started to stutter and Ron held up a hand, "I'm only joking Wade, thanks…So I can call you or Kim any time I want to?"

Wade smiled and nodded, "Yea I'm piggybacking the signal off a Defense Department satellite that's in orbit…"

Ron started laughing and interrupted him, "Wade…It's OK, remember I'm the slow one, as long as it works and has a few games on it, I'm happy…I guess I'll let Kim keep the Ronnunicator then?"

Wade shook his head, "No, those things are old tech, it's time to step it up a notch, digital encryption, randomized alternating frequencies, blue tooth, this is state of the art…at least until I invent something next week."

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "You rock Wade…I have to finish packing here and make sure that I have everything ready to go…I'm going to miss you guys."

Wade lost his smile and he nodded, "We'll miss you too Ron…It was fun working with you again the last few months."

"Yea…yea it was, goodbye Wade." Ron said as he ended the call and looked over the shinny new phone.

Ron placed the phone on top of the dresser next to Rufus, "Well let's look around and make sure I have everything packed…okay."

He went through all of his drawers again and made sure that there was nothing left in them to forget, and then he pulled furniture away from the wall and looked behind them, under the bed and at last inside the closet.

He looked at the three large suitcases and the duffle bag, and shook his head, _"Everything I own in the world."_

He heard his mother call to him from downstairs and he walked down the stairs to see what she wanted, there in the living room was his mother and father and a package. His mother handed him the package, "Early birthday present."

Ron smiled and shook his head and started to open the gift, "You guys are the best, a digital camera."

His dad nodded, "Now you have no excuse for not sending us pictures in your letters home…Which you will write every day so that your mother does not worry about you."

"Me…You're the one, who is worried. " His mother corrected him.

Ron quickly put the camera together and snapped in the memory card, he took pictures of his mother and father, lots of pictures of Rufus, and then he figured out the self timer and had everyone pose for a family portrait in the living room.

He looked at the pictures in the view screen and smiled, "I think this is the best present you guys ever gave me."

That sat in the living room and talked for the next two hours. Ron was in heaven, he had never really spent a lot of time actually talking to his parents and he was enjoying it to no end.

It was finally bed time and Ron picked up Rufus and the camera and walked back upstairs to his room He opened the door and was startled to find Kim sitting on his bed, "Uhhhhhh Hi KP."

Kim was sitting on the edge of his bed and she gave him a weak smile and waved back, "Hi Ron."

"So what's going on?" He asked as he put Rufus to bed on the dresser for the last time.

Ron patted him on the head and then they embraced as Rufus settled in for the night.

Kim watched them and wiped a tear from her eye, "I was feeling crummy so I decided to come up for a visit."

Ron showed Kim the new camera his parents gave him and the phone that Wade sent him, "I've checked and double checked, I think…I'm officially ready to go now."

Kim looked at his bare room and gave a sad little smile, "I wish I was as ready for you to leave as you are."

Ron shook his head, "Huh…Oh"

Kim chuckled quietly, "I…You've been with me all my life and now your leaving and I can't…believe it…It's…"

They stared at each other for long moments, "Come with me Kim."

She shook her head, "I can't"

There was another long silence, "Stay"

He shook his head, "I can't"

Kim stood up and walked over to him and folded her body into his and began to cry,

Ron hugged and kissed her tears as they fell down her cheeks, "Shhhhhh, that's enough of that, I don't want the last few days with you to be sad ones."

Kim took a deep breath and looked into Ron's large round brown eyes and then she started crying again, "I'm sorry…I should have went on the mission, I'm soooooo sorry."

Ron took her by her arms, "Kim that is enough of that, what is done is done, now let me see that badical smile of yours."

Kim chuckled and sniffled, "Ok, I'm ok…Can I sleep over tonight?"

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "Yes but you have to hold it down or mom will have kittens."

They spent the night together wrapped in each others arms, Ron spent most of the night just stroking her back and talking softly to her about silly things they did together as children until Kim finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Saturday morning came and Ron got himself ready to go to the temple, he turned and looked at Kim, "Now remember don't come out of the house until you see the round the corner, OK."

Kim smiled and helped him with his tie, "You look good."

Ron blushed, "Thanks"

Kim watched out of the window as Ron and his family left for the temple, then she slowly walked down the stairs and out of the house. It was going to be a warm day, she could tell that the minute she stepped outside.

She walked slowly down the street and back into her own house, the twins came up to greet her, "When's Rufus going to be here?"

Kim smiled, "Ron said he'd bring him by around six."

The twins were as excited as she had ever seen them, they ran off down the hall and Kim walked up the stairs to her room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Ron and his family went to temple, they met with Rabbi Katz and he presented him with plane tickets paid for by the temple. Rabbi Katz read the schedule that Ron would have to follow tomorrow afternoon, "You have all your paper work in order, you leave Upperton International Airport on board Northwest Airlines for Newark International Airport in Newark, NJ. There you will have a one hour layover where you will board El Al Airlines 747 for Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv Israel."

A shiver went up Ron's spine as he reached out and took the tickets, "Any idea on when I'll be landing?"

Rabbi Katz spread his arms, "Let me put it to you this way…You will have plenty of time for practicing your Hebrew and reading the Torah.

The group chuckled and Ron nodded, "He, he, he…I gotcha"

Rabbi Katz nodded and continued, "Ronald once you land the Oster family will meet you at the airport and help you to assimilate into the populating…You will be very busy the first few days going from government agency to government agency getting all your paper work for residency."

Ron shrugged and scratched the back of his neck, "I guess that's it then."

Rabbi Katz walked with the family to the front of the temple, "When you land in Israel, you go straight to the Bank of Jerusalem. Don't be running around flashing all that money around to impress the ladies."

Ron laughed, "I learned that lesson a few years ago."

Rabbi Katz smiled, "Now you be careful while you are over there, lots of terrorism, also find you a nice Jewish girl and settle down."

Ron looked at the Rabbi with suspicion in his eyes, "Mom put you up to this didn't she."

His mother slapped his shoulder playfully, Rabbi Katz just shrugged, "What?"

The went out for a late lunch and then to Smarty Mart so Ron could by some odds and ends, razors, tooth paste, snacks and he processed the pictures that he took the night before with his new camera.

* * *

When they returned home it was nearly 5:30 in the afternoon and Ron had to do something that he knew had to be done and it was something that he knew would break his heart. It was time to pack up Rufus for his new home.

Ron reached into his coat pocket and pulled Rufus out and looked at him, he swallowed hard and held him close, "Time to get ready for you new home buddy."

Ron found a small box in the garage and went up stairs, he took as long as he possibly could to perform the task. First he changed his close and then he and Rufus went through the pictures he had taken last night, he tried half heartedly to poke fun at his little friend but it fell flat.

Then he took a deep breath and placed all of the little outfits that he had made for him so they dress in matching outfits. He was sure that little quirk in his personality came from his desire for a family or a sibling.

He also put inside the box a few toys and an old sock of his that Rufus just loved to play with, he was never quite sure why he loved it so much, but he did.

Ron stood up straight and picked Rufus up and looked into his sad little eyes and he had to choke back his tears, "One last ride buddy."

Ron put Rufus in his pocket and walked down the stairs, Rufus poked his head out of his pocket and took everything in he was leaving the only home he had ever known and he wanted to try and commit everything to memory.

Ron walked out the front door and down to the street, Rufus looked back at the house as they made their way down the street, Ron was clenching his jaw hard as he was trying not to cry.

He stopped at the edge of the Possible's driveway and stared at the house and then he took a deep breath and walked to the front door. He didn't get a chance to ring the bell as the door flew open and the twins were there all happy and excited about their new pet.

They took Ron into the sunroom and showed him the new layout for Rufus, "Well Rufus what do you think?" Jim asked.

Rufus popped out of the pocket and looked around; Ron pulled him out of his pocket and set him down on the little naked mole rat city that Jim and Tim had built for him.

Ron felt a little better, "These are some little cloths and toys for Rufus…When it gets cold remember to take him inside…He doesn't have any fur."

Jim and Tim didn't seem to notice they were busy playing with Rufus and Ron smiled and walked away, "I think he'll be happy, I think I'll head to Kim's room."

Ron turned and walked towards the stairs at the front of the house, _"Saying goodbye to Rufus went smoother than I thought…I don't think saying goodbye to Kim will nearly so smoothly." _

He climbed the stairs and stopped outside her door, he stood there a long moment before taking a deep breath and then he knocked on the door, "Kim…You home?"

He heard a sad voice from the other side of the door, "Hey on in"

Ron opened the door and walked into the bedroom, "Hey Kim, whatcha doin'?"

She was seated on the bed with her legs crossed going through pictures, "I'm just looking at all of my old pictures of us…I just noticed that I don't really have very many of us together once we started going on missions…I wish I had more pictures of us together."

Ron pulled the chair from her makeup table over to the bed and sat down, "We were always so busy then…My parents gave me a digital camera as a going away gift, if you want we can go to my house and take a bunch of pictures of us?"

Kim chuckled, "I don't think that's the answer Ron."

Ron smiled, "It is for me, I want to have some pictures of you to look at while I'm over there."

Kim smiled and nodded her head, "As long as they're tasteful and I get to keep my cloths on."

They shared a good laugh and then left for Ron's house, they went into Ron's room and once again Kim was struck by just how empty the room had become. She had a question on her mind and it had been gnawing at her "Ron…can I go to the airport with you tomorrow?"

"Sha…Of course, there is no one else I'd rather have see me off than you." He told her as he pulled the camera from his duffle bag.

He took pictures of her in various poses and he even got her to consent to a pose where she was acting as if she was going to pull off her shirt while giving him a sexy come hither look.

After that she took pictures of Ron in various let's try to be cool poses and then he set the auto time and shot about six pictures of the two of them in various poses.

Kim looked at the pictures on the screen on the back of the camera and smiled, "Let's run up to Smarty Mart and get some prints."

"You'll have to drive, I'm on feet." He reminded her as he pulled the memory card from the camera.

They returned to Kim's home and she drove the two of them to Smarty Mart and had the pictures made and Ron burned the images onto a CD Rom for her to keep secure.

"Kim do you have a passport?" Ron asked as he flipped through the pictures.

Kim swallowed and nodded her head that she did.

Ron licked his lips, "Come with me."

Kim let out a heavy sigh, "I can't…There's a part of me that wants to go…I…I just can't go."

Ron nodded his head, "I...ready to go, yet I'm scared…I think once I'm there, I'll be okay…I think we've just been each other's security blankets all these years."

Kim smiled, "Yea"

He took her in her arms, "Let's go have some fun, we're starting to treat this as a funeral and I think we need to have some fun."

Kim pursed her lips together and nodded her head, "Ok what do you want to do?"

Ron closed his eyes and tried to think of something fun to do, "Miniature golf"

She smiled and gave a soft laugh, "Sounds like fun…We'll they let us play again after the whole Knights of Rodigan thing?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "We did sink the titanic and cause a lot of property destruction but I don't recall any restraining orders against Team Possible."

They played golf and talked about Prince William of Rodigan, "Ron, you quit helping me and started working for Prince Willy and you know it."

Ron was trying to line up a shot into the rebuilt castle, "Kim, he paid in cash…besides you weren't listening to my campaign advice."

Kim laughed and shook her head, "I wasn't listening to your great advice, a guy who's focus group was two guys you met in the cafeteria."

"Well KP, you have to admit my findings were right on the money." He reminded her as he to make his putt, but before he could make the shot Kim swatted him on the butt with her club, "Ow…Hey."

Kim laughed and they chased each other around and then they started to sword fight with the clubs on the sixth hole before they were thrown out for being trouble makers.

They walked back to Kim's car and Ron swatted her on the butt and that led to a race around the car until Ron let her catch him and when she caught him she hugged and kissed him.

Kim was holding him and running her hands up and down his back, "Let's go back to my house for a while…You can say goodbye to mom and dad."

Ron nodded his head as they slid into Kim's car for the drive back to her house.

The couple waked inside and Ron showed Mr. and Mrs. Possible the pictures he took at his house, minus the one of Kim acting like she was taking off her shirt.

Mr. Dr. P. looked at one of the pictures of the two of them together, "Now Ronald, it appears you have your hand some place where it shouldn't be…There's a new project I'm working on at…"

Ron laughed and interrupted him, "You'll have to find me in Israel after tomorrow so you'll have to lean on the some other boyfriend."

Mr. Dr. P. rubbed his chin, "Oh…I forgot about that…Well keep your hands to yourself over there and we'll have no problems then."

Mrs. Dr. P. pulled one of the pictures out, "Ron can I have this one?"

It was of the two of them together, "Sure Mrs. Dr. P."

Kim looked at her boyfriend and gave him a wink, "Let's go upstairs and listen to some music."

Mrs. Dr. P. narrowed her eyes and Ron nervously pulled at the collar of his shirt, "Maybe later, I want to check and see if Rufus is ok first."

Ron left the living room and headed out back to the sunroom and he could see that Rufus and the twins were still playing and it looked to him that Rufus was adjusting to his new life.

He felt Kim's hand on his arm, "Come on Ron let's go to my room."

Ron nodded and followed Kim towards the stairs; Mrs. Dr. P. looked at the two, "Remember no playing leap frog while Jim and twins are up."

They giggled and shrugged and walked up the stairs, they entered Kim's room and she cleaned her pictures off the bed, "I had a good time tonight."

He watched her finish picking the last of the pictures off the bed, "I'm glad, I didn't want tonight to feel like a funeral."

Kim pointed at the bed, "Sit with your back against the headboard so I can lie in your arms."

Ron did as he was asked and they sat together for long hours holding one another, they made love quietly well into the night and dozed off together in each others arms.

* * *

He opened his eyes and he could see that it was daylight outside, he looked over at Kim's clock radio and saw that it was 8:30, he closed his eyes, _"I have to go to the airport at noon, I better wake Kim up."_

He kissed her cheek and shook her gently and then her eyes fluttered open, the large green eyes took a moment to focus and then she realized that it was time to get up.

They kissed a while longer and then dressed and quietly walked down stairs, Mrs. Dr. P. met them at the bottom of the stairs, "I've made breakfast if you'd like some?"

Ron frowned and shook his head, "I'd love to but I have to go."

"Good luck Ron." Mrs. Dr. P. said as she gave him a hug.

Ron returned the hug trying not to cry, "Yea…ummm…Thanks for everything…uhhhhhh…I better go."

He turned to Kim and hugged her and gave her a kiss, "We'll pick you up around noon."

"Okay" she said softly as she watched him start to walk back to his house.

Ron entered his room for the last time and looked around and nodded his head, he felt he was ready. He returned his memory card into the camera and packed it away along with his pictures of Kim that he had shot the night before.

He showered and changed his clothes; he sat on the bed and looked at the dresser where Rufus used to sleep, _"This is so weird."_

Ron picked up his duffle bag and took it down to his mothers station wagon and he began to load up for his trip to the airport, next came three more suitcases and he closed hatch, _"Everything I own is now in the back of a station wagon…this is weird."_

His mother came outside, "Ronald…would you like something to eat?"

"Yes" he told his mother as he walked back inside the house that for his entire life had been his home, the only home he had known other than the Possible's."

The family ate breakfast together and talked about the trip and his mother made Ron promise to write and send pictures home and he promised he would.

Ron decided it was time to tell his parents that he wanted Kim to go the airport to see him off, "Mom, I want Kim to go with us to the airport."

His mother stopped cleaning off the table, "NO, you know how I feel, I do not want her around you and now that you are leaving she won't be."

Ron's dad put the Sunday paper down and looked at his wife, "MOTHER, if Ronald wants Kim to go to the airport to say goodbye then she goes to the airport."

"You know she is nothing but trouble." She reminded him angrily as she began to tap her foot on the floor.

Ron's father wasn't backing down, "If your only son wants to her to see him off, then that is what he shall have….Be reasonable, he may never see her again and he's known her all his life."

She threw a dish towel at her husband, "If he never sees her again he will be lucky…I guess my feelings on this don't matter."

Ron's father was not backing down, this was a first that Ron could ever remember his dad not giving up, "In this matter it is not for you to say, we will pick Kim up at noon and that is final."

"FINE" his mother said as she stormed out of the kitchen.

Ron looked at his father, "Thanks Dad"

"It's alright Son, I only hope you think kindly of me while I'm being chewed out about this for the next two months." He told him sadly as he picked the paper up and started reading again.

Ron left the room and made his last minute checks and discovered he'd forgot to pack his new Ronnicator and then thought about leaving it behind. He shook his head and smiled, _"I'll take it with me…Might actually need it one day."_

_

* * *

_

The hour finally arrived and the family drove down the street and stopped at the Possible's house. Kim waived and joined Ron in the back seat of the station wagon, "Hey"

"Hey" Ron said softly to her as they joined hands.

They held hands for the trip to Upperton International, Kim thought she could feel Ron shaking, but she wasn't sure because of her own shaking. She wasn't feeling very good, her stomach was in her throat and she knew it was the stress of the moment.

Ron squeezed her hand and he could feel her trembling, they said nothing during the trip to the airport. The airport came in view and Ron looked at Kim and saw that she had closed her eyes.

They parked in the airport garage and unloaded the wagon, Ron found a luggage caddy and they put the suitcases and the duffle bag on it and they wheeled the cart inside and took an elevator up to the main floor of the terminal.

The large arch shaped windows were heavily tinted but the sunlight still made it through to light the terminal and raise the temperature a few degrees. The walked up as close as they could to the screening area where only Ron could go in order to reach the Northwest gate to stow his luggage and wait to board his flight.

Kim swallowed hard as she looked at the metal detectors and security screeners, _"This is it…I…I…must not cry…yet."_

Ron looked at his mother, "Mom…I…I…uhhh…hope your not mad at me for…the earlier conversation we had at the house?"

His mother smiled at him and wiped a tear, "No honey but your father will pay for this."

Ron laughed, "Don't make it too hard on him…I'll write as soon as I'm settled…I love you mom."

They embraced and Ron kissed his mother on the cheek once the embrace was over he wiped a tear from his eye and looked around in embarrassment.

He hugged his father, "Thanks for helping this morning."

His father smiled, "Ronald…You be careful over there and remember…Your mother and I will always be here for you."

Then he shoved a wad of bills into his hand, "In case you get hungry on the way there, don't tell your mother I gave this to your or I'll be in more hot water."

Ron chuckled and put the money in his pocket, "Thanks for everything dad."

Now Ron turned his attention to Kim, he took a deep breath and looked at her. He noticed that his dad had pulled his mother to a desecrate distance so that the couple could have some privacy.

Ron's lower jaw shook and he licked his lips as he tried to speak, "So…ummmm…Kim…I wanted to make some big profound goodbye speech but my heart hurts so bad that I can't think."

Kim opened her mouth to talk but nothing came out and then she tilted her head, "Yea…I know the feeling…Stay."

Ron chuckled, "I with me."

Now it was time for Kim to chuckle, "I can't"

Ron looked up at the ceiling, "Uhhhh…You have been my friend for so long…Don't ever forget about me…I know you'll meet others…but…"

Kim started to tear up as she saw her friend tearing up, "I'd never forget you."

He wiped his eyes, "Yea…I'd…I'd never forget you either…ummm…I'll write and send emails as soon as I'm settled…Come with me."

Kim shook her head, "I can't…Stay."

Ron shook his head, "I can't…ummm…I love you so much…You'll do great in college…I know you will…Keep an eye on Rufus."

Kim laughed and wiped her eyes, "I love you too…I'll keep an eye on Rufus…Let me know what school you'll be going to."

He smiled, "I will…Of all the things we've done together, there is one thing I'm more proud of than anything….Know what it is?"

Kim giggled and replied softly, "That you got into my pants."

Ron started laughing, "No, but a good guess, I'm happy I destroyed the Josh Mankey date record."

Kim laughed, "Yea…I guess you did…I'm going to miss you…The way you can take something so heart breaking and awful…and make me laugh and feel good again."

Ron looked into Kim's sad green eyes, "I'll miss hearing you laugh."

Kim smiled and stepped towards him and they kissed, it was long and passionate. It made Ron's mother uncomfortable to watch so she turned away from the couple.

The kiss finally ended and they clung to each other before Ron glanced over at his father and seen him pointing at his watch. Ron licked his lips and let the embrace go.

"I have to go now." Ron said as he took hold of the luggage caddy.

Kim nodded and waived and watched Ron go through security, she smiled as she thought about running up and screaming that Ron was carrying a bomb but decided against it as it would only get Ron put in jail.

Ron went through the screening process and was gone, Kim stared at the security screening area for a long time until she felt Ron's dad put an arm on her shoulder, "We have to leave now Kim, he'll be fine…You'll see."

Kim turned and walked away with Ron's parents, _"I know he'll be fine…but what about me?"_

Ron went to the Northwest information counter and they directed him to where he would have to put his luggage in order for it to make it on the plane. Once that was taken care of he went to the waiting room and sat in a chair with his duffle bag and watched all the airplanes come and go.

The plane finally taxied up to the gate and unloaded the passengers and then a short while later they announced that the plane was ready for boarding.

Ron walked on the plane and gave the flight attendant his ticket and was told to head to the back of the plane. There wasn't a large group on the plane so he didn't bother to put his duffle bag into the over head compartment.

He sat in his seat and stared out the window of the plane, it all seemed so surreal, one minute he was receiving a diploma the next minute he was leaving, _"How strange, how very strange." _

The plane began to move and taxi to the runway, then before Ron knew it he was airborne and headed off to a new life in a country far away.


	15. Chapter 15

Ron survived his three hour layover at Newark International; the layover was only supposed to be an hour but for unknown reasons turned into a three hour delay. The delay was actually in Ron's favor as it took him an hour and a half to get his luggage from the bag carousel and head down the long hallway with gate numbers until he reached the El Al gates.

All of his bags were thoroughly searched before they were put on the conveyor belt to be loaded on the plane. Once the plane was loaded the passengers were finally allowed to enter the plane and take their seats.

Ron was once again seated in the back of the plane, where he would get to sit for another hour. He was starting to become hungry so he opened up a small bag of pretzels and began to eat them while he looked out the window.

"_I wonder how long the flight over will be…I think I was supposed to arrive in the early morning, but I don't think that's going to happen know."_ He thought as he watched the flight crew looking over the airplane.

Finally after a wait that seemed like forever the plane began to move and was airborne on the way to Israel, _"It's a long flight, I wish…things could've been different."_

After the plane had been airborne for about 4 hours Ron decided to meditate and try to reach Yori. He looked around the cabin of the plane and made sure no one was paying any particular attention, once he was assured that he would be afforded some small amount of privacy, he bowed his head and began to meditate.

Once again he was transported to his beach chair on the white sandy beach with the blue ocean water lapping the shore and there was a very unhappy looking Yori facing him, "Yori is everything okay?"

Yori bowed her head, "Stoppable San you must learn to control your temper…When you are angry…The Lotus Blade vibrates inside the box and it shakes the temple and causes many problems."

Ron looked at her in stunned amazement, "Yori…I didn't know."

Yori slowly shook her head from side to side and in a very tired voice informed Ron about what his temper was doing to Yamanouchi, "The temple shakes and all the decorations fall to the ground and I have to clean it up and…I am so very tired these days."

He looked on in shock he had never seen Yori like this, "Yori are you okay?"

"It is only because of the end of the school year, nothing more…Stoppable San you and the Lotus Blade are tied to each other…It yearns to be set free and to see battle once more." She told him before she collapsed and faded from view.

He came out of his meditative trance in such a rush that he stood upright and banged his head against the overhead compartment and came close to knocking himself unconscious. Instead he put a hand on top of his head and made his way to the restroom.

Ron staggered into the small restroom and turned on the water and splashed his face, he then felt the top of his head, "OW" he said quietly as he looked at himself in the mirror.

Ron was breathing hard and he didn't know what to do, _"Should I have went to Israel or made my way back to Japan?"_

"_Yori looked awful…Maybe that's what their finals are like?"_ He thought as he composed himself.

There was a knock on the door, someone else wanted to use the restroom so he had to vacate the tiny room, _"I have been losing my temper a lot lately, I had no idea that it was causing so many problems."_

The cabin of the plane was dimly lit as it was late at night, Ron couldn't be for sure how long the plane had been in the air or where they were or what time they would be landing, all he knew for sure was that he was tired of flying.

He sat down in his seat and looked out the window into the star filled night, _"I wonder if that was what mom was trying to tell me, govern my temper or it will govern me?"_

* * *

Sleep finally came for him and he dozed lightly until he heard one of the flight attendants say in Hebrew and then in English that they would be arriving with the half hour to Ben Gurion International Airport. 

The plane touched down in the early afternoon then Ron stood in a long line to get off of the air plane and then a long line to passport control, then another line at the security checkpoint and yet another line to retrieve his luggage.

At passport control his passport was processed and then at the security checkpoint he photographed and finger printed, then there was another long wait for the baggage to start making its appearance on the baggage carousel.

Once he had his luggage secured and placed on a luggage caddy and then froze, _"What do I do now?" _

Out of all the information he received there was no information on how to meet the Oster's, _"Let's see, I didn't see them when I got off the plane they aren't down here, maybe this is like Upperton International where I have to leave the gate area?" _

He stood there listening to the announcements over the PA system in both Hebrew and English and then he noticed many tourists clad in shorts mingling with the ultra Orthodox Jews in their black suits and wide brimmed hats.

Ron took the caddy and started the long walk towards the entrance of terminal three, he saw people hoping on a jet-way, a conveyor belt that moves people rapidly through the length of the terminal for various distances.

He hoped onto the jet-way and almost lost his luggage caddy in the process, finally both he and the luggage caddy were whisked away, _"Push caddy on first next time."_

When the jet-way came to an end the luggage caddy hit Ron in the back with such force that it nearly knocked him to the ground, _"Yes, caddy definitely goes on first next time."_

The next jet-way approached and Ron pushed the caddy on first and of it went with Ron having to jog to catch up to it. At the end of the jet-way the caddy went off the belt and stopped and Ron was shoved into the back of it.

"_Ok next time stand beside the luggage caddy."_ He thought as he walked towards the next jet-way.

He approached the next jet-way and this time everything went as it should, Ron finally took time out to look around as he moved the length of terminal three he could see out the large heavily tinted windows as planes landed and took off for parts unknown.

He glanced over and saw the end of the jet-way fast approaching and this time both he and the luggage caddy came off at the same time and Ron made his way to the last jet-way and hopped on.

Suddenly an airport employee pointed at him and told him that the luggage caddies weren't allowed on the jet-way. Ron shrugged his shoulders; "Sorry" was all he said as he sailed away from the man.

"_Have to remember that next time."_ He smiled to himself as the belt brought him closer to the end of the terminal.

Once he cleared the security point he found a quiet corner and looked around, there were many people and then he looked at the signs in many different languages. He spotted a sign in English that read, "Passenger Pick-Up"

"_That must be where I go?"_ he thought as he looked at the sign next to English sign that was written in Hebrew and shook his head.

He could speak Hebrew well enough but writing in the language would be altogether different, _"This is going to take some getting used to."_

He walked towards the area the sign pointed to and out the doors, the temperature outside the airport must have been at least a hundred degrees and the heat struck him immediately upon walking out the door, _"Wow, this is hot."_

Once outside he stood looking around there were many people holding signs and then he spotted one, "Ronald Stoppable, USA"

The sign was held by Eli and Sharon Oster a couple in their forties, Eli being rather thin with a receding hair line and a bald spot that he covered with a yamaka. Sharon was shorter and a little on the chubby side with shoulder length black hair.

Ron smiled, _"This looks promising."_

Ron walked up to the couple holding the sign and in his best Hebrew announced, "I know Ronald Stoppable."

Then he winched and corrected himself, "I am Ronald Stoppable."

The couple let out a yell and hugged Ron tightly, Ron smiled weakly and began to blush, "Shalom, Shalom, I am Eli Oster and this is my wife Sharon…You will meet our daughter Sima once we arrive home."

Sharon appraised Ron's appearance and nodded her head, "First we go to eat, you are too skinny."

Ron laughed and nodded, "I ate food yesterday, before air plane."

Eli Oster left to retrieve the car and Sharon continued to look Ron over, "So what do you think of Israel so far?"

Ron smiled, "It is very hot."

"My daughter Sima is very excited to meet you; she is 15 and totally boy crazy." Sharon informed Ron as she watched for her husband to pull up.

Ron winced at the thought, _"Well so much for being the same age."_

The silver Volvo S-80 appeared and pulled up to the curb, "Finally, the man would get lost in a closet."

Ron chuckled and slung his duffle bag onto his shoulder and picked up two suitcases and headed for the car, Eli passed him and picked up the third. They loaded the luggage into the car and Ron climbed into the back seat of the car.

Eli turned around and looked at him, "You must be from a very poor family if that is all that you have brought with you."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "I sold everything off so I could travel light."

Sharon slapped Eli hard on the shoulder, "See you think you know everything, just because you are an actuary."

Ron smiled weakly, "My father is an actuary."

Eli smiled, "Ahhhhh smart man…Why did you not become an actuary?"

Ron chuckled, "I do not own any sweaters."

Mrs. Oster enjoyed the joke and nodded, "Eli owns many sweaters."

They stopped at a Moroccan restaurant Ron ordered a chicken with lemon and olive dish. Actually he just pointed at something that looked good; he had never eaten Moroccan before so he was only judging the food by the pictures in the menu.

Once they finished the meal they drove south to Bat Yam a suburb of Tel Aviv, they drove into a gated community and the car pulled up before a stone house that looked to be built in the 1920's with distinct Turkish influences.

The house was a multi-story building with large arched windows, as they entered the house there was a stone floor foyer and just to the left was a living room an another room that Ron couldn't see, then they walked up the stairs, that was where the kitchen and dining room was. He could see a large terrace; on the third floor was where the bedrooms were.

Ron was shown to a very nice bedroom it was laid out very similar to his room back in Middleton. The bed was against the left wall along the right wall was a twin drawer dresser with a mirror mounted to it, a much larger four drawer dresser and a small walk in closet.

The most striking feature that Ron saw immediately was a small terrace that over looked the Mediterranean Sea, "Wow."

"Is he here?" Ron heard a voice from the hallway and turned to see 15 year old Sima Oster trying to come into the room for a look at him. She was an average 15 year old girl that had straight black hair that she wore loosely over he shoulders, dark brown skin from playing in the sun at the beach.

Ron smiled and nodded, "My name is Ron Stoppable."

Sima giggled, "You speak Hebrew like a book…My name is Sima Danya Oster."

Ron winced at the book reference but he knew the accent and the slang would come later, "That is a very pretty name."

Sima looked him up and down again, "You have a sexy butt."

Ron blushed, he was clearly embarrassed.

Mrs. Oster shook her head, "SIMA, you go to your room." Then she turned to him, "You see what I mean…boy crazy."

Ron nodded his head, "I see."

Mr. Oster put his arm on Ron's shoulder, "You go ahead and start to unpack and then get ready for bed, you have a very long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Ron nodded, "What things…do I have to do tomorrow?"

Mr. Oster chuckled, "Tomorrow you will go from Government Ministry to Government Ministry…It should be a full day's worth of forms for you to complete."

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head, _"Great more paper work."_

Ron nodded, "I will be ready in the morning. Thank you for waiting for me at the airport the plane was very late."

Eli Oster left the room and Ron began to unpack, he put away his socks and underwear and then he felt a breeze coming in thru the window. He turned and walked out onto the small terrace and watched the sun start to set, _"The Mediterranean Sea, I am here, I am really here."_

He walked back inside his room and continued to unpack; he pulled his clock radio out and tried to plug it in, "_Great…the wall sockets are different over here."_

He wound the cord around the radio and put it on top of his dresser, then he walked out his door and down the hall and knocked on the door next to his, "Shalom?"

The door flew open and there was Sima, "You are from the United States, are you a member of a gang? Did you have a girlfriend? What are your parents like? Did you live in New York City? Do you think my breasts are too big or too small? Shari says they are too small…Did you come into my room to seduce me?"

Ron stood in the room in total bewilderment, she spoke so fast that he couldn't keep up with her, "Ummmmmm…Could you please wake me up at 7:00AM tomorrow morning, thank you?"

Then he turned and walked out of the room, _"I could catch a word here and there, I've got to get used to this."_

He unpacked for another hour and then went to bed, it was a long flight and a long day and he was thoroughly exhausted, Ron could hear the sea lapping against the shore. The house was around three blocks away and on a hill but the sound carried in the night.

* * *

There was a loudknock on his door followed by another knock, Ron popped his head up and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, "I amawake, I amawake" 

He rolled out of bed and found a pair of shorts and pulled them on, he walked out into the hallway to find the bathroom to relieve himself.

He staggered up to Sima rubbing the back of his neck, "Bathroom?"

She giggled and pointed down the hall, "I left the seat up just for you."

Ron waived a hand in the air as he went into the bathroom and took care of business, _"She sure did leave the seat up…I have to shave, shower brush my teeth, find my big packet of documents…It will be a long day."_

Ron performed his personal grooming and dressed in his Smarty Mart casual cloths and went down to the second floor for breakfast, Sharon Oster pointed him towards the terrace.

"You must hurry and eat, then we can get cleaned up and head into Tel Aviv, we have much to do today." She told him as she scurried around the kitchen.

Ron walked out to the edge of the terrace, he could still see the Mediterranean Sea and watched people jogging on the beach and surfing in the early morning sun, _"Now that looks like fun."_

Ron turned his attention to the wrought iron table and chairs, he approached slowly and started to make himself breakfast, _"Let's see begels, smoked salmon, fruit…no toastie O's."_

Sima watched Ron make his breakfast plate, "So do you have a girlfriend back home?"

He smiled and nodded, "Yes I do, her name is Kim...So do you have a boyfriend?"

Sima giggled, "No, the boys here can be such children."

Ron smiled, "Ahhhh I see, you are playing…hard to catch…no?"

Sima laughed, "Your Hebrew isn't very good."

He smirked and then stuck out his tongue, "I'm still learning…do you speak English?"

Sima lifted an eyebrow, "I speak a little, I know many fine swear words from the movies…So are you and Kim engaged?"

He looked at her, "You are very nosey…No we are not engaged…I think we are still a couple…I fear she will get lonely and find new boyfriend…I wish she would have come with me…but she did not."

Sharon came out onto the terrace, "You must hurry and finish, we have to leave soon."

Ron helped clean up after breakfast and then he ran upstairs and grabbed his digital camera and his large manila envelope that contained his paper work and returned back to meet Sharon on the first floor.

Sharon was waiting out front in an older yellow fiat, "Eli had to work today, so we'll have to take my old car."

She drove them into downtown Tel Aviv into the section of town where all the government buildings, "Our first stop is the Ministry of the Interior for your temporary resident permit."

They walked inside the office building and Ron stood in a line, Sharon walked off and came back with a clipboard with the form to fill out while he was in line. Once he made it to the front he had the form filled out.

He took a seat at the table and pulled out his manila envelop and presented the lady on the other side of the table a copy of his birth certificate, his drivers license, a letter from Rabbi Katz written in Hebrew stating that Ron was in fact Jewish, a copy Bar Mitzvah certificate that he double checked one more time to make sure it was signed.

He also gave the lady two passport size photos of himself and then his passport and entry slip that he was given at the airport.

Sharon handed Ron another form to fill out, it was for his Identity Card and another form for a travel document that he would use for a year instead of his passport. Ron looked at her nervously afraid that he wouldn't be receiving his passport back.

Sharon smiled and handed Ron another form, "This is a change of identity form incase you decide to stop using your Anglo name and want to return to using your rightful Jewish name."

Ron looked at the form and swallowed hard, he had never thought about not being Ron Stoppable any more, he folded the form up and put it into his manila folder.

The lady behind the counter stamped his passport confirming his status as an Oleh, a slip of paper with a date and a number on it and his driver's license. Then she handed all of his paper work back, "Make sure everything is spelled correctly and sign."

Ron felt like a robot as he filled out the forms, once they were done there Sharon hugged him, "Congratulations Ron you are now an Oleh, an immigrant."

He nodded his head weakly as Sharon then drug him down the street to the Ministry of Absorption, Ron was treated to another line and more forms to fill out more forms.

When it was time for his interview with a case worker, and it was also to be his first brush with the Mossad, "So you want your Oleh booklet and your document stating your eligible for Oleh benefits do you?"

Ron nodded his head and the man looked over Ron's paper work and looked at two more passport pictures, "Stoppable isn't a Jew name, what is your Jew name."

Ron was taken aback and not sure what was going on so he told him the name his father told him many years ago, "Uhhhh….St…St…Stolzer."

The man continued to look at the papers, "I suppose you plan on attending a university here?"

Ron nodded his head, "Yes, sometime in the future…I was thinking about doing my service in the IDF first."

The man nodded, "Life will be much easier if you regain your Jewish identity."

"I'll think about it, "Ron said as he began to look at the man suspiciously.

The man nodded his head, "You are blond headed and with a name like Stolzer you are obviously Polish…Do you know what that means?"

He shook his head no, and the man continued, "It means that in the old country one of your great, great grandmothers was raped by Cossacks."

Ron clinched his teeth and tried to control his temper, the man merely smiled and handed him the booklet and papers proclaiming that he was eligible to receive oleh privileges, _"My family is from the Germanic State of Prussia …This is what happens when you give a fool a little bit of power."_

Once Ron had left the older man pulled out Ron's papers and began making notes on them, _"This one will be of special interest to us."_

Sharon collected Ron and hustled him out the door, they went to the building next door and Ron mechanically filled out another form, stood in line was granted six months of free health insurance.

From there Sharon took him to the Bank of Jerusalem where he opened up a bank account and placed all his money into it, Ron jumped when he saw the exchange rate, _"$24,000 is now 109,000 Shekels….Booyah…I'm rich."_

Ron dug his money out of his wallet that his father had given him at the airport and converted it to Shekels so he could have some pocket money.

Ron giggled wildly and made another deposit, "The $500 that his dad had given him was now over 2,200 shekels and Ron felt that he didn't need quite so much pocket money. So after depositing 1,800 more shekels into his account he left the bank feeling like he had just robbed it.

From there they went to the draft board where Ron stood in line with other young men and women, he spotted another man there with a big manila envelope so Ron went over and struck up a conversation as they waited in line.

"Shalom, are you making your aliyah also?" Ron asked as he tried to see what the man was struggling with."

He was 6'2 and was very large, he had big muscles, short brown hair and a pair of wire rimmed glasses, "Yes…Yes, you speak Hebrew like a book are you an American."

Ron smiled, "Yes, your accent…Russian?"

The man shook his head, "No Lithuanian

"I am Sergei Ilya Bunimovich." He told Ron as he stuck out his hand for him to shake.

Sergei smiled and pointed at his large envelope of papers, "I am coming ahead of my mother to get established. I am going to get my IDF service out of the way first and then try to go to school."

Ron nodded, "I am Ronald Stoppable, Middleton, USA….Ladies Man and all around good guy, I'm looking at doing much the same thing…Where are you living now?

Sergei stood up straight, "I am living in Bat Yam, many Russian and Lithuanian's living there."

Ron smiled and nodded, "I'm living in Bat Yam also…I haven't seen much of the city but I'm told is nice."

Sergei smiled, "You are told it is nice."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm told it is nice."

"If we join together we will get good jobs, you want to join with me?" Sergei asked as they were getting closer to the front of the line.

Ron nodded his head in agreement, "I guess, I just want to get this out of the way so I can go to school."

They got to front of the line and Sergei signed up first and then pointed at Ron. He turned in all his paper work. The soldier looked up from the counter, "So you will both be Chayal Boded"

The two men nodded and the soldier continued, "You will both be placed in a ulpan class to learn army terms and improve your Hebrew both written and spoken, then we will see where you go from there."

"We have an ulpan class starting next Tuesday; the class will meet at Tel Aviv University. You will receive a letter with the class location, do you have any questions?" The soldier asked.

Ron scratched his head, "How long does the ulpan class last?"

The soldier shrugged, "It lasts for three months, one month at Tel Aviv University, and then if your communications skills are satisfactory…You will be processed in at the Bakum Army Base and then finish the class during your four and a half months of basic training."

Ron blinked, _"Four and a half months of basic training, plus a month before I go….That's half the year…I don't know about this."_

The soldier recognized the look in Ron's eyes, "So you are going to join the Golani Brigade with your friend then."

Ron was slapped on the back hard and he heard Sergei tell the soldier, "Of course he is, right Ronnie."

Ron smiled weakly and nodded, "Yes, I suppose I am."

He finished signing the papers and congratulated Ron on his commitment to Israel, and then Ron collected his papers and turned to walk out with Sergei. He was very aware of how badly his knees were shaking.

They walked outside and Ron turned to Sergei, "How do I find you in Bat Yam?"

The two exchanged contact information and Ron looked up at Sergei, "What is the Golani Brigade?"

Sergei laughed and slapped Ron hard on the back again, "It is the greatest infantry unit in the Israeli army….Do you know why it is so great?"

Ron shook his head that he didn't and was starting to think that his new friend was insane, "If I don't know what the Golani Brigade is…I think it is lackey that I do not know why it is great."

"Likely" Sergei corrected him.

Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head, "What are you a teacher or something? I think it is likely that I do not know why it is great."

Sergei laughed, "You really need to work on your Hebrew…The reason the Golani Brigade is so great is because there are many Russian and Lithuanian's serving in the unit…You will love it."

Ron nodded his head, _"I must have a sign on my back that says I befriend the insane."_

Sharon came over to Ron, "I see you have made a friend."

Ron introduced her to Sergei and they talked for a bit before Ron was whisked away to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new drivers license. He filled out more forms and gave them a photocopy of both sides of his driver's license and two more passport sized photos, then he took a quick eye test.

Then used Sharon's fiat for the drivers test, he was unfamiliar with the stick shift but that didn't seem to matter to the person giving the test as he passed with flying colors.

After the business was done at the DMV, Sharon took him the Ministry of Heath where he took his ever expanding manila envelope and applied for the Israel's National Health Insurance.

At last they were finished and Ron's mind was shot, _"She was not lying when she said this will take the whole day."_

As they were leaving the area Ron spotted a familiar business, "STOP, stop there."

Sharon looked around, "Stop where?"

Ron's eyes were almost filling with tears, "The center of all things cool in the United States, Best Buy."

Sharon shook her head, "Men and electronics."

Ron jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped and he heard Sharon tell him not to be too long as she had to get back to the house and prepare diner.

He quickly made his way through the store, it looked different from the ones in the states but at least it was familiar. He found the isle he was looking for, _"I must have a clock radio…These things are expensive."_

He found a nice looking silver clock radio that played CD's and checked the price, it was 92 Shekels and Ron just shook his head. He suddenly didn't feel rich any longer.

After Ron's impromptu shopping spree, the two returned home and Ron ran up the stairs to the third floor and dug in his duffle bag until he found what he was looking for, the Ronnunicator that Wade had given him.

He opened the cell phone shaped device and hit the speed dial for Kim and there was no connection, then he tried Wade and there was no signal.

Ron closed the phone and shook his head, _"He never gives me stuff that works…I don't know why I'm so surprised."_

Ron walked out to his terrace and leaned on the railing, with the failure of the Ronnunicator he suddenly felt more isolated and alone than ever, _"Tomorrow I will contact Sergei and we will go out and have fun."_

Ron let out a sigh as Sima knocked on the door and told him that diner was ready. He nodded his head and told her that he would be there. Then he turned and walked away from terrace, _"So ends my first day in Israel."_


	16. Chapter 16

It was a glorious morning, a morning without forms, questions, forms, lines, forms and lines. Ron came down from his bedroom on the third floor early for breakfast, "Hey Sima" he winced for forgetting to speak in Hebrew, "Good morning Sima"

Sima giggled, "You really do speak Hebrew like a book."

He pointed at her while he picked up some fruit off a tray, "I will get much better, you will see….Is there a computer I can use to email my friends and let them know that I am…fish?"

Sima started laughing, "That you are fine, not fish."

Ron shook his head, _"I have to pick this language up and fast, I'm looking like an idiot here."_

She finally quite laughing at Ron's expense and gave him the bad news, "We have a computer but papa thinks internet is just a fad….Similar to cable television."

He shook his head, "What is it with actuaries and the internet?"

"You said fish instead of fine that was so funny." Sima giggled as she covered her mouth.

Ron stood up and started to leave dragging his ego behind him, "I will see you later Sima, I will going out to look around city."

Sima stood up and went with him, "You are going out to look around the city….You will need someone to show you around."

He cringed and nodded his head, "I am going out to look around the city…Would you like to come with me?"

"I will let mamma know and then we can go." Sima told him as she ran into the house.

Ron shook his head and walked back up to his room and grabbed his digital camera, _"I will take some pictures today, I didn't have any time yesterday."_

He took pictures of the view from his room, then went downstairs and took pictures of the view from terrace and then pictures of the stone house with the large arched windows.

Sima returned and had changed and caught up with Ron on the terrace, "Take a picture of me."

Ron smiled, "No then Kim will think I have new girlfriend."

She crossed her arms and glared at him, and then Ron took her picture, "With that face she will know you are not my girlfriend."

"You think you are so smart…You talk like book." Sima said as she stomped her foot.

Ron laughed, "I thought you were going to show me around…Now you are angry."

She shook her head, "We should go now."

They walked out to the street and out the front gate to the neighborhood; Ron looked up and saw that they were on Hatsmayut Street. They walked a few blocks, he could see a park with a large fountain, the street was quiet and there were sidewalks on both sides of the street and a large pedestrian walk that separated the lanes of the road that used bricks instead of concrete and was lined with trees.

They walked further up the street and there were small shops and a small store that had old men outside playing chess. Ron tapped Sima on the shoulder and went inside the store.

It had a different smell than the stores back home but many of the products were the same, corn flakes, toastie O's in a Hebrew language packages, Hershey's chocolate candy bars, coke, pepsi and other local brands.

Then he spotted it a product that just stunned him, chocolate milk in a bag. He took the bag of milk off the hook it was hanging on in the refrigerator case and looked it over, "I am going to buy this, would you like anything?"

Sima grabbed a bottle of coke and smiled at Ron, he nodded and paid for the soda and bag of milk then once they were on the street he had Sima take a picture of him and his new found delicacy.

"You are very strange." She told him as she took the picture.

Ron laughed, "I am not unfamiliar with that statement."

After she took the picture, he took the straw off of the bag and plunged it through the marked hole on the wrapper and took a drink, "Not too bad, back home our milk is in cartons or plastic bottles."

They walked a little further and Sima showed him to a place called WebCoffee, they went inside and Ron paid for an hour of internet so he could send off his emails to Kim and Monique and Ned if he had time.

The computers were lined up against the wall and tables were in the center for those that just wanted coffee and pastries. Ron sat down at one of the workstations and opened a browser and checked his email.

He was happy to see that he had about fifty emails from Kim wondering how he was doing. He didn't have time to check them so he looked at the last one.

"_Ron it's been two days why haven't you called or emailed me? _

_I'm gong crazy here, please write me. _

_I just want to make sure your doing OK. _

_I miss you._

_Love you_

_Kim"_

Ron smiled and hit the reply button and began typing:

"_Hey Kim_

_Sorry for not writing sooner but the Oster family has no internet connection. They are nice people but Eli Oster is an actuary so he can be a bit strange. All this time I just thought it was my dad…lol_

_They have a 15 year old daughter that is crushing on me; I don't think you were that bad at 15."_

Ron stopped typing; he remembered being locked in a closet for three days because a 15 year old Kim was crushing on Josh Mankey. He cringed at the memory of being imprisoned and deleted the last line.

"_They have a 15 year old daughter named Sima, she is nice and picks on me about my Hebrew. She says I speak like a book…lol_

_Is Rufus OK?_

_I miss him a lot…I miss you more._

_Tell Wade the Ronnunicator doesn't work, I wanted to hear your voice so much last night and tried the Ronnunicator and no signal…Did I say that I miss you…A lot?_

_I have all my Government stuff done and I'm now an official immigrant and a citizen of Israel_

_I start a class next week for the IDF to help me improve my Hebrew language skills._

_I made a friend at the draft board his name is Sergei Bru…Something or another, I don't know if I can pronounce his last name much less spell it._

_I had to buy a new clock radio; the electric here is different than back home. I also bought a bag of chocolate milk…How weird is that?_

_I have to go now, I will try and write more and send you some pictures…Get on Wade to fix the Ronnunicator so I can talk to you._

_Love you lots._

_Ron"_

Ron checked over the message and hit the send button, _"I have an email from Monique…This should be interesting."_

Sima popped up over his shoulder, "Can I have five shekels so I can play Zombie Mayhem 3?"

Ron nodded and dug out a five shekel bill and handed it to her, "There you go…Remember when you get to the haunted grave yard it is jump, kick, splash."

She laughed at Ron's mistake but he didn't want to hear it so he waived her off and opened Monique's email.

"_Ron_

_Call this girl, email this girl, write this girl SIDMFC!"_

Ron looked at the initials, _"Oh….I bet she means She is driving me f'n' crazy."_

Ron chuckled quietly under his breath and looked around and started to read the rest of the email.

"_Everything here is pretty much the same, just a lot lonelier now that you aren't around, Kim's taking it hard._

_I'm holding up OK._

_If you think about it email me too._

_I miss you not being there to make fun of my mission clothes._

_Your still too good for her Ron._

_Love _

_Monique"_

Ron smiled wistfully and stated to write her an email, _"I hope everything there is okay."_

"_Hey Monique_

_I emailed Kim so it should be safe to answer the phone again…lol_

_Arrived here…I'm not actually sure when I arrived here….lol_

_I made all the really important government buildings; they want me to change my name from Stoppable to Stolzer._

_I think I'll stick with Stoppable for now._

_The family I live with is nice and I have a really nice room with a view of the Mediterranean Sea._

_I miss you guys a lot._

_Ron"_

Ron clicked the send button and found his Mom's email address and typed her quick note to let her and his dad know that they knew he was OK. He also told her about the experience in the absorption center and what she and his dad would think if he went back to using the old family name.

Next was an email to Ned, he was running out of time and he wanted to touch base with his old friend.

"_Hey Ned_

_Arrived a few days ago and everything is great. _

_Any idea where the closest Bueno Nacho is?...lol_

_Hope everything is good with you and Tina._

_I have to run, I've run out of time at the Internet Café…Have to rent computer time…it sucks._

_Cya_

_Ron"_

He logged off the computer and put the list of email addresses back into his wallet and then he went to find Sima.

She was still playing Zombie Mayhem 3 on a game cube and Ron watched her finish a level. She turned and looked at him, "You want to play me?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "No I would beat you like a rented mule."

"Hey I am a good player." She protested.

Ron smiled and pointed to the game cube, "Next level is starting, remember jump, kick, SLASH."

She chuckled and started playing again; Ron watched and helped out from time to time when she would get killed. Then her hour was up and Ron decided he wanted to go to the beach.

They walked out of the internet café and started the walk back towards her house, "So you think you are a great Zombie Mayhem 3 player."

Ron chuckled, "I had a good teacher, I used to hang out with a guy named Felix Renton, he was the best I ever saw at that game. I could use cheat codes and have him spot me 50,000 points and he could still breast me."

Sima began laughing and Ron cringed and corrected himself, "He could still beat me."

She finished laughing at him and began to ask him questions, "So did you send him an email and tell him that we play the game here?"

Ron shook his head, "No…He moved to Alexandria Virginia about a year and half ago, I had his email address in my pocket…but sadly I was not very responsible then and it went through the clothes washer and it was destroyed."

"That is sad, so do you still miss him." She asked as they ran across Hatsmayut Street.

He answered once they were on the other side, "From time to time, I wonder what he is doing, I think he would….ummmm…go crazy if he knew that I was living here now."

They were getting closer to the beach Ron could begin the smell the salt in the air, Sima was watching him look around with great interest, "So Felix does not like Israel?"

Ron looked at Sima strangely, "He's never been here before, I think he would like it."

Sima shook her head, "You said he would go crazy if he knew you were here."

He laughed finally understanding what was puzzling Sima, "No…ummm…I meant to say he would be very surprised…I know at times I am surprised myself."

They could see the sea now and Ron approached a hill with a well worn dirt path to the beach and he ran down it, _"This is too cool."_

Sima was right on his tail, "Wait for me."

Ron laughed and waived her on, "Hurry little one, you have to move faster to keep up with me."

She finally caught up with him, "I am not a little girl?"

He turned and looked up at the houses that were on the long sloping hill, "Sima which house is yours?"

Sima turned and looked up the hill and pointed, "That one over there."

Ron smiled and pulled out his camera and took a couple of quick pictures, "You are very lucky to live so close to the water."

Ron continued on down the beach and watched people surfing and was mesmerized, _"I'm gong to start running again in the mornings...I'm going to enjoy living here."_

"I am not a little girl." Sima's statement finally caught Ron's attention.

He turned and looked at her, "Ummmm Of course not…Ummmmm I only meant that you were shorter than me…yes that is what I meant."

That appeared to make Sima happy_, "I must watch what I say, I remember Kim being a bit touchy when she was 15."_

They walked a bit further and then Sima jumped behind him, "Did they see me?"

"Did who see you?" Ron asked as he was looking around.

Sima was cowering behind Ron and then she seen the boy headed towards them, "He seen us."

Ron turned to look at her, "What is happening Sima?"

Sima didn't have time to explain as the angry boy in a red swim suit came up and put a finger in Ron's face, "So you are Sima's new boyfriend, she is a prick teaser and you will get nothing from her…Slut."

Sima tried her best to hide behind Ron, he only understood about half of what the boy was yelling but Ron knew one thing it wasn't nice and the boy appeared to be a little older than he was.

Ron wasn't too sure what to do so he did nothing because he wasn't sure who he was angry at and why. Then the boy tried to reach around him and slap Sima.

That was enough for him to figure out what was going on so Ron blocked the blow. The boy turned and looked at Ron and then he shoved him.

Ron shoved him back sending him to the ground, _"Ok, I guess that is a universal we aren't going to get along message."_

"You do not know who you are dealing with." The boy said as he got to his feet and began to circle him.

Ron winced, _"Why do they always say that."_

The boy adopt a martial arts stance and Ron gave a half smile, _"Ahhhhhhh a fellow ninja"_

Ron countered with a monkey style stance, "I do not care who you are."

The boy wasn't expecting this and decided not to press his luck, "You are lucky, I have to go or I would make an example of you."

Ron smiled and watched him walk away, _"Every now and then you get lucky."_

Once he made sure the boy was really leaving Ron turned around and looked at Sima, "We need to have a talk."

"You are not going to tell momma are you?" She asked as she was trying to keep with Ron as he was walking very quickly away from the beach.

Ron made it back to the hill, "So who was that and why is he angry at you?"

Sima looked very frightened, "I will tell you when we are at home."

He followed Sima back to the house and she fixed them something to drink and they went out onto the terrace.

"So who was that boy and why was he angry at you?" Ron asked.

Sima smiled weakly, "He is Yosef Netanya, he was my first boyfriend until he tried to make me do bad things….and I ran away."

Ron nodded his head, "Do you maybe think that he may have been a little to old for you?"

"I am not a little girl, the guys my age are children and Yosef…was nice until we were alone." She said as she was trying to hold back her tears.

Ron nodded his head, "Yosef is much older than you, how old is he?"

Sima eyed Ron suspiciously, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Ron stood up, "You are right, I will tell your mother what happened when she gets home."

She stood up waving her hands, "No, no, no…He is 19."

Ron gave her a stunned look, "Sima what are you doing with a 19 year old man."

"I told you there are no boys my age that I like and Yosef was good looking…." She explained.

Ron shook his head, "Sima you could have been hurt with a man like that, are there any boys your age that like you?"

Sima sat and thought, "There is one boy, his name is Nitzan, but he makes fun of me when I tell him about boys I like."

Ron looked at her and smiled, "Did it ever occur to you that he likes you but is afraid to tell you?"

She thought about it and shook her head, "No…He is just a stupid boy."

He looked at her, "Now we are talking about things I know, does he hang around you and eat lunch with you in school?"

"Yes, until he becomes a pest and I shoo him away." She told Ron as she waived her hand at him to indicate that he should go away.

"He likes you." Ron said in a confident voice.

"Does not" Sima said as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Ron laughed, "Oh I think he does…One day he may get brave and tell you this….and then what?"

Sima looked away it was obvious to Ron that she was thinking about it, "Why do you think you know so much?"

Ron laughed and clapped his hands, "Because that was me at 15…I know a little bit about this."

Sima chuckled, "You were shy."

Ron shook his head no, "I was not exactly shy…ummm…Growing up my best friend was my girlfriend Kim…Kim was my only friend…So when we were 15…She fell madly in love with another boy…So I helped her get a date with him…One day she seen Josh coming down the hallway in school and pulled me into a closet with her…She was afraid to ask him out."

"I thought she was your girlfriend." Sima asked leaning forward on the table obviously interested in Ron's story.

Ron chuckled, "She is now…Where was I…Oh yes, I talked her into asking him to the big dance and she decided that she would ask him…So she jumped out of the closet and slammed the door and asked Josh out…He said yes and then they walked off together and I was still locked in the closet."

Sima laughed, "You really told her to ask him out?"

Ron nodded and continued the story, "They went to the dance and I was locked in the closet of the whole weekend…I really wanted to go to the dance but I was trapped…She got to go dancing and I was trapped in a closet."

"You missed the dance, why did no one come looking for you?" She said sounding very concerned.

Ron chuckled, "My parents thought I was with Kim and Kim forgot all about me…So some time the next day…On the Shabbat, I had a thought…Why can I not be Kim's boyfriend…because Kim is just a friend and I was ugly and have big ears…but that stray thought hounded me and would not leave me alone."

Sima frowned, "Your Kim does not sound very nice keeping you in closet for three days and making you miss the Shabbat."

Ron nodded his head and reminded her, "Well…I think I know another 15 year old girl that doesn't treat her might be boyfriend very good."

She winced at the thought of her being mean and she decided she wanted to hear more about Ron's past, "So when did you get Kim to like you."

"Oh…ummm…Josh broke up with her later and it didn't seem to bother her much, there were little hints or at least I think they were…During Christmas break…She kissed me on the cheek…I was afraid to test my luck." Ron took a drink and looked out to the Mediterranean.

Sima looked at Ron strangely, "Christmas break, you mean she is not Jewish?"

Ron chuckled, "There are not that many Jews in Middleton."

Sima nodded, "Oh"

"Well last year there wan another big dance and I just thought that we would go as friends…Then a new boy named Eric showed up and he was perfect, good looking, rich, nice motor cycle and he asked Kim out and she forgot all about me again…At least this time there were no closets near or I would have been in one." Ron laughed at the thought as he wiped a tear from his eye.

Sima was getting impatient, "So when did Kim become your girlfriend?"

Ron frowned at her and narrowed his eyes, "I am getting to that part…So Eric turns out to be not a very nice boy and I find out…So I go up to the two at the dance." Ron beat on his chest to add to the drama and keep Sima entertained, "I told Eric that he was not a very nice boy and that he didn't love Kim the way I did…I told Kim that he was not a nice boy and she believed me…Finally I got to dance with the pretty girl and we kissed."

"And you two were a couple ever since?" She asked looking for a happily ever after ending.

Ron smiled, "I was in a dream, I was so happy…Then two days later she broke up with me…Then I was very sad."

Sima looked stunned, "So how is she still your girlfriend?"

Ron started laughing, "It is a very complicated story…and you know enough now to start looking around to boys closer to your age for boyfriends."

"Do you think that you two will ever get married?" She asked as she put her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands.

Ron pursed his lips together and shook his head, "Kim is very pretty and she will not be with out a boyfriend long…Then I will be just an old memory."

Ron stood up from his chair and wiped a tear from his eye and took a deep breath, _"Well that was a good story to tell her…If I would have told her the truth we'd have been her all day."_

Sima jumped up excitedly, "If Kim finds a boyfriend, can I be your girlfriend."

Ron laughed and shook his head no, "Your parents would be very angry with me and throw me out…Then I would be living on street….You will find a good boyfriend closer to your age and you too will forget all about me."

Sima laughed and the two walked back into the house, Ron decided that he would try and get hold of Sergei and see if he would like to explore the area with him, "Sima, do you have a…ummm…telephone and could you show me how to use it?"

Sima laughed at him, "You don't know how to use the phone?"

Ron let out a deep breath and resisted the urge to snap at her, "Sima…I have much to learn and I am trying very hard…Please don't treat me like my friend Wade back home would and assume that I am stupid."

She could tell that he was serious and took him to the telephone in the living room and showed him how to use it. Ron was relieved that it wasn't much different than the phones back home.

He dialed the number, after three rings a woman answered, "Is Sergei Bunimovich there?"

She told Ron that he was there then he could hear her call out for him, "OY' Sergei…Phone."

He heard Sergei take the phone, "Shalom?"

Ron smiled he knew that he had reached the right person, "Shalom Sergei, this is Ron Stoppable."

"RONNIEEEEEE" The man bellowed into the phone.

Ron laughed and shook his head, "I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight? I want to go exploring Bat Yam."

There was a bit of a pause, "Yes I would like to do that, it would get me out of this house for a while."

"What street are you close to?" Ron asked trying to get a mental image of where the two were.

"Ummmm Ben Gurion Street…I'm closer to down town business district." He told him.

He blinked, he didn't have any idea where that was but he figured Sima might, "I am near Hatsmayut Street."

There was a long pause, "I think we are near each other, Ben Gurion and Hatsmayut cross around the 2800 block…I think."

They agreed on a time to meet and then Ron went to go find Sima to see if she'd be acting tour guide again. She said she would if her momma said ok.

* * *

After dinner was over Ron asked Sharon if it would be ok for Sima to go with Sergei and himself exploring the city. She was not happy about the idea but said she would let her go for an hour or two.

Ron told her where he was supposed to meet Sergei and she said that was too far away for walking and that she would drop them off and then come and pick them up at nine o'clock.

They loaded up the little yellow fiat and headed out towards the Ben Gurion Street, he quickly realized that Sharon was right it was much further down from the internet café than he thought.

As she was dropping them off on the corner she told Ron not to be too late as he was going to have another big day tomorrow.

Ron stuck his head back in the car, "What is going on tomorrow?"

"The Jewish youth group at the temple is sponsoring a big retreat for the teenagers making aliyah and you will be going on a trip with them around Israel." She informed him.

Ron nodded his head, "Can Sergei go? I'd feel more comfortable if I knew there would be someone there I could talk too."

Sharon shrugged and nodded her head, "I think they can fit him in, there will only be about four of you but once you meet up in the Golan it will be a much bigger group."

Ron and Sima waived at Sharon as she drove off, Ron saw Sergei standing on the corner and he waived.

Sergei smiled and laughed and slapped Ron on the back, "Ronnieeeeeeeee…Who is the little one?"

Sima glared at the big man, "I am not a little girl."

Ron patted her on the head, "He only meant that you are very short."

Sergei nodded, "Ronnie is very short too."

Ron narrowed his eyes and looked at Sergei, "Now that we have decided who is short and who is tall, what are we going to do?"

Sima pointed up the street, "There is a very popular coffee house up the street."

Ron looked at Sergei and he shrugged, so they started to walk towards the coffee house and Ron introduced the two, "Sergei this is Sima, she's the daughter of the couple that I am living with during my aliyah."

Sergei smiled and nodded, "Hello I am Sergei Ilya Bunimovich"

Sima smiled not sure what to make of the big man, "So are you from Russia?"

Sergei shook his head, "No I am Lithuanian, I can speak Lithuanian, Hebrew…better than Ronnie, Russian, and English probably as well as Ronnie."

Ron stopped in his tracks and said in English, "You can speak English?"

The big man smiled and responded in English, "Yes I speak English goodly…no."

Ron shook his head and smiled, "Good enough."

They sat at a table outside of the coffee house; it was a warm evening the tree lined fence outside the café made the early evening atmosphere very relaxed. Ron looked over the menu in Hebrew and then looked at Sergei, "I really do not read Hebrew very good…What am I looking at?"

He took the menu and flagged the waiter down, "Two upside down coffees and a…."

"Coke" Sima said happily.

"and a coke" Sergei said as he finished the order then he looked over at Ron, "We are going to have to work on your Hebrew, how did they let you out of America without being able to read Hebrew?"

Ron threw up his hands, "I'm getting better at speaking Hebrew, I just need to read and write it…I didn't have much time to prepare for this."

Sergei looked at him, "Why you have no time?"

He shook his head, "I've only been planning this for six months…I did not have a lot of time to research this."

Sergei slapped him hard on the back, "Not to worry, we will get you straightened out before the army."

Ron smiled weakly as their drinks made it to the table; an older man came up and sat on a tall high back chair near the front of the outdoor café and began to play an accordion.

Suddenly there was a visitor to the table another 15 year old girl that had obviously recognized Sima, "Sima, is this your new boyfriend she said pointing towards Ron."

Ron looked at the girl who was about the same height as Sima, but she had long straight black hair and high cheek bones, "So this must be the famous Shari?"

Sima took no notice of Ron and took a swig of her coke and shook her head, "No, well he might be the two are fighting over who will be my boyfriend."

Ron looked over at Sergei, "Well you've beat me again Sergei…I guess you win."

Sergei looked at Ron, "Uhhhhh no…yes…no…one more time perhaps…just to make sure."

Ron smiled and looked away, "Maybe later, this coffee is great, it is very sweet."

Sima and Shari disappeared to talk about Ron and Sergei, and no one was happier than Sergei, "Was she serious?"

"No…Just something that sounds exciting for a 15 year old girl, they'll be in the restroom deciding that we are both too ugly and then they will look for a prettier boy." Ron told him.

Sergei laughed, "Now I know why you don't know your Hebrew, you were too busy chasing girls back in America."

He smiled and nodded, "So what brings you to Israel?"

"I come to get established and then I will bring my mother here, we had a farm outside of Vilnius near Pabrade. My father got sick and died a little over a year ago and the farm is too much for the two of us." Sergei explained as he took a drink of his coffee.

He smiled, "Mother wants to come here and finish out her life, but she has many years to go, so the temple sent me ahead to make a place for us…It may be two years or more before mother comes her to live…Until then our family and some volunteers from the temple will help with the farm…So why did you come here."

Ron squirmed in his chair, "It is most complicated…Would you like to go with me tomorrow…Mrs. Oster arranged for a trip around the country with the temple…Could be fun."

Sergei nodded his head, "I would like that…Why is your reason most complicated."

He looked around, "I guess it is not really so complicated…I felt a need to come…the call of home I guess."

Sergei nodded and took a drink of his coffee, Ron looked around not quite sure of what had become of Sima and Shari, "I think we better find those two before they get into trouble."

Ron paid for the order and then he and Sergei went inside the coffee house to find them a waitress came up to Ron, "Are you looking for two little girls?"

Ron nodded his head that they were, "Well two other boys just took them out the back door."

Ron looked at Sergei and then took off running with Sergei right behind him; they cleared the back door and went out into the alley behind the coffee house. Ron stopped and looked around and then he heard a scream and some crying and Ron took off in the direction it came from.

Then he seen them they were behind a large trash dumpster, it was Yosef and he was getting ready to slap Sima again. Shari was struggling with one of his friends.

Yosef looked up and seen Ron coming at him, he shoved Sima to the ground and took his martial arts stance, Ron didn't seem to notice or care about the stance as he started to make his attack.

Yosef seen that he wasn't going to stop. Ron launched himself into the air and kicked him square in the chest sending him onto his back.

Sergei reached a rather puzzled man and punched him in the chin, but before he could fall he grabbed him by the shirt lifted him up and threw him into the trash dumpster. The body landing in the empty dumpster made a loud thud.

Yosef scrambled to his feet and tried to run but Ron grabbed him by the back of his shirt and slung him into the stone wall of the café. He turned and took one of Ron's fist in his mouth and then another before he put up his hands.

"Stop, stop hitting me" Yosef cried.

Ron pointed at him, "Stay right there, Sergei…watch him, if he moves put him in the trash bin with the other one."

Ron walked over to where Sima was sitting on the ground crying, "Sima, are you alright?"

Sima nodded, "We were coming out of the restroom when Yosef and Noan saw us leave and…and then we were out here."

Ron's temper was starting to boil he walked over to Yosef, "What is your story…no.. I do not care what your story is."

Yosef was stammering, "I…Who are you?"

His last conscious moments were of Ron dragging him to his feet, "I…I am the Fearless Ferret and this…" He said motioning towards Sergei, "…is Wonder Weasel."

Then Ron punched him in the mouth and drug him to the dumpster and dropped him in with Noan

There was a deafening silence in the alley, they were all standing around looking at each other wondering what to do next, then Sergei broke the silence.

"I do not want to be Wonder Weasel." Sergei told him as he helped a much shaken Shari to her feet.

Ron shrugged, "Oh yes no one wants to be a side kick any more…We had better leave."

Ron looked at Sima, "You quit messing with older men…What did I tell you?"

She nodded her head, "I am sorry, I did not know he was there."

"Hopefully he will lose interest in you now…Sergei and myself can't be around to beat them up all the time." Ron told her as they walked back up to the street corner.

They walked back up to the corner and waited for Sharon to pick them up, "So I guess we'll meet here again in the morning let me find out from Sharon when we can pick you up."

Sharon pulled up a short time later in the old yellow fiat and they discussed the best time to pick up Sergei in the morning, "So we will pick you up here at 7:00 then?"

"Sounds good Ronnie, I will see you tomorrow." Sergei told him as he watched them loaded up in the car.

Ron waived at Sergei as Sharon drove away, Sharon turned and looked at Shari, "I see we have picked up a stray, would you like me to drop you off at home."

Shari nodded her head and Ron had realized that she hadn't said anything since the beginning of the night, he elbowed her and asked, "So Shari, are you doing alright?"

Shari smiled and nodded, "It was more exciting than I would have liked."

Ron nodded and said quietly, "It was more exciting than I would have liked also…You both need to find boyfriends your own age."

Once they returned home Ron sat in his room going through his photos when there was a soft knock on the door, "Come in"

Sima walked in the room, "I told momma what happened, I am in trouble but…I think it will be the only way to make sure Yosef leaves me alone."

Ron nodded and smiled, "I think that was the best decision. Want to see a picture of Kim?"

Sima sat down and started looking through his pictures and came across the one of Kim giving Ron her come hither look and acting like she was taking off her shirt, she showed the picture to Ron, "So I guess you two were close."

Ron snatched the picture out of her hands, "This is a Ron only picture."

Sima snickered as Ron put the picture back in the envelope, "That one there is a picture of me and my family."

Sima pointed at a small pink thing in the picture, "What is that."

He smiled, "That is a wild carnivorous naked mole rat….very vicious."

She looked at the picture closer, "It doesn't look very vicious."

Ron nodded his head, "When Rufus was around, it was a non stop survival of the fittest."

* * *

The next morning Ron and Sergei were on a bus headed to the north of the country, they were headed to the Golan Heights.

Israel captured the Heights during the six day war, when Egypt, Jordan and Syria planned a surprise attack against the nation. The IDF launched a pre-emptive attack; against the three nations.

The Israeli Air Force destroyed the air forces of the three countries as they sat on the ground. The army seized control of the Golan Heights, Gaza Strip, The West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and the unification of Jerusalem before a halt to hostilities was called.

For the nature lover the Golan has much to offer. Here, there are wolves and gazelles, squirrels. For the history buff, there are prehistoric sites, crusader castles, King Nimrod's fortress and megalithic edifices dotted through the hills and valleys, as well as abandoned artillery positions from the six day war.

There was a famous Mossad spy named Eli Cohen that infiltrated the Syrian military to the point that he convinced them to plant eucalyptus trees beside major artillery fortifications to deceive the Israeli's into thinking the heights were undefended and to provide shade to Syrian soldiers so they would be more comfortable in the summer.

Once the six day war started Israel knew exactly where the emplacements were and while the fighting was fierce the Golan Heights fell very quickly into Israeli hands.

The group was a large one and Ron and Sergei were having a good time, "Sergei, the girl in the front…I think she likes you."

"How do you know this?" Sergei asked as he was trying to get a better look at the girls in the front of the bus.

Ron laughed, "Sergei they've been looking at you for half the trip."

Sergei looked up and pointed, "I think we are here."

The group got off the bus and headed up a rocky alcove, Ron looked around and climbed to the top of one of the heights, Rabbi Toameh joined Ron along with a number of other teens that were making their aliyah, "Down there is Lebanon, we have a piece treaty with them now, over that way is Syria and Damascus…They still do not like us, and if you look that way to the south is Jordan who we have a peace treaty with."

Ron nodded and then he spotted a large concrete bunker built into the side of the hill with a large antennae array and he pointed it out, "Rabbi Toameh, what is going on over there?"

The Rabbi smiled, "You have good eyes, that is an IDF listening post, they are listening in on Syrian military communications."

Sergei looked at the facility and nodded, Ron nodded at him and they continued on with the group they explored and went rock climbing and then it was time for lunch.

They found a grassy area and milled around talking, there twenty in the group, and a few Americans that Ron struck up a conversation with so he could speak English again.

Ron walked up to a girl that he knew was from the US, "So ladies, what do you think of the country so far?"

They looked at each other and giggled, "So you must be a big time American player, eh'"

He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well I'm not one to brag but since no one else here will I'll guess I'll just have to do it myself…The name is Ron, Ron Stoppable and you two are?"

The girls giggled, "Stoppable, what kind of Jewish name is that? Are you ashamed of your Jewish name?"

He froze in his tracks, he wasn't expecting to hear this, "Ummm…It's, it's my name."

The girls giggled and walked off and Ron let them go, _"Should I change my last name? I never thought there would be any problem."_

Sergei walked up beside him and handed him a box lunch, "So do they like me?"

Ron smiled sadly, "Yes, yes, they are all about Sergei."

The sat in a circle and ate their lunches, Ron looked around at the beautiful scenery that was around him and then he remembered his camera, and pulled it out and started to take pictures.

Then Rabbi Toameh started the group talking about why they made their decisions to come to Israel and Ron listened to the stories and then when it was his turn.

He stood up as the others did, "My name is Ron Stoppable, Middleton, USA…I came here to feel apart of something…at times I feel like I am a part…" Ron turned towards the two girls, "…and other times I feel like I am on another planet…I suppose I have my good days and bad."

He finished his lunch and walked around looking at the sights, Sergei came up to talk to him, "You haven't talked much, is everything alright?"

Ron nodded his head and gave him a weak smile, Sergei slapped him hard on the back, "Let's go back to the bus we are supposed to go to the Dead Sea next."

They loaded up on the bus and made the short trip to the Dead Sea, Rabbi Toameh gave a short lecture on how the winter run off fed both the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Ron tuned him out and watched the scenery go by, there were cattle and sheep and trees that he didn't know the names of.

It was all so very different than being at home, Sergei elbowed him, "Ronnie they are asking you a question."

Ron sat upright in his seat and turned his attention to the Rabbi, "Ronald you seem distracted is everything alright."

He nodded and smiled, "I was watching the…ummm…outside go by out the window."

Rabbi Toameh nodded his head, "When we get to the Dead Sea, come and talk to me."

He let out a sigh and nodded his head, _"I shouldn't have come on the trip."_

The bus finally arrived at the beach and everyone left the bus to go play on beach and to sunbathe, except Ron and Rabbi Toameh, "You seem to have something bothering you since around lunch time."

Ron was embarrassed to tell him but he decided to level with the Rabbi, "A couple of people made fun of my name, I guess I am not a real Jew as long as I still use my Stoppable name…I do not want to change it right now."

"Do not let them get to you. You are a Jew no matter what you call yourself. You must decide what needs to be done and you must decide what is right for you." The Rabbi said forcibly.

Ron nodded and the Rabbi told him to go have fun with the others. Ron walked down to the beach and took his camera out and started taking pictures.

Sergei walked over with a large glob of sunscreen on his nose, "I tried to talk to the ladies but they laughed at me."

Ron nodded and took a picture of him and then showed it to him on the LCD screen, "I guess I should have rubbed it in more."

Ron laughed and nodded, "That is alright, there will be other ladies."

They walked around the beach looking at girls and elbowing each other then Ron was feeling a little tired so he sat on the beach and pulled off his shirt and started to work on his tan, _"When I get back to the Oster's I will try and call Kim again."_

_

* * *

_

Kim looked at the Kimmunicator, "Still no signal Wade, I want to talk to Ron…NOW WADE!"

"I'm trying Kim; I just need to link and route a few satellites and then it should work." Wade said as he desperately typed on his keyboard.

Kim turned the Kimmunicator off and threw it on the bed, _"Ron's been gone a week…I've got a few emails…He's pretty busy…I'm bored…Think I'll bug Monique some more."_

Kim grabbed her cell phone and called Monique, "Hey Mon….How's it going?"

"Kim, it's only been twenty minutes, nothing new going on here…I'm still at work." Monique said in a rather tired voice.

Kim frowned, "I'm bored, bored, bored, bored."

"Have you tried to contact Ron?" Monique asked hoping that Kim would hang up and try again.

"I've tried like 40 times today and still can't get a signal through to him… I have a few emails…It's not the same." Kim said sadly.

Monique looked around Club Banana trying to think of something new to say but wasn't having any luck, "Well Kim, I have to go…You know work calls and all that."

Kim's eyes brightened, "That's it Monique…I'll get a real job."

Kim glared at the phone as she heard Monique roaring with laughter on the other end, "Girl…You ever have a real job?"

Kim bristled, "I worked at Bueno Nacho for two days once…I had to quit so I could stop Drakken and Shego from destroying Wisconsin."

Monique started laughing again, "Kim…Oh this is too much, two days at Bueno Nacho does not qualify as real work, girl."

Kim almost hung up and then decided to try and get Monique's help, "Is there anyone looking for help at the mall?"

There was a long silence and Kim was waiting for more laughter, "If your serious about this…Sunglass Hut on the lower level is looking for someone…Don't know the hours, probably minimum wage."

Kim jumped up from the bed, "I'll see you later Monique, I'm going to go and sell sunglasses."

Kim hung up the phone and ran downstairs, "Mom, Dad, I've decided that I'm going to get a real job."

Her parents looked at her and then started laughing, "Sure you are Kimmie Cub, you can do anything."

Mrs. Dr. P. hoped off the couch, "This is so cute, let me go find my camera."

Kim clinched her fists, "MOM, I'm serious."

She left the house in a huff and got behind the wheel of her rolling sub-woofer and took off for the mall.

When she was out of earshot of the house, she pulled over to the side of the road, reached in her glove compartment pulled out her pack of Marlboro Lite 100's and fired up a cigarette.

Next she put on the black Megadeath ball cap which she wore backwards, and got the car to thumpin' with a little NWA, "Oh yea, its job time."


	17. Chapter 17

Kim's job at Sunglass Hut lasted two days, she became bored and the manager became angry with her when she threatened to punch Tara in the mouth for wasting 15 minutes of her time looking at watches and then not buying anything

So now Kim was working for Samgoody, it was a job more suited for her, she could listen to all the thrash metal bands and gangster rap CD's to her hearts content. Just as long as the manager wasn't around, if he was around it was listening to what ever noise candy happened to be in the top 40 or whatever artist the chain happened to be pushing during the month.

She also enjoyed the attention of cute guys that would come in from time to time and hit on her. Most were losers but every now and then a hottie would hit on her, she was sort of looking for a new boyfriend. Although she wasn't ready to give up on Ron, she was just tired of being alone.

Kim was in the back of the store arranging the DVD's when she spotted Bonnie coming in up front. She cringed but she was the only one on shift right now and she had to be friendly.

She waived at Bonnie and walked up to her, "Hey Bonnie…Long time no see, looking for anything special."

Bonnie smiled, "So this is where you've been hiding yourself, I thought you were at Sunglass Hut?"

Kim smiled squeamishly, "Ohhhh nooo that was last week."

"Right, right, so I hear you didn't try out for cheerleading at Upperton, so what's the deal with that?" Bonnie asked as she looked up and down the new release section.

She shrugged, "I've cheered for so long…I kind of lost interest in it…So where are you going to go to school?"

Bonnie looked up, "My mother thinks it would be best if I went overseas for a year, so I'll be going to Netanya Academic College in Israel for a year."

Kim looked around, "Oh…Ron's in Israel."

Bonnie shook her head, "Don't I know it, that's all they talk about at temple about how well Ron's doing…I don't think anyone knows how well Ron is really doing because he's in the middle of the desert for the next four and a half months."

Kim swallowed hard, "Four and a half months?"

"That's how long the basic training is…I don't know if he's left or not…What's in here that's any good to listen to?"

She was brought out of her daze by the question, "Kaney West, Pearl Jam, Bone Thugs, Megadeath, and Byzantine."

"You like the sick stuff, huh?" Bonnie asked as she put her hands on hips.

Kim raised and eyebrow, "We have the Oh Boyz Anthology three disk set that just came in."

Bonnie smiled and her eyes popped open, "Really…errr...not that I'm into them anymore or anything."

Kim sold Bonnie the box set and gift wrapped it so no one would know that she was still into the Oh Boyz, "Thanks Kim and when I'm in Israel I'll take Ron out for dinner and tell him you said…Shalom."

Bonnie walked out of the store laughing and Kim had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, _"Four and a half months, when I get off tonight I'll give him a call."_

* * *

"Kim, Kim, Kim, is that really you? Wade finally got these things to work?" Ron said excitedly as he sat on the bed to view his girlfriend on the tiny view screen.

"It's really me, I had to threaten Wade with a broken arm if he didn't get through to you…I hear your leaving for basic training soon?" Kim said trying not to sound worried.

Ron nodded, "Yep, we leave on for the induction camp on Sunday…I'm a little nervous having that class for a month really helped out."

She gave Ron a worried look, "Are you really ready for this?"

He smiled and shrugged, "No choice…If I wash out I'll just be placed in a community service program or something…I don't really want to wash out though."

Kim put her fingers up to the screen, "You look good…tan…you been outside a lot."

"Me look good, you look great…I wish I was there or you were here…I miss you so much." Ron told her as he put his fingers up to the screen.

She wiped a tear from her eye, "I got a job…I work at Samgoody in the mall."

Ron laughed, "No Way, I thought you would have been a Sunglass Hut girl."

Kim chuckled, "Well…you know…"

"Did you get my pictures I sent?" He asked as his attention was diverted to a wiggling door.

Kim said that she had and that it looked like he was having lots of fun, as she was telling him this Ron crept across the floor and swung open his door, "Ah Ha, I see I have someone listening in."

Kim chuckled, she was not used to hearing Ron speak in Hebrew, and she could hear an animated discussion going on but couldn't tell what it was about.

"Just say hello Kim." Ron told Sima as he had her by the arm.

Sima was struggling, "No I do not want to."

Ron laughed, "Come in here and say hello to Kim and you can listen in on this side of the door."

Sima thought that this was a good idea so she quit struggling and came into Ron's room, "Kim this is Sima, she's 15 and is a non stop pest."

Kim covered her mouth and chuckled as Ron handed the phone over to Sima, "HALLOO"

Kim smiled and waived, "Hello"

She handed the phone back to Ron, "I caught her outside listening in, I told her she could sit here and listen in if she said hello to you."

She eyed Ron on the screen, "I was hoping to be a little more private."

Ron chuckled, "She only knows the English swear words from the movies, other than that she doesn't speak English…Which leads me to wonder why she was on the other side of the door?"

Kim smiled, "It sounds like your adjusting pretty well…I miss you."

He nodded, "I have my good days and my bad…I really miss you too."

"So why are you leaving on Sunday that's kind of weird." Kim asked.

Ron smiled, "It takes some getting used to over here the work week is from Sunday to Thursday over here…Then Friday is kind of like Sunday back home everything closes early and then on Saturday…The Sabbath everything is closed."

Kim nodded that she understood, "I have someone to see you."

She picked up Rufus and put him up to the screen, Rufus's eyes got big and he smiled. Ron wiped a tear from his eye as he seen his buddy on the screen.

"Hey buddy…How you doin'…I miss you a lot." Ron said trying to hold back his tears.

Rufus looked at the face on the screen and nodded his head, "Ok, ok…Hello"

They looked at each other for a long moment and then Kim came back on, "He misses you too, he loved the pictures you sent and he looked at the ones with you to make sure you were okay."

"Thank's KP…I was…ummm wondering if he was okay." Ron said while he still wiped at tears.

Kim smiled, "He misses you…I miss you…When can you come home?"

Ron shook his head, "I'm afraid it will be sometime next year."

Kim began to tear up, "Oh...next year...So did you get my letters?"

He smiled and nodded, "I read them and I reread them, I really like the perfume you squirt on them."

Kim snickered, "I've got to get ready for work…What time is it there?"

Ron smiled, "Bed time…I love you."

Kim bit her lower lip, "I love you too."

Then she ended the call and Ron sat on the bed staring at the device and pressed the button for Wade, "Hey Ron"

Ron smiled and was quiet for a long moment, "Thanks for setting these up for us…I feel a lot better now that I've talked to Kim."

Wade smiled, "She misses you a lot, wouldn't leave me alone until I got it right…Your looking good Ron."

"Thanks Wade, I'm going to introduce you to the 15 year old daughter of the family I'm living with…Say Hello Sima." Ron said as he passed the phone over to Sima.

"Halloooo" Sima said giggling at the boy on the screen.

Ron took the phone back, "Thanks again Wade."

"Ron…before you go…She's kind of cute, put in a good word for me." Wade said with a sheepish smile.

He gave Wade a knowing smile, "So Wade's discovered the ladies."

Wade looked around nervously, "Not so loud, my mom might hear you."

Ron chuckled, "I'll see what I can do…You rock Wade."

Ron ended the call, "Wade thinks you are cute."

Sima looked shocked, "Noooo…how old is he?"

Ron nodded his head, "He is 14."

"He is a child…I am not interested in boys younger than me." Sima said indignantly

Ron laughed, "You may want to think Wade over, he is a computer genius and has graduated from high school and college by the time he was ten…Why he will not get a doctorate of something is beyond me."

Sima looked surprised, "He is that smart?"

Ron nodded his head, "Makes tons of money and would make more if he came out of his room."

Sima lifted an eyebrow and looked at Ron in confusion, "He does not leave his room?"

He shook his head, "Never"

"Why not, he does not look deformed?" Sima asked.

Ron started laughing, "Maybe he just needs to meet the right girl to coax him out."

Sima thought it over as Ron showed her to the door, "Good night Sima, I will tell you if Wade says anything new."

Ron closed the door and began to laugh, _"We will get Wade out of that room yet."_

He sat on the bed and thought about the last month, _"I passed my physical, I can speak the language much better, yes sergeant, no sergeant, yes officer, no officer, Rimon means grenade, Zarkin when someone is goofing off, Basa is tough luck, Zula is laid back, ACHi is a buddy or brother, mismesh is for kitchen duty, mag is a heavy machine gun, tiranut is basic training, neshek is gun…I wish I could write better, I'm starting to catch on with the reading."_

Ron looked over at the small duffle bag of stuff the lady at Tel Aviv University told them to bring to make their life easier, _"I think I'm bringing an entire hardware store with me."_

There was a knock at the door and Ron thought it may have been Sima trying to find out more information about Wade, "Come in."

Mr. Oster came into the room, "So are you ready to go to the army on Sunday?"

Ron shrugged, "I think so, I am a little bit nervous."

"I was in when I was around your age, it was tough but once you finish training it can be boring…It will be something you will remember all of your life though." Eli said with a smile.

Ron nodded, "What did you do in the army?"

Eli sat down in a chair and leaned forward, "I was in the artillery, we shoot the big guns."

Ron smiled, "I think Sergei volunteered me for the Golani."

Mr. Oster let out a whistle, "That is a tough unit…actually most of the infantry units are tough."

He nodded, "Where do you think I will be stationed?"

Mr. Oster scratched his chin, "You will be in the Golan or near Netanya, at the border crossing…Where are you going to stay when you have off for the Shabbat?"

"I was hoping to be able to come here and stay." Ron told him.

Eli smiled, " Sharon will like that, she has been corresponding with your mother regularly…She is also happy that you keep Sima out of trouble."

Ron laughed, "That is a hard job."

Eli rolled his eyes, "Yes it is…I just thought that I would come up and let you know that you are always welcome here."

"Thank you…I do not know what I would have done with out you and your family." Ron told him.

* * *

Sunday arrived and the Oster familiy drove Ron to the induction center in Tel Aviv, he hugged the Oster's and gave Sima a big hug, "You quit crying I will back in no time and you will have many boyfriends by then."

Sergei arrived shortly afterwards by bus, "Ronnieeeeeee, it is time for us to go and become hero's."

Ron smiled, "I will settle for that." He then turned and waived to the Oster's, "I will call when I am able to come back."

Sergei waived, "I will make sure he calls, Sima you go find nice boyfriend."

The walked into the induction center and were pointed towards a bus, they stowed their gear beneath the bus and loaded up. Ron was feeling better about things as he sat down for the ride to Bakum an army base close to Tel Aviv.

Sergei was far more excited than Ron, "This is great; soon we will be soldiers and have great jobs like truck driver or fork truck operator."

"Sergei…Sometimes I do not know about you." Ron said as he looked out the window.

The bus filled up and then departed for Bakum, the ride was a short one and soon they were on the base. Then a young temporary commander came on board the bus and started to scream at everyone to get off the bus.

Ron and Sergei got off the bus and joined the line inside the building. First stop hair cut, Ron and Sergei had all their hair shaved off and then the joined another line where they were taken to an auditorium.

They watched a very informative movie from the 1970's, The IDF and You a great movie of army life and everyone emerges at the end of the film very happy soldiers.

Ron smiled and shook his head, _"And now for our next film, Our Friend the Sun."_

Once the film was over they were handed sheets of stickers with their name and their ID numbers on them, _"Ronald Stoppable…S016-5678-6139-8150, oh that should be easy to remember."_

Each sticker represented a station, once you were processed through the station the station would take a sticker confirming you had been there.

The first station Ron went to was for his pay, he was paid 100 shekels a half months salary. Ron did some quick figuring in his head and almost bolted from the room when he figured out he had just been paid $20 and for a whole month he would be paid $40.

Ron put the money into his wallet, _"I am so screwed….I'll never get rich doing this….and I'm Chayal Boded…I get paid twice as much….Those other poor guys are making $20 a month…I should have stayed at Smarty Mart."_

They took one of the stickers off of Ron's sheet and then he went to station number two, where he was photographed for his Military ID, they also took x-rays of his teeth for identification purposes when he was blown to bits.

Ron smiled weakly at the joke and another sticker was taken, from there he went to another station where he was asked to verify his information and to provide a next of kin that would receive to handle his affairs should he be killed in service.

Next came the immunity shots, the three shot series was administered to each arm and then he had to drop his pants to receive the last one in the butt. The people administering the shots told Ron that no matter what happened he should never scratch at where the shots were given no matter how much it itched for at least 3 weeks."

Then Ron was sent back through to verify that he had made it through all the stations, he was issued his military ID card and then he stopped by another desk and presented his Chayal Boded card with a letter for the base officer in charge of overseeing the Chayal Boded and another sticker was taken.

Then it was time for issuing the uniforms, he approached the counter and the soldier behind it began giving him things, 1 kit bag, 3 pairs underwear, white in color, 3 undershirts, white in color, 5 pairs of socks, grey in color, one belt, 2 towels, one olive drab beret, 2 pairs of boots, three pairs of army pants and shirts, olive drab in color, one sweater, one winter jacket and a bag of miscellaneous stuff.

He had been told to look the boots over very carefully and to make sure they fit, because once he signed the papers saying he received them they were his.

The boots fit and Ron signed for the uniforms, and another finally the last sticker was taken. He carried his stuff over into a corner and began packing it into the kit bag, he looked up and saw Sergei heading his way.

"This is great day Ronnie; look at all they gave us." Sergei said happily as he started to packing his stuff in his kit bag.

Ron just looked at him and nodded, _"It doesn't take much to amuse him.   
_

They sat and waited for about an hour while the rest of the men received their gear, then they were handed their paper work, Ron opened it up and looked at it, "Hey Sergei where is Bezeq?"

Sergei smiled, "That is north near Netanya, that is where the Golani and the Paratroopers train, we are headed for the same place."

The temporary commanders came into the room and started yelling at them to get their stuff and head for the bus, Ron and Sergei picked up their bags and slung them over their shoulders and headed for the bus.

They found their personal bags and moved them to another bus for the ride to Bezeq.

They sat on the bus and watched it fill up with other young men going to the same place, there was a boy that screamed American, he was dressed in a New York Yankee's shirt and Ron decided struck up a conversation with him, "You from the states?"

"Yea, Steven Leonard, Albany New York, where are you from" He asked clearly happy to see fellow American.

Ron smiled, "Ron Stoppable, Middleton…So you volunteered for the Golani too?"

Steven nodded, "Yea, made my aliyah last year and I've decided to get my service out of the way so I joined the reserves, one month out here then back to my life and I only have to serve two weeks a year."

Ron blinked, "You can do that?"

He looked at Ron, "Don't tell me you signed up for three years…They stopped drafting men that make their aliyah last year…You only have to serve in the reserves now."

Ron's mouth was open and he shook his head, Steven started laughing at him, "Man you are an idiot….Your going to be on the base for a month and then in a desert for two and a half months….I'll be there for two month and then on my way…Oh this is just too funny."

Sergei squirmed nervously and looked at Ron, "Is this where you yell at me and call me names?"

Ron shook his head and sighed, "No…no…I didn't know either."

They arrived at Bezeq and filed off the bus, they were shown to their quarters on the base, they put there stuff away and were told to change into their uniforms. Ron dressed and looked at his pants, _"They're like my mission pants, two rear pockets, two front pockets and a pocket on each leg."_

Then they had to make their beds, everyone got yelled at for being idiots because no one knew the right way to make a bed. So after about three times, he finally made the bed correctly.

They were then ordered to take lunch and they went to the mess hall and were served strange foods that no one could quite identify, Ron took a few bites and made a face, "Sergei what is this stuff?"

Sergei held up a fork, "I think it is potato's and luff."

Ron shook his head, "What is luff?"

Sergei shook his head, "It is luff."

"Yes it is luff but what is it made of?" Ron asked while he tried to choke down another bite.

Sergei shrugged, "Luff is luff."

Ron gave up trying to figure out what luff was, it was just some sort of meat, _"Meat of mysterious origins."_

They were then ordered to the parade ground and told to stand at attention, "I am Lieutenant Liam Freedman, I will be your officer till you are all trained soldiers of the state."

The lieutenant began walking back and forth in front of the new solders, "Our mission is a simple one, to defend the existence of the state of Israel. To protect the citizens of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten our daily life… Israel has never lost a war, Israel cannot afford to ever lose a single war…When you are done here you will become a part of the rich history of our nation…So perform your training and do as you are instructed by your sergeants and you too shall help to defend our nation."

The sergeants for the various companies came and addressed the men, "I am sergeant Yacoov Eldar, I am here to be your mother and your father, I will weed out the week or the simply stupid…I have only two rules, Do as I say and I am always right…Is that understood?"

The company barked out in unison, "YES SERGEANT"

The sergent looked around, "What are you smiling at did something I say strike you as funny?"

Ron glanced around there was a skinny kid with the biggest grin he'd ever seen on his face. The sergeant made his way over to him, "What is your name?"

The boy straightened up and much to Ron's amazement he was still smiling, "I am Tirza Cohen"

"Since Mr. Tirza Cohen thinks this is such a funny place you will all do 50 pushups…NOW."

Ron dropped to the ground and began doing pushups he turned and glared down the line at Tirza and then shook his head, the boy was still smiling, _"I think he falls into the simply stupid category."_

They spent the rest of the day marching, and doing more pushups courtesy of Tirza and then more marching..

* * *

The end of the day Ron thought his legs and arms were about to fall off, he stripped down to his underwear and collapsed on his bunk. Sergei was in the bunk across from him and the next bunk over was Tirza.

"Tirza, what is your problem? You are killing us out there." Ron asked trying to figure out what exactly this kid's problem was.

Tirza smiled, "You are an American…My grandfather is an American he made his aliyah in 1970 so he wouldn't have to fight in your Spanish American war."

Ron blinked, "What?"

"Ummmmm…It was one of your wars…I know all the American songs from back then, I listen to my grandfather's records…I know Jami Hedrix, Janus Jolpan, Rolling Stones, and the man himself…Mr. Neil Diamond." He smiled proudly at knowing so much about American music.

Ron shook his head, "Do you speak any English?"

Tirza shook his head, "No but I have memorized the lyrics to all of the songs on the albums."

_"Hey Jew get off of my clown."_ Tirza began to sing to impress Ron.

He stared at him a long moment, "You are insane…I knew it…Sergei…he is insane."

Sergei who was staring at the floor, turned his head and looked at Tirza, "Are you insane?"

Tirza stopped singing, "No, this is my life long dream and now it has come true."

Ron stared at the skinny kid with the big smile happily singing to himself on his bunk and all Ron could think of was, _"I am going to spend the next four and a half months doing pushups.   
_

He looked over towards Sergei and desperately began to speak in English, "We have to kill him Sergei, I can see it now, it's us against him and Neil Diamond."

Sergei began to laugh, "Noooo Ronnieeeeee, he is having so much fun."

Ron closed his eyes, _"You are both insane…I wish I was at home with Kim working at Smarty Mart….Making a hundred times more than I'm making now."_

The call came for lights out, Ron lay in bed staring at the ceiling listening to classic rock songs being butchered by a kid that couldn't speak any English, _"So ends my first day in the army."_


	18. Chapter 18

Warning there is a little IDF humor in the story that involves the a part of the male anatomy...Kim's had a hard road in my three stories so I decided to give her a chance at s little revenge.

This chapter Ron's story is lags about 2 weeks behind Kim's story...I will bring them even up in the next chapter.

Thanks to everyone for reading and writing reviews, I'm having a blast writing.

Bubba

* * *

The man had been coming into the Samgoody and shoplifting CD's and DVD's and Kim had yet to catch him in the act. Now she was ready to spring her trap. 

He had managed to sneak past the scanner that would set off an audible alarm, unbeknownst to the man Kim had raised the sensors by the door an additional 4 inches and camouflaged it so only those that knew what to look for would see her trick.

The man was in his twenty's, not bad looking, black hair, Kid Rock T-shirt, but he was up to no good and Kim knew how to deal with people who were up to no good.

"Cindy watch the front…I'm going to get busy in a minute." Kim told the other girl working in the store.

Cindy was a dirty blonde and liked to chew bubble gum and read Spin magazine, "Yea whatever."

Kim turned her back on the man and watched him in one of the large circular mirrors in the corner of the store, she seen him slip a DVD into his pants and walk towards the exit.

When he reached the twin scanners, he jumped in the air However, he didn't jump high enough and he sat off the alarm and Kim was in hot pursuit. She chased him down the large pedestrian area of the mall and caught him just before the food court.

She jumped onto the man's back and they both went to the ground, Kim jumped up and performed a saddle kick which caught the man on the left side of his head dropping him on the spot.

"Hold it right there Kim Possible." The voice called out from behind Kim.

Kim cringed she knew who it was, "It's OK Bobby…I work for Samgoody and he was shoplifting."

Bobby was quaking from fear in his ten years of Mall Security he had never had to pull his pepper mace on anyone. That all changed one day last November when a very possessive Kim Possible came crashing down thru the ceiling of Club Banana to do battle with Monique K. Jones over a boyfriend.

He sprayed mace in Kim's eyes and was the hero of the mall received a fifteen cent raise and was on the news all over the country. Now Kim was back and so was another chance for fame.

"Put your hands on top of your head now Possible…You've done it now…It's jail time for you." Bobby said trying to sound tough but not quite pulling it off.

Kim put her hands over her head as she was planning her next move, then she heard another voice, "Here now, what seems to be the problem."

Bobby quickly holstered his can of pepper mace, "It's Kim Possible again Mr. Edwards, and she's attacking customers now."

"I am not, I work at Samgoody and I caught this Dirt Ball shop lifting." Kim explained.

Mr. Edwards is the manager in charge of the day to day operation of the Middleton Mall, was intrigued, "You chased this man down the corridor and subdued him here?"

Kim turned still holding up her hands, she lowered them once she seen Bobby had put up his mace, "Yea, capturing bad guys, helping people, it's what I do."

Mr. Edwards smiled and nodded, "Well you did a fine job…Would you be interested in position with Mall Security?"

Bobby was in pure panic mode, "Mr. Edwards Nooooooooo."

Mr. Edwards chuckled, "Relax Bobby, we'll still keep you on…for now."

Kim smiled an evil little smile and balled up her fist and pumped it into her left hand and in a menacing voice said, "Oh yea…I'd love to work with Bobby."

* * *

The morning started with reveille at 05:00 hours, followed calisthenics a short run, and then back to barracks to prepare for morning inspection. A few of the soldiers tried to use the time to go back to sleep but Corporals were there to roll them out of bed. 

Then it was luff, toast and strawberry jam, with tea prepared British army style a whole bag of tea poured into a 48 liter pot followed by a whole bag of sugar which was then boiled and boiled and boiled until it was as thick as syrup for breakfast.

After breakfast at 07:00 hours was morning inspection, where everything in the barracks was inspected including beards for soldiers that had them to how close your shave was for those that didn't have beards and if you had a beard they checked to see how neatly it was groomed.

Ron watched Sergeant Eldar come right into his face and walk around him and then look over his uniform, "That button is not buttoned securely…You fail…You must pay attention to detail here or you will die out there."

Everyone failed inspection for one reason or another.

They were then ordered to the parade ground, where the company was issued their kelvar helmets and M-16 rifles with no magazines. Everyone was chattering away about the guns, soccer, the weather, and girls.

"Quiet in the ranks…Quiet in the ranks." The young corporals would yell.

No one paid them any attention including Ron, who was being lectured about the proper way to herd goats by Jacob Speilman.

There was a loud whistle and everyone turned to see what was going on, Sergeant Eldar screamed at the company, "Everyone put your rifle over your like this."

He put his hands in the air as if he were a prisoner, the company did the same, "Now run in place and I want you all to say "I am a chatter box."

Everyone rain in place for a few minutes and then the mind games with the young soldiers continued, "You will report to weapons class to learn how to care and maintain your weapon, then you will be sent to first aid class, and then some of you will be sent to a class to improve your pathetic Hebrew skills…You will assemble inside the barracks at 14:00 hours…Stoppable what time do you have?"

Ron was brought out of his mental haze and looked at his watch, "It is 08:42 hours Sergeant."

"No Stoppable it is 08:45 hours, ten pushups for every minute you were off." Sergeant Eldar barked at Ron.

Ron went to the ground and started doing his pushups while everyone else broke up and went their separate ways. Sergei stayed behind and waited for him to finish.

"It was your turn." He told Ron as he was getting up.

He nodded his head as he got to his feet and sarcastically told Sergei, "Yes, I see….Alphabetical order."

They followed their class schedule and then they took lunch, luff and potatoes and cucumbers.

Then they had some free time, Ron and Sergei walked over to the PX where they could by cigarettes and candy, soda and shaving gear and other things should the need arise.

Ron bought a bag of chocolate milk and a Danish, Sergei bought a soda and a small bag of dried fruit.

Sergei and Ron sat on the ground in the shade of the PX, "This is great, we have our own guns and helmets now."

He looked at the happy Lithuanian and shook his head, "These guns are for training only, we have no rifles yet."

"Whatever." Sergei replied in English.

Ron started laughing and just about had milk coming out of his nose, he had told Sergei about how there was going to be a movie made about him and of course his girlfriend Kim Possible.

He told him how he had an actor namedQuinn follow him all over to learn to be him and that all he would ever say was, "Whatever"

Sergei looked at him funny when he told the story, "So what does "whatever" mean?"

Ron chuckled and shrugged, "Whatever"

Ron composed himself, "So we are in the Golani Brigade, Gideon Battalion, First Platoon, Company C?"

Sergei nodded, "Yes, Golani Brigade is two Battalions, Gideon and Barak, each battalion consists of…four platoons, six companies to a platoon."

They finished their snacks and went back to the barracks and started to field strip their M-16's, disassembling and reassembling them until they felt comfortable doing it.

Ron had a chance to look around at the other recruits, at this time there were over 300. During training they would lose about half that number.

There were those that had learning disabilities or were handicapped, they would be in for two weeks. Long enough to learn how to shoot a rifle and then they would be bused out to perform support roles and maintenance functions.

After that what the IDF soldiers would call the "jobniks" those that did well in school or had a skill, they would be there for a month and then be sent off for their specialized training.

Then there were those that were going into the reserves that would be there for two months and then they would leave to serve their two weeks.

That would leave around 160 men to form the company and they would stay together from the time of inception until the end of their service unless they were promoted or accepted into the Paratroopers or the Commandos.

Sergeant Eldar entered the barracks with two corporals carrying boxes, "You will now be issued your PT gear, make sure you shoes fit comfortably and then fall out onto the parade ground in one hour…Private Stoppable…What time is it now?"

Ron cringed and looked at his watch, "It is 14:04 hours Sergeant?"

The Sergeant laughed and shook his head, "You are wrong it is 14:01, now I want 10 pushups for every minute you were off."

The Sergeant ordered Corporal Shomron to stay behind and make sure that Ron completed his pushups and then he turned and left the barracks.

Corporal Shomron looked around the barracks, "What are you gawking at? Get in line to receive your PT clothes."

Ron finished his pushups and joined the line and whispered angrily to Sergei, "This sucks."

Sergei looked over at Ron, "Noooooooo look more free clothes…I tell you this is great."

He nodded, _"It's only great because your ass ain't doin' the pushups…Looks like we're going to have gym class, I bet they fly Coach Barkin in for this and he'll have me doing more pushups."_

They stood in line and received their gym clothes, 3 pairs gym shorts grey in color, 3 pairs of T-shirts white in color, and a pair of adidas running shoes.

At 15:00 hours they reported to the parade ground, Sergeant Eldar smiled at them, "We are going to have some fun now…now it is off to the basketball court."

They were ordered to march to a fenced in asphalt basketball court where they were ordered to run the length of the court, then drop for 20 pushups,15 setups and 10 deep knee squats.

They were ordered to do the "Suicides" as they were called until they would collapse from exhaustion, Ron swallowed hard as he watched the exercises _"This won't be pretty."_

Although Ron was in pretty good shape he had never really tested the length of his endurance, when his turn came he and the three other young men began the exercise.

He outlasted the other three but not by much, he had successfully completed the exercise nine times which put him in the top percent of the company. Ron staggered out of the fenced in basketball court and collapsed on the ground as the next group went in to try their luck.

Ron looked over at Sergei, "How many did you do?"

"Six or seven…I lost count." Sergei said as he lay on the panting on the ground.

Ron looked to Tirza, who was still smiling, "I did five…I love this."

"That is because you are insane." Ron told him forcefully.

The three laughed as they tried to get to their feet, _"My legs are shaky and I can't feel my arms."_

The three finally made it to their feet and Sergeant Eldar walked over, "Burimovich, Cohen, Minkle, Stoppable…You four kitchen duty starting Sunday."

Ron looked over at Sergei and he shrugged, "It could be worse, we could be cleaning shitters."

Ron nodded, "Well at least I can get a clue about what luff is made of."

"It'll be fun, we'll be cooking and doing our normal basic training stuff and we will have to get up an hour or two before everyone else." Tirza said happily.

Ron looked over at Sergei and Sergei shrugged, and then Ron shook his head and walked off to assume his position in formation, "You are not only insane you are stupid as well."

Tirza looked at Sergei, "Why doesn't he like me?"

Sergei smiled broadly, "Ronnie likes you just fine. Other than me, we are the only two who have not tried to beat you up…yet."

Tirza smiled and nodded, "This is true."

Once the company had assembled in formation Sergeant Eldar addressed the company, "You are all spineless jellyfish…My daughter could do this exercise better than you…She in only nine. You will fallout return to your barracks shower and dress in a CLEAN Battle Dress Uniforms…Got that Minkle…and report for evening meal and then we will meet in the barracks at 17:00 hours where you will assemble your packs and report to the parade ground at 19:00 hours for a 5 kilometer march."

Ron swallowed hard; he had run a 5k race on the cross country team in high school but nothing like this, _"We'll be wear uniforms, heavy boots and no telling how heavy the pack will be…This is going to be a long day."_

"Stoppable, what time do you have?" Sergeant Eldar barked out.

Ron looked at his watch, "It is 16:30 hours Sergeant."

The sergeant frowned, "Stoppable it is 16:33, you just refuse to get your watch set, you are an idiot, because you are an idiot the whole company will do 10 pushups for every minute you were off."

Ron winced as he heard the groans, _"This sucks"_

* * *

Kim showed up for her first day as a Mall Security guard in her navy blue slacks, light blue uniform shirt, plastic badge, nylon belt with silver buckle, leather utility belt that held keys, handcuffs, various first aid supplies and last but not least on her right hip was a leather holster where she would keep her pepper mace. 

Kim looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, _"I'm not going to make a career out of this, so when the time comes for me to move on…You're going down Bobby."_

Bobby Troupe walked into the Mall Security office and spotted Kim, immediately he brought his hand to rest on the pepper mace, "So I see they did hire you."

Kim smiled and rested her hand on her holster, "Had to put in two weeks at Samgoody's first…Tough day Bobby?"

"Not really…it was quiet." He said as he started to circle to the left.

Kim started to circle to her right; they were 15 feet apart from each other so getting a clean shot of pepper mace off would be difficult for either of them, "So are you getting ready to go home?"

Bobby froze in his tracks, "Why do you want to know."

Kim took the fore finger of her right hand and unsnapped the flap covering the pepper mace, the move was smooth and concealed from Bobby, "No reason…I was just trying…"

Kim stopped talking as she saw Bobby slapping leather to pull his mace, Kim was faster and they stared at one another across the distance.

"You think you're all that Possible, but there's more to being Mall Security than just being fast on the draw with a can of mace." Bobby said indignantly as he continued to circle his prey.

"I'm quaking Bobby, but don't worry I don't want your job and when I'm finished with this one….We're going to see who takes a shot in the face." Kim said menacingly as she began to move closer to Bobby.

Bobby turned and ran into the restroom and locked the door behind him.

Kim had a smile of satisfaction on her face, "Time to do a patrol."

* * *

Company "C" was issued their combat packs for the first time and told to assemble them, the pack when finished would contain a rain poncho, two personal bandages and "pocket accessories" consisting of a pack of matches wrapped with plastic and sealed with black tape, the whole thing wrapped with an extra shoelace. A razor blade with one half-wrapped in tape was inserted into this package and an additional one into the rubber in the helmet. Finally, a Geneva ID card was sealed in plastic and tape and placed in the pocked of the BDU's. 

There were also side pouches for two canteens of water and when the company was trained to use their weapons they would carry eight, thirty round magazines for their M16's.

Their new dog tags consisted of one perforated piece of metal. It had to be covered with camouflage cloth, and the chain inserted into a shoelace. Two additional dog tags were provided, to be inserted into special slots in the IDF boots.

This was because in the Yom Kippur war, many Israeli tank commanders had had their heads shot off by enemy tanks. Israeli tank commanders always fight with their head out of the tank in order to better see the battlefield. The dog tags of these headless killed in action had been lost and it was difficult to identify the body, hence the additional boot dog tags.

The company was issued the equipment and worked far into the night preparing it according to the corporal's instructions. When Ron was finished putting his gear on the corporals checked and re-checked him, and they always found something wrong. Finally, after many hours of work, the equipment distribution was finished the company reported to the parade ground.

The sergeant shook his head as the company assembled, "You are all late, I told you to be here over an hour ago."

There were cries of protest and Ron closed his eyes because he knew what was coming.

Sergeant Eldar was having none of it, "Grandmother's Tales…Private Stoppable, what time is it?"

Ron sighed and pulled back the leather strap that served as camouflage for his watch, "It is 20:20 hour's sergeant."

The Sergeant nodded and paced back and forth, "One hour and twenty minutes late, this is not what I expect from my company…Tonight instead of a 5 kilometer march you will learn how to carry an injured soldier…The Israeli army leaves no man behind wounded or dead."

The corporals paired each soldier up with a buddy and then they were instructed on the one on one carry, Ron was lucky he had to pick up Jacob Spielman, the son of a settler in the Golan region who was roughly his own size.

He took one arm and a leg and hoisted Jacob onto his back, the listened to the Sergeant Eldar explain how important this exercise would be, then they switched off and Ron was barely hoisted into the air, he was still wearing his pack and gun and wasn't too confident of Jacob's strength, "Don't drop me Jacob."

"Now this is all well and good unless you have a gut wound, if you are hoisted up like that with a gut wound…Your intestines will fall out on the ground." The Sergeant said with an evil laugh.

Ron was finally lowered to the ground then they were instructed on how to carry a man with a gut wound, Ron took Speilman's legs and Gerri Roth took his arms. They all took turns pretending to be wounded.

Next came the most dreaded exercise in the IDF, the stretcher carry, the company was separated into twelve man squads, the smallest man would lay on the stretcher and then four other men would carry him as far as they could before being relieved.

Tirza was in Ron's squad and was the first to ride in the stretcher, Ron shouldered his rifle and together with Jacob Speilman, Gerri Roth, and Nohn Minkle were the others for the first leg. There were seven others that would serve in relief when the first four gave out.

On the Corporal Shomron's command they all hoisted at once and stood at attention, then one squad after another jogged away and then Ron's squad followed the others at a jog.

"Just because you are the last in line does not mean that is where you will finish coming back and if you do not pass at least two squads I will have you up all night doing pushups." Corporal Shomron yelled at them.

Ron closed his eyes not wanting to think about that possibility and then he heard Tirza begin to sing:

"_I see the bad mood rising.  
I see trouble on the way.  
I see daddy lions a blowin'  
I see bad crimes today.Do not go out tonight,  
Well, it's bound to pick a fight,  
Darss a bathroom on the right." _

"_These people are all insane…I am insane, I left my home an okay job, a hot girlfriend for this?"_ Ron thought as he fought the strain of the stretcher.

Ron saw the squad fall down in front of him and they jogged around them, he saw Sergei land on his butt and scramble with the other members to pick up the stretcher and get going again.

He smiled as they went by and decided to taunt his friend a little, "This is great, they give us free torture."

They had just cleared the side gate when Ron saw Gerri Roth waive his hand in the air, the group slowed just a bit as one of the other squad members took charge of the left corner of the stretcher.

They were beginning to catch the next squad; Ron could tell by the way the stretcher was slowing down that the back two carriers had switched off. He finally put his hand up.

Nimrod Lipsky took over for Ron as he cleared the way and took his canteen from his pack.

"Put that back, no water until the end of the run…Now un-sling that weapon and bring it to battle ready and fall in behind Stoppable." Coporal Shomron screamed at Ron as they jogged together.

Ron put back the canteen and grimaced from the pain as he brought the rifle into the desired position and began to think of his girlfriend, _"Kim, haven't thought about her much since I got here, I wonder how's she's doing…Sex…Haven't thought about sex until now…Kim you cold cruel foul temptress you knew that this would happen…I'd start thinking about sex and want to come home…I see thru your little scheme."_

At the halfway point Sergeant Eldar called the squads to a halt and then it was Ron's turn to ride on the stretcher as he was the next smallest.

Ron took his position on the stretcher and by now he was dieing of curiosity, "Nimrod Lipsky…Do you have any relatives in the United States named Drew?"

Nimrod shook his head that he didn't and Ron smiled and lay on his back, _"I had to know…I just had to know."_

The squad hoisted the stretcher onto their shoulders again and then took off at a jog, Ron was jostled and bounced around, now he knew why Tirza quit singing he was holding on for dear life.

Ron watched as another squad collapsed and then he had seen why, they goofed off or misbehaved and they added a second person to the stretcher and it had tore in two.

Ron's squad made it back to camp, and were dismissed at 23:30 hours, he sat on the ground and waited for Sergei's squad to arrive.

Sergei squad arrived fifteen minutes later and Sergei was huffing and puffing, Ron waited for Sergei's squad to be dismissed and then he sat back and looked at his friend, "You are not tired are you?"

Sergei looked down on Ron, "This stretcher run has broken my penis."

Ron started to laugh, "Put a cast on it, we have to get up and do it all over again in five hours."

Sergei groaned and the two men headed back to the barracks to get some sleep.

* * *

Kim had been on the job a week and so far had nabbed six shop lifters and caused a lot of property destruction inside the mall doing it. The manager's in the stores began to complain and now Kim was in front of Mr. Edwards for a formal counseling. 

Kim stood at attention in her full Mall Security uniform; the only new addition to the wardrobe was a pair of mirrored aviator's sunglasses which hid her green eyes from view and she was wearing her hair in a full battle ponytail.

Mr. Edwards looked up at Kim, "Kim so far you've done a remarkable job with Mall Security…but we have a few concerns from the various store managers that maybe you're using a little too much force to apprehend…you know…the bad guys."

Kim eyebrows arched and in a outraged voice asked for clarification, "Your saying that I should go soft on these guys?"

Mr. Edwards held up his hands, "Now hang on Kim, its one thing to catch the bad guys but…was it really necessary to send Mr. David Liscomb through a plate glass window in front of Pet Land…You injured a Toy Poodle puppy and a Pomeranian puppy."

"Sometimes you have to break a few eggs in order to make an omelet, Mr. Edwards." Kim said as she pumped her right fist into her left hand.

Mr. Edwards was becoming nervous, "Kim…Do we have to send you to an anger management course? I mean we have policies in the Mall Security section about the excessive use of force."

Kim snarled and told Mr. Edwards just what she thought of Mall Security policies, "Look…I see a Dirt Ball running down the corridor with a rack full of stolen clothes, I put him on the ground…That's my policy."

Mr. Edwards chuckled nervously and pulled at his tie, "Well unfortunately Ms. Possible if you can't control your…policies then we will have to terminate your employment with Mall Security…Do you understand?"

Kim glared at Mr. Edwards from behind the mirrored sunglass, "No I don't understand…at all."

Kim turned and stormed out of Mr. Edwards's office, the man was beginning to sweat, _"Jesus no wonder the guy at Radio Shack calls her Dirty Kimmy."_

Kim walked into the Mall Security ready room and glared at a very satisfied looking Bobby Troupe, "You're an idiot Troupe."

Kim then walked out of the Mall Security offices and took a patrol, She took a stroll past Club Banana looking at the new fashions in the window but knew she couldn't go in because of the restraining order against her.

Monique saw her loitering around out front and held up a finger and came outside the store, "I hear your kicking ass in the Mall Security business these days."

Kim nodded and kept her head moving back and forth looking for crime told her friend bitterly just how it was, "I'd be doing a better job if I could keep the beurocrats and the career politicians off of my back…Then I'd show you how things should be run."

Monique gave a nervous little half smile, "Kim are you…you know…OK?"

Kim turned quickly to look at Monique, "You think I'm crazy don't you? DON'T YOU…Your like all the rest…Edwards, Troupe, Stoppable, THE MAN…Trying to keep a Sister down."

Monique swallowed hard and began to back up, "I think my ten minute brake is up…I'm gong to back to work now."

Kim nodded her head as she watched her friend scamper back inside the store, _"It's all a plot and I'm the only one that sees it…yea a plot…Take Ron out of the country and then try to subjugate me…I think I'll head outside for a smoke."_

* * *

Ron had been in the army for six days now, the mental games continued but he was becoming used to them. Now it was finally the Shabbat, he had attended morning prayers and was enjoying a light day. 

During the week he had discovered the computer area and he purchased some time from the PX, so once he was dismissed from the afternoon assembly he logged in to catch up on his email.

"_Ahhhhhhh email from Kim."_ Ron smiled as he opened it.

"_Ron_

_I misssssssssssssssssss youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu._

_I've got a fire down below and I know only one guy that can handle it._

_Please come home…I missssssssss youuuuuuuuuu._

_Samgoody's goes well…I saw Bonny she's going to be studying over in Israel for a year…Don't remember what college. _

_Rufus says "Hi"_

_The twins haven't killed him yet and he seems to be enjoying himself._

_I have to go now…It's almost time for work._

_I don't know how you did it…Working Blows Big Mean Dogs._

_Love you lots._

_Kim"_

Ron laughed, _"Yes working does blow big mean dogs…I wonder where she heard that."_

Ron looked at the date and saw that it was from just before he reported for induction and then he opened one from last Tuesday:

"_Ron_

_I caught a shoplifter today at Samgoody's and kicked the…You know what out of him._

_Mr. Edwards the man in charge of the Mall has asked me to join Mall Security._

_I've put in my two weeks with Samgoody's so I can go back to fighting crime._

_Plus it pays fifteen cents more an hour._

_Rufus is good and say's for you to come home and please me…NOW._

_You know your birthday is coming up…I'm already 18…Once your 18 I won't feel like a cradle robber anymore…lol_

_Maybe I'll just show up there in Israel and get you all to myself and rub my naked body all over you….I bet you'd like that._

_You keep thinking your little dark perverted thoughts about me._

_Love you_

_Kim"_

Ron was melting out of the computer chair and there was drool coming out of his mouth, _"Kim…Sex…Kim…Sex…Kim…Sex…Need…KIM…NOW."_

Ron sat up quickly and looked around and then hit the reply button on the computer:

"_Kim_

_Pleasssssssssssssseeeeeeeeee come to Israel, you have no idea how badly I miss you._

_I have many dark perverted thoughts waiting for you here…I'll go AWOL for you, it would be worth 7 days in a stockade just to be with you for one night._

_Awwwwwww Kim your killing me here…Please come to Israel._

_I long to run my fingers through your hair and hold you against my body once again._

_Please Come to Israel…NOW_

_I will love you always_

_Ron"_

Ron hit the send button and smiled, "I hope that didn't sound too desperate…Nahhhh"


	19. Chapter 19

Sorry for the long chapter but I'm trying to catch up my timelines for Ron and Kim, now they are on the same page now...lol

Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Bubba

* * *

Ron finally started to receive mail, there was a large manila envelope full of letters from his parents and Kim that had been delivered to the Oster's house and then they forwarded them along to him. 

He could smell the perfume coming from Kim's letters so he saved them for last so he opened the letter from his father first:

"_Ronald_

_Your mother gave birth to a sister for you on August 17, 2007 just after you entered the service._

_Your sister Kaley Brianna Stoppable was born at 7:35AM, weight 8 lbs. 3 oz. 191/2 inches long._

_Both your mother and sister are fine, I have sent you a picture of your sister for your wallet._

_Your mother would like you to write more often…I would also like for you to write more often._

_Love _

_Dad"_

Ron wiped a tear away as he looked at the photo, _"She's got big ears, no denying that she's a Stoppable."_

Ron ran out of the camp post office and over to the PX, where he promptly purchased four really large cigars and then rounded his other friends up from KP duty.

"It is a girl." Ron said happily as he passed out cigars to his friends from KP, Nohn Minkle a spoiled rich kid from North Tel Aviv who didn't want to be in the Golani but be a commando, Tirza Cohen who was totally in love with the IDF and wanted to become the company medic, and Sergei who was trying to talk Ron into going in on an apartment together after basic training was over.

Sergei put out a hand and Ron shook it and handed him the picture of his baby sister, "She is going to be a cutie...Maybe not as good looking as me…but close."

Sergei laughed and nodded, "She is small like you."

The group sat up against the side of the PX, puffing happily away on the cigars, Nohn Minkle looked at the picture, "Shame you are so far away from home, you could of went AWOL for a few days and went home."

Ron smiled, "I do not know about that…Now if Kim came over here…I would vanish so fast it would make your heads spin off your necks."

They laughed lounging in the exuberant blue cloud of smoke they were creating, Tirza laughed at the picture, "Those ears look familiar…We're going to the range today…How do you think you will do shooting a gun?"

Nohn smiled, "I will do well, my father has taken me skeet shooting since I was a small boy."

Sergei shrugged, "I do not know, I have never fired a gun."

"I have seen guns but I myself have never fired them." Ron said as he retrieved the picture from Tirza and placed it into his wallet.

Tirza clapped his hands, "Good I will not look so foolish then."

At 12:00 hours the company assembled on the parade ground, everyone was in attendance as no one want to miss the first day of shooting live ammunition Sergeant Eldar paced in front of the company, "It gladdens my heart to finally see you all show up on time for once…We are waiting for the buses to take us to the range today, where you will turn in the rifles you have now and replace them with guns that won't explode in your face."

The buses arrived and the troops loaded up and went to the firing range, Ron turned in the gun he had been using for the last week and was issued another M16, the gun looked worse than the one he turned in.

They were ordered to strip and clean their weapons and once that was done it were off to the firing range.

The range commander took over and showed them how to sight the weapons correctly and to adjust the sights then they were all issued a can of ammunition and a magazine.

"You will load 5 rounds and 5 rounds only into the magazine; you will NOT insert them into your rifle until you are told to do so." The Range Commander barked.

The range its self looked like a large quarry, there was target placed at twenty five meters, 50 meters and 100 meters and far off into the distance was a large sand dune.

The targets were held by clips attached to a wire line on a pulley and they would be reeled out to the desired range of fire by a range assistant. Today's distance would be 25 meters.

The soldiers were ordered to put in their rubber ear plugs and then 12 soldiers lay down in the prone position and when the command was given they took their fired their weapon 5 times at the large targets that were mounted 25 meters away.

Ron watched intently as the first group made their shots, _"The targets are so close, they can't possibly miss…This must be the group leaving on Friday…They only have to be level 2 marksman."_

The IDF has different qualifications for rifle marksman ship, level 2 is the lowest, and it signifies that the individual knows how to load and shoot a gun. This level is for those that are handicapped or have learning disabilities.

The reservist and the individuals with special skills, the ones called the "jobniks" have to achieve a level 4, which signifies that they are able to load, shoot and hit their targets on a regular basis.

The group that Ron was with would have to be a level 7 marksman, one that is an expert in all the small arms the IDF has and can predictably hit their targets at any range up to 500 meters.

It was finally Ron's turn to shoot; he took a prone position, loaded his magazine of five shots, chambered a round of the 5.56mm ammunition and waited for the fire command.

When the all clear was signaled, the fire command was given, he looked thru the circular peep sight and placed the blade of the front sight in the center and then took aim a the center of the target 25 meters away and squeezed the trigger, _"1…2…3…4…5..Booyahhhhhhhh I couldn't of missed at this range."_

Ron's target was brought in and Sergeant Eldar looked it over, "Low to the left…Corporal Shomron, show Private Stoppable how to adjust his sights."

Corporal Shomron kneeled by Ron and explained to him how to adjust for windage and elevation and then handed the weapon back to him, "Load up 5 more Stoppable."

Ron loaded the magazine and he heard Sergeant Eldar say in an uncomfortably loud voice, "Try to hit the target more than once this time."

The target was run back out to 25 meters; Ron loaded a fresh magazine with 5 rounds into the weapon and waited for the fire command.

He was becoming nervous, so he took a deep breath and let it out. The fire command came, Ron did everything just as he had done before, "1…2…3…4…5, I know I hit the target that time."

The target came back with only one hole dead center in the target, Sergeant Eldar looked at it and shook his head, "Christ on a stick Stoppable, can't you hit anything?"

The Range Commander pulled on Eldar's sleeve and they had a conference, "He hit both targets 5 times, the shots went in one on top of the other?"

Eldar shook his head in disbelief, "What?"

The Range commander pointed to a faint circle at the top, "There is one shot…there is another and another one that's three…fourth probably went straight through along with the fifth…have him shoot at a target 100 meters away."

Ron was still lying on the ground looking at what was going on, Sergeant Eldar told Corporal Shomron to run the target out to 100 meters. Ron looked on in disbelief, _"What is going on?"_

"Private Stoppable, load 5 more rounds and prepare to fire at that target." Sergeant Eldar told him as he pointed at the target off in the distance.

He did as he was told and now realized that he was starting to become the center of attention. The range clear signal was given and the order to fire was given and Ron took aim once again, _"1...2...3…4…5, that was tougher to hit."_

The target was reeled in and it looked just the same as the last two except for the holes were more discernable, the Range Commander took the target, "Look at that grouping…He must have fired rifles before? Run the next target out to 500 meters."

The target was run out to 500 meters, "Corporal Shomron show Private Stoppable how to adjust his rear sights for distance."

The corporal showed Ron the knob to turn on the rear sight and handed him back the gun. Ron did everything just as he had before and the same results. The holes were a little more spread out but could cover them with a quarter.

The Range Commander took over, "Stoppable, load 30 rounds in the magazine."

Ron looked around and everyone was watching him and all activity on the range had ceased. He swallowed hard as he began to load the magazine, _"What is going on?"_

The Range Commander pointed at Corporal Shomron, "Show him how to set the rear sight for 1,000 meters."

The next target was a black silhouette of a man, the Range Commander took charge of the reeling this time, "Now Private Stoppable…Can you make out the silhouette at that distance?"

Ron nodded that he could and the Range Commander continued, "I want you to move the lever from single shot to full automatic firing."

Ron's eyes became big as saucers as he moved the selector and he looked to the Range Commander, "I want you to shoot that silhouette…That one way out there as many times as you can in the head…Is that understood?"

Ron nodded and the Range Commander smiled, "Fire whenever you are ready."

Ron pulled the trigger and the gun bounced and made a terrific noise and brass shell casings flew through the air like angry bees and then just as quick as he started the gun was empty.

"BOOYAHHHHHHH" Ron yelled pumping a fist in the air.

The target was reeled in and there was applause and cheers as the head on the silhouette was completely gone.

The Range Commander took the target over to Sergeant Eldar, "I think we found a candidate for sniper school."

Sergeant Eldar nodded, "Stoppable come here now."

He stood up and picked up his weapon, which was still smoking from prolonged fire and jogged over to where the two men stood. Sergeant Eldar looked at him, "You are an American, and you grew up with guns correct?"

"No Sergeant, I have never fired a gun before today?" Ron told him looking between the Range Commander and the Sergeant nervously.

The Range Commander put a hand on his shoulders, "I think you have what is needed to become a first class sniper, would you be interested in attending Sniping School?"

Ron shrugged, "Would I have to leave my company?"

Sergeant Eldar shook his head no and Ron nodded, "If I can stay with my company I will do it."

Sergeant Eldar nodded, "Go stand with the others that have finished the rifle section."

From there the company split up and Ron went with a group to learn about the 7.62mm machine gun and how to properly load and fire the weapon, from there they went and learned how to fire the M203 grenade launcher, next station was hand grenades, mortars, and then to the big show the 50 caliber machine gun.

This part of training was taught by 19 year old Sergeant Yael Rettig, it is not unusual for the IDF to use women in weapons training but Yael was petite and had long straight black hair pulled up into a bun under her helmet.

When Yael spoke Ron's testosterone kicked in, he paid absolutely no attention to the lecture on the 50 caliber heavy machine gun, his head tilted and he started to drool and think about sex.

Sex with Yael, sex with Yori, sex with Kim, sex with Kim and Monique, sex with Shego, sex with Kim, Monique, and Shego, _"My God look at the way she is stroking that barrel."_

Sergeant Eldar spotted him immediately and bellowed out at the top of his lungs, "SLAP THAT MAN, HE IS LUSTING."

Hands came from out of nowhere slapping Ron in the helmet; he jumped to attention and shrugged nervously. He knew he was in trouble, _"Ohhhhhh Mannnnnn"_

This was nothing new to Yael, there was always one in every training session and she would always be sure to make an example of him, "It is alright Sergeant, this little one will do perfectly for my demonstration."

Yael showed Ron the routine on firing the big machine gun and she explained that he had to be careful of the bolt as if it came slammed forward it could easily sever a finger.

Now Ron had to translate her instructions into actions: cock the action - pull it back hard and fast until it clicks into place; push the slide forward; press the trigger; flip up the top; use four fingers to clean the ammo holder: flip up the ammo holder; one finger in the back of the chamber to see it is clear; also one finger in the front and four fingers in the middle; flip down the ammo holder; insert the ammo chain, female side first; flip down the top; slam the top; cock the weapon with the right hand holding the back of the weapon with the thumb; slide the pin forward; release the safety; fire.

Ron practiced it several times on a mockup on a stand before trying it on the real thing. The gun was mounted on a tripod and he took a seat straddling the big gun between his legs, and then loaded the belt with 100 rounds of ammunition.

Yael then she leaned over and pressed her breasts into Ron's back and said in a sultry voice, "You have to stroke the firing button gently Private …are you good at stroking things?"

Ron nodded his head nervously and Yael smiled,"You know what the MG will sound like when you stroke the button gently Private?"

Ron was sweating and breathing hard, and Yael leaned in closer to his ear, "It will go MAKA…MAKA…MAKA…MAKA…MAKA…MAKA..." She screamed into Ron's ear and shook him by the shoulders, he jumped and the rest of the company laughed at him.

Yael stood off to the side of him now and pointed down range, "Do not aim with the sights, look over the sights and pick a spot low in front of those barrels and begin firing, raise the gun up till you are hitting the barrels and then sweep the gun from right to left…This is called the "T" aiming system…Begin firing when you are ready."

Ron did as he was told and then pressed the button, the big gun began to kick and bounce and belch fire out the barrel and there was a terrific loud noise, shell casings were bouncing all over the ground as he fought with all his might to raise the barrel then he could see the bullets hitting the barrels and he swiveled the gun to the right and then back to the left and then belt ran out of ammo.

Yael popped Ron on top of the helmet, "That will teach you to clean up your mind."

Ron smiled weakly, "Yes Sergeant."

Sergeant Eldar wasn't nearly so forgiving, "Burimovich, Cohen, Minkle, Stoppable, next week you have toilet duty next week.

Sergei shook his head, "Good job Ronnie, now we have to clean shitters."

Sergeant Eldar looked at Sergei, "What time do you have?"

"I…I have no watch on." Sergei stammered.nervously

"Stoppable, what time do you have." Sergeant Eldar said as he pointed at Ron.

Ron cringed and looked at his watch, "It is 19:23 hours Sergeant."

Sergeant Eldar shook his head, "Wrong it is 19:26 hours all four of you will now drop and give me 10 pushups for every minute you were off."

From there the company loaded up on the buses, they had spent 8 hours at the facility and when Ron took his seat he began to sleep.

* * *

He woke up as the bus turned into the base, there was an assembly called on the parade ground Sergeant Eldar looked over the unit, "Burimovich, Cohen, Minkle, Stoppable, since you missed a turn on KP tonight you will have the honor of pulling first guard shift…Which begins...NOW." 

The four soldiers ran towards the front gate, Minkle yelled at the other three, "I will guard armory."

Ron yelled, "Front gate"

Sergei yelled, "Front gate"

Tirza yelled after them, "What is left?"

Ron laughed as he walked into the guard booth, "Side gate"

"Awwwwwwww, I do not want to be there all by myself." Tirza whined.

Sergei chuckled, "We will check on you later."

Ron took his post on the left side of the gate and Sergei on the right. On Sunday they were taught to stand watch and to pull guard duty, the shifts were four hours each and generally went from first watch 18:00 hours to 24:00 hours, second watch 24:00 hours to 04:00 hours and third watch was from 04:00 to 08:00 hours.

"We get relieved, we will have to sleep fast we only have four hours before KP." Sergei reminded Ron.

Ron nodded, "I can't wait for Shabbat…I need some sleep."

Sergei started laughing, "Ronnie you should have seen the look on your face when that lady sergeant started talking."

He blushed and shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You looked like a lion that just spotted raw meat." Sergei continued.

Ron laughed, "I was not thinking of her…I was thinking about Kim."

"Was not" Sergei goaded.

"You know, I do not like this subject…how did you do with the rifle?" Ron asked hoping that Sergei would leave his sexual frustration alone.

Sergei shrugged his shoulders, "I did good, not as good as you though, how did you learn to shoot like that?"

Ron lifted his eyebrows, "Awwww well, you know…Americans we shoot people so much over there…It just rubs off on you."

The answer seemed to please Sergei, but Ron was becoming a little bit concerned, _"I wonder if that shooting was really me or the mystical monkey power?"_

"So what do you think?" Sergei asked.

Ron shook his head, "About what?"

Sergei rolled his eyes, "About getting an apartment once we are assigned to post?"

Ron shook his head, "I do not know, apartments cost so much a month, then there are the taxes and utilities…Then we'd only be there one week a month, since we will have to spend the other three weeks on post."

Sergei rolled his eyes and adjusted his helmet, "Ronnie the army will help us with the rent and since we are both Chayal Boded we will be out very little money if we find an apartment in a thousand year old building."

Ron mulled it over, "Well there are other issues…Girls…If I am entertaining a young lady and you walk in…it might ruin the mood."

Sergei started to laugh, "What makes you think that I would not be entertaining the nice young lady and you would be walking in?"

They both started laughing, and then Sergei brought up a valid point, "What happens if your Kim should come to town…You going to entertain her in a room by the hour? What will she think when the angry man behind the counter asks if your prostitute would like sheets or not?"

Ron blinked, "You have a point, you have a valid point…So how much is the room by the hour with or without sheets?"

Sergei pulled his helmet over his face and screamed, "Ronnie…"

"Fine, fine, you have convinced me…we will explore this later." Ron told him.

This seemed to make Sergei happy, "Ronnieeeeeeeee, next week we get liberty for the Shabbat…What do you want to do?"

Ron smiled, "See if I can get Kim over her or go find that Sergeant."

They laughed for a bit and Ron noticed three men dressed as Arabs coming up the road on the video monitor, he watched as they walked by uncomfortably close to the fence.

Sergei nodded at them, "Shalom"

They mumbled something and kept walking, Ron pressed the talk button in his booth, "Tirza…You there?"

There was a long pause, "Leave me alone Ronnie I want to sleep a bit."

"Tirza you have three angry looking Arab men heading your way close to the fence….You have a round in the chamber?" Ron asked nervously as he followed the men on the monitor.

"We are not supposed to carry the guns with a round in the chamber on guard duty." Tirza reminded him.

Ron shook his head, "That's only if you haven't passed the rifle course…Did you pass the rifle course?"

There was a long silence, "I think so…I see them coming."

Ron was starting to get really nervous and he looked across the way at Sergei, he could see that he wasn't looking real happy, he keyed the radio again, "Tirza, waive at them and smile, if you need help call and I will come and back you up."

There was no answer for a bit and then the radio crackled to life, "They just went by…They looked very mean."

Sergei called over from his booth, "You going to put it on your report?"

Ron nodded, "Oh yes…They were too close to the fence, no telling what they were up to."

Ron made the notes as best he could with his chicken scratch Hebrew writing and waited for the relief to arrive.

He survived another week and finished his week of KP, and now it was the Shabbat. Corporal Shomron called an assembly and Ron was standing with the rest of the company waiting to be dismissed, "We are not all here…Where is Nimrod Lipsky?"

A hand went up, it was Gerri Roth from Jerusalem, he had a thick beard and very religious, "He went AWOL last night."

Corporal Shomron turned his head, "Where is Leonard?"

Tirza raised his hand, "He went AWOL too."

"If you know someone is going AWOL it is your duty to stop them." Corporal Shomron told them.

He paced back and forth and the company was becoming very agitated, Ron in particular was becoming upset, _"Dismiss us, I want to email Kim…Come on man."_

Corporal Shomron stopped pacing, "Does anyone know the rate of fire of the MAG?"

"FORBIDDEN, FORBIDDEN" the religious Jews yelled out.

Corporal Shomron shook his head, he had forgotten that there is no work or studying allowed on the Shabbat. So he decided to do the next best thing a long a droning lecture for punishment for the two that went AWOL, "You see there were these guys I knew one time and they flew in an owl helicopter and it crashed and they all died…It was very sad but they all had a history of going AWOL so it was really no big loss…blah, blah, blah…"

Ron had completely tuned him out, _"I wonder if Mom's home from the hospital? KP wasn't too bad…Shitters won't be pretty…Is this guy ever going to shut up and dismiss us?"_

Finally the order to dismiss was given and Ron ran for the PX to buy computer time, then he made his way to the base computer room and logged into a work station.

He happily opened his email from Kim:

"_Ron_

_I can't quite swing a trip to Israel…_

_I have to start my new job._

_I'm going to shoot Bobby Troupe in the face with the pepper mace_

_He's going to pay Ron do you understand me PAY."_

Ron looked around the computer room, _"Who the hell is Bobby Troupe?"_

"_I miss you so much!_

_The other night I was taking a bath and I began to soap my entire body._

_I worked the soap suds in little circles all around my breasts._

_Then I worked my way down my hard flat tummy till I reached my…_

_So how's everything going with you?"_

Ron leaned back in his chair, "AGGHHHHHHHHHHH KIM"

There were a few people in the room and they looked at him, Ron chuckled and pointed at the monitor, "Bad News"

"_Rufus is good._

_I have to cut this email short since I'm going to a training class for Mall Security._

_I miss you._

_Love You, _

_KIM _

_Xxxooooxxxooxxx"_

Ron shrugged, _"Well that was short, and only one email. She must be pretty busy."_

Ron hit the reply button:

"_Kim_

_I just found out during the week that I have a sister_

_Yeaaaaaaaaaaa, I'm not a only child anymore_

_Too bad this didn't happen a few years back so I could torture her properly…lol_

_I pulled KP duty which wasn't all that bad_

_I did a couple of shifts guarding things at night._

_That wasn't bad either._

_My friend Sergei talked me into going in on an apartment once we are out of basic training._

_That way if you come over and visit I can run him off for a night…lol_

_I miss you a lot and tell Rufus I said to lay off the cheese pink boy….lol_

_Love you lots_

_Ron"_

Ron hit the send button and smiled, _"No need telling her about that Sergeant, I want to keep getting emails."_

* * *

The new week began and Ron, Sergei, Tirza and Nohn were discovering all sorts of new smells and unwelcome sights while cleaning the restrooms. 

"Ronnie, check this one out." Sergei excitedly exclaimed as he waived for Ron to come look at his new discovery.

Ron walked over from the long row of urinals that he was cleaning to see what Sergei wanted to show him now, "Sergei I have seen three log jams and paper jam..." Ron looked into the commode, "That is sick and wrong…that is wrong sick."

Sergei was laughing, "Explosive Diarrhea?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "Correct place for it, thank you for the interesting sight...I'd show you more but once you have seen a pile of cigarette butts in a urinal you have seen them all."

Nohn Minkle came from around the corner, "I have finished cleaning the shower room…I am heading back to the barracks."

"You have urinals tomorrow." Ron reminded him

"I will do showers, cleaning in here is beneath me." He said as he waived and walked out of the building.

Ron glared over at Sergei, the man smiled, "Don't worry Ronnie he'll stick to schedule."

"He will or he eats the toilet brush." Ron said as he flushed the urinal.

He finished with the urinals, walked across the concrete floor to help Sergei finish the toilets.

Tirza with his traditional big grin came in depositing mint fragranced urinal blocks into the Ron's newly cleaned urinals, "Bubble gum…They always smell so good before they start peeing on them."

Ron wrinkled his nose, "Fine Smiley I will buy you a case for your birthday."

Tirza was smiled and waived one of the blocks in the air, he was still enjoying everything that was going on and he enjoyed his new nickname that the company had given him.

He smiled so much that the Sergeant Eldar gave up on removing it. He would see him in formation grinning and would simply shake his head.

They finished the restrooms for the day and they inspected their work, "Smiley you get the sinks, officers' room and the ladies room?"

Tirza nodded, "Ladies room was easy since there is only 4 on base."

Sergei nodded, "Spray the floor down and we are done for the day."

With the restrooms finished they returned to the barracks to get ready for the first day of hand to hand combat, Krav Maga or in the English language "Close Quarters" combat.

The company assembled in their PT clothes and marched to the fenced in basketball court, there were two big piles of blue mats. Sergeant Eldar ordered the several men to lay the mats on the court to minimize injury.

Sergeant Eldar addressed the company, "Today we will show you how to defend yourself, you will be shown how to ward off an attack with your voice and if that doesn't work, how punch, hammer punch, kick, takedowns an opponent, shatter bones, and kill without hopefully killing any of you in the process."

They took another few minutes making sure the mats were down, Sergeant Eldar turned back to the group, "Now there is always one of you in the group that has a martial arts background and thinks you do not need this course."

Sergei raised his hand, "Ronnie's a good fighter I have seen him in action."

"Stoppable get up here." The Sergeant bellowed out pointing at Ron.

Ron shook his head, "No Sergei is mistaken…I know nothing about fighting."

Sergeant Eldar pointed to a spot next to him, "Up here now, do not make the mistake of disobeying an order."

Ron shook his head and looked at Sergei, "I will get you for this."

The sergeant and the other instructors used Ron to demonstrate moves, kicks, punches, how to bust collar bones, disable knees, attack soft body tissue everything from eyes, noses, throat, testicles anything that will inflict injury pain or death.

Ron went back to the formation as pale as a ghost, "Ok so I learned a few things."

They broke up into groups and Ron switched around until he was with Sergei's group. Sergei smiled at Ron, "Do not worry little one, I will be gentle with you."

Ron smiled, "I know you will."

Sergei was placed behind Ron by one of the instructors; he grabbed him around shoulders in a bear hug. The hold didn't last long Ron stomped on Sergei's foot hard, brought an arm out and then elbowed Sergei hard in the stomach.

Sergei let out a grunt and let him go, Ron grabbed Sergei's right arm flipped him over his shoulder onto the mat. Sergei landed with a thud, and then Ron put an elbow on his throat and with his other hand grasped Sergei's ear and began to twist hard.

"Now are you going to volunteer me for anything ever again?" Ron asked as he started to twist Sergei's ear even more.

"NO, NO, I will never do this again, NO." he yelled as he grimaced from the pain in Ron's hold.

Ron released his hold and let Sergei off the mat, Sergei stood up rubbing his ear. "That hurt; did you have to do that?"

"In a word…YES, I don't want the whole world knowing that I can fight…Got it." Ron said as he poked a finger in Sergei's chest.

Nohm Minkle came over to the two and whispered quickly, "They picked up Lipsky."

Ron chuckled, "Let me guess, he was trying to take over the world."

Minkle shook his head, "No they pulled him off his girl friend…Looks like somebody else here cannot control his lusting."

Ron chuckled as he threw his arms around Sergei so he could practice throwing him.

Sergei easily threw him over his shoulder, and then he reached for Ron's ear. Ron quickly countered by wrapped his legs around Sergei's waist and rolled him over onto his back.

Ron smiled and wiggled his finger in Sergei's face, "No, no, no."

The company was called to attention, Sergeant Eldar addressed the company again, "It is now time to have more equipment issued to you…You will return to your barracks, have your equipment issued, eat your afternoon meal and return here at 13:30 hours… Burimovich what time is it now?"

Sergei winced and looked at his watch, "It is 10:08 hours Sergeant."

"Wrong, you are as bad at keeping time as Private Stoppable; you are 4 minutes off, now I want 10 pushups for every minute you were off." Sergeant Eldar ordered as he watched the large Lithuanian do as he was told.

Ron waited for Sergei to finish his pushups, "So what do you think we are receiving for free today?"

Sergei shook his head, "A hard time, which is exactly what I think I am receiving today, first you and then the sergeant."

He laughed at Sergei, "That will teach you not to volunteer people."

They returned to the barracks and stood in line, they received a folding shovel, mess kit complete with eating utensils, half a pup tent poles and stakes, body armor, sleeping bag

They were issued two duffle bags one red and one green. The red duffle bag was the war bag and everything that was necessary for war went into the bag. The green duffle bag was for peace and held your dress uniform and personal things.

Corporal Shomron instructed that these items were to be placed in the war bag and would be necessary for phase 2 of their training.

At 13:30 hours they reported back to the parade ground and then the company went for a short run to the obstacle course, the course consisted of a 3' wall, Lane guide, ladder on ground, cement culvert, cargo net, low crawl wire, 3' across jump box, 30" balance log, culver, 40" deep trench, 20" rope climb, horizontal ladder, over and under, hurdles, window wall, 40" wall, high stepper, 5' jump.

They were shown how the course was run and Ron just shook his head looking at the rope, _"This is not going to be pretty."_

Ron watched the first group of four take off to run the obstacle course, they were bigger men then he was and they did quite well.

Ron was nervous he knew he could do most of the obstacles but the rope and the rope ladder made him nervous, _"That's all I need fall or worse yet get tangled up and have my pants fall down."_

When his turn came up, he ran the obstacles well but had trouble where he figured he would, rope ladder and the rope climb, _"Well I kept my pants on but I was so slow."_

"You were really, really bad Ronnie…We get some free time, we will be here working on these ropes, no ropes, no good time, no phase 2." Sergei reminded him.

Ron shook his head disgustedly, "I have bad luck with ropes…I know it is all in my head but…still…"

* * *

The rest of the week passed uneventful and then the day arrived that Ron had been waiting for; his first liberty since basic had began. He dressed in his dress uniform, he had his boots shined and he placed his olive green training beret on his head and joined the company to wait for the buses to take them back to Tel Aviv. 

Sergeant Eldar walked out and addressed the company, "The base has been placed on high alert, and all liberties are cancelled."

He waited for boo's and cat calls of the company to subside. "It appears that Iran has decided to shake their penises at us again so we need to be here in case war breaks dismissed."

Ron spotted Leonard in the ranks yelled at him in English, "Hey Leonard, How'd you keep from going to the stockade?"

Leonard shrugged, "I gave them a good story and they let me off."

"Hear anything about Lipski?" Ron asked for curiosity in case Kim should show up.

Leonard smiled, "He got a week since he wasn't too hard to find."

He took off his dress uniform and his beret and put them in his green duffle bag, and then changed back into his BDU's and sat on his bunk.

Sergei who had done the same looked over at him, "What are we going to do now?"

"I'm heading to the PX and buy some internet time and see what Kim is doing." Ron said sadly as he picked up his helmet and rifle.

"You come back change into your PT's and we will find Smiley and go tackle the ropes." Sergei told him.

Ron nodded, "Who's pulling guard duty tonight?"

Sergei looked up at the roof of the barracks trying to remember, "I think it's "A" company…not sure…just know it is not us."

He walked over to the PX and spotted Lipski in a prisoner's uniform painting rocks around the building white, Ron leaned down and whispered, "Was she worth it?"

Lipski looked up and smiled, "Oh yes, the MP's let me finish before they arrested me."

He laughed, "My Kim comes to visit, I will definitely be going AWOL."

Ron ran into the PX and bought some more internet time and a bag of chocolate milk and made his way to the computer room. He logged into the computer and pulled up his email account and found only one message from Kim.

Ron stared at it in disappointment, _"I guess she's really busy."_

He opened the email:

_Ron_

_Congratulations on the birth of your sibling._

_Mall Security is tougher than fighting super freaks._

_As part of my Mall Security training I was shown a video that informed me that anyone could be shoplifter…ANYONE Ron._

_I need you to come home right away and help me…I'd ask Monique but I suspect her of shoplifting._

_You could watch the lower level and I could stand guard on top…Wait what if you became a shoplifter?"_

Ron threw up his hands, "KIMMMMMMMMMMM"

Then he quickly looked around the room empty room, the soldier that was in charge of the workstations just looked up from his book and then returned to reading.

"_It's hard to tell the good customer from the bad? _

_I mean super freaks dressed funny._

_I don't know how I'm going to do this, I need you to come and give me a hand._

_Let's be careful out there and I'll catch you on the flip side._

_Sincerely yours_

_Kimberly A. Possible_

_Mall Security"_

Ron stared at the email and reached out and touched the screen, _"Man that was like a form letter…I hope she isn't going nuts again…Maybe if I send her a really great heart felt email that will help?"_

Ron moved the mouse over the screen and hit reply and then stared at the screen:

"_Kim_

_Sounds like Mall Security agrees with you…lol_

_I've started learning Krav Maga, it's similar to what we know yet really different...I've got a lot to learn yet._

_We're running the obstacle course and we're getting all of the stuff we'll need to bivouac in phase 2._

_It's hard to believe that I've almost been here a month._

_It feels like a lot longer, only because it feels like years away from you._

_It seems so strange not having you to lean on these days. You were always such an important part of my life._

_I miss watching TV with you cuddled up next me and the way you would chuckle and elbow me when I would be just a little too frisky._

_When we do the long marches around the base I have time to let my mind wonder. I think about the couple of months we spent in MOKKIS and how I had you all to myself._

_I would love to have you all to myself again._

_I love you KP._

_Ron"_

He hit the send button and stared at the screen for a bit longer and then he smiled and opened up an email from Ned:

"_Hey Ron_

_Just thought I'd drop you a note about a Bueno Nacho in Tel Aviv._

_Just think of it Kosher Tex-Mex…lol_

_It's on 11258 Ben Gurion Parkway…I think it's in a mall or something._

_Ciao' (That's Italian for Goodbye)_

_Ned"_

Ron chuckled and nodded his head, _"Thanks Ned…hmmmmm kosher nacos…Booyah."_

Ron hit the reply button:

"_Hey Ned_

_Thanks for the tip, I'm doing OK over here. I just miss everyone a lot._

_How are you and Tina doing, I guess you guys are going to start college soon…Wish I was there with you._

_Cya (That's internet short hand for goodbye)_

_Ron"_

Ron hit the send button and looked at his last email, _"Ahhhhh Monique, this should be good."_

"_Ron_

_Come get your girl and take her to Egypt or wherever you are, she's gone batty. _

_She's kicking the crap out of the shoplifters and destroying the mall while she's at it._

_Kim put some guy thru the front window of the pet store hurt some puppies too. _

_They took the guy out on a backboard with tubes in him and stuff. _

_They say he's suing Mall Security for excessive use of force._

_Please come get Kim before she ends up in jail._

_Look I know Kim doesn't deserve you but she doesn't deserve this either._

_I can't do anything for her, she thinks I'm a shoplifter…Ron…She's out of control._

_So…Is everything good with you?  
_

_Mon'"_

Ron blinked at the monitor, _"It's too late, she's gone crazy again…I bet she's Bipolar? I wonder what bipolar means?"_

Ron hit the home button and went to the Yahoo search engine and typed in bipolar, he found a website that had symptoms of the disorder, _"__increased energy, activity, and restlessness, Excessively "high," overly good, euphoric mood, extreme irritability, unrealistic beliefs in one's abilities and powers, poor judgment, a lasting period of behavior that is different from usual, increased sexual drive, provocative, intrusive, or aggressive behavior, denial that anything is wrong…OH MAN…That is so KP…She really needs help."_

Ron reopened his email and typed Monique a quick email:

"_Hi Mon'_

_I think Kim might be just a bit bipolar, see if you can get her to see a doctor…If she comes unglued don't push the subject._

_OH MAN…I wish I was home now._

_Keep trying to keep her out of trouble._

_I miss you guys._

_Ron"_

* * *

Bobby Troupe was making his rounds in the Mall on a quiet Saturday evening, everything was normal and he hadn't seen Kim Possible so the night was going really well. 

Then he heard it, the rhythmic clicking, he looked around and could find the source, "It sounds like glass being tapped on metal…but I can't find the source?"

Then Bobby heard a voice that he will never forget, it sent chills down his spine, "BOBBIE COME OUT AND PLAYYEA…BOBBIE COME OUT AND PLAYYEA."

He slapped the pepper mace can from its holster and nervously shook looking for where Kim Possible was hiding.

"Is Bobby looking for me?" Kim taunted him.

Bobby spun around and then looked up, there on top of the Popcorn Village was Kim, "How did you get up there? H…How long have you been watching me?"

"I could have shot you in the face with the mace anytime I wanted to Bobby…You're a pathetic pieces of work...You still live at home with MOMMY…a man of your age." Kim taunted.

He raised the mace in a shaky hand, "You leave my mother out of this."

"I'm going to break you Bobby and then when I'm through and your just a blubbering mass…I'm going to mace you in the face Bobby, and there's nothing you can do about it." Kim said as she started to work her way closer from support walks above the stores.

Bobby had enough he ran for the escalator and headed back to the Mall Security office.


	20. Chapter 20

Kim spent the next month terrorizing Bobby Troupe, but she was becoming bored now that school had started a month ago. Kim was finding it hard to keep working at Mall Security and go to school at Upperton University.

She was taking a full course load of 15 hours and was hanging out in the Student Union with her friend and prime shoplifting suspect Monique.

"Kim, I'm not a shoplifter…Deal with it." Monique told her for the about the millionth time.

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Are you sure that you never took anything home from Club Banana that you weren't supposed to…like a pen or maybe you would kind of know of a whole theft ring operating from the bowels of the mall?"

Monique glared at Kim and got up to leave, Kim waived her arms in the air, "Sorry, sorry…Come on Monique…You know me…I get carried away sometimes and…please don't leave."

Monique pointed at her, "No more shoplifter cracks, you ever think about seeking…never mind."

Kim looked at her text book, "Technical Calc…Very hard…What do you have next?"

"Management retail theory…Should help me move up at Club Banana." Monique told her as she finished her soda.

Kim snickered and Monique began to yell at her when a man sat down at the table, "Not interrupting anything am I?"

Both Monique and Kim shook their heads, "The name is Danny Baldwin I'm twenty, from Boulder Colorado. This is my second year at Upperton…I'm majoring in English Lit…And you are?"

It took a little while for Kim to realize that he was talking to her, "I'm Kim Possible, I just started here…I haven't declared a major."

Danny looked over at Kim, "I was just over in the bookstore and I saw this good looking red head sitting over here and I just had to come by and say hi."

Kim blushed, "Oh…well…Hi."

"So are you busy on Saturday night? We could go to the homecoming dance or something?" Danny suggested.

Kim's eyes grew big, "No…no…I'm not busy on Saturday night."

She gave him her cell phone number and he told her that he would be by about seven to pick her up. Then he had to leave for his next class.

"So I guess you and Ron are done then?" Monique asked.

Kim shook her head, "No…It's only one date Monique…He's so good looking and tall he must be at least six foot, and did you see his black hair and those hazel eyes."

Monique didn't say anything, just nodded her head.

Kim could feel the chill coming from Monique, "It's only one date…I'm so tired of being alone Monique."

Monique nodded her head, and got up to leave, "Sure Kim…I have to get ready for my next class."

Monique walked out of the study lounge out of the student union building, _"I hope she tells him…I can't…He's out there by himself…He said this would happen though…I hope he can deal with it"_

* * *

Sergeant Eldar had been away on bereavement leave and the company was under the temporary supervision of Sergeant Major Rabin, "I want you all to lie down on the ground and roll around like pigs."

Ron and the rest of the company complied, the Sergeant Major didn't like the way the morning inspection went so now it was punishment time, "That is enough…You all live like pigs you might as well act like it."

The sergeant major paced in front of the company, "We are going to do an American style inspection, and you will remove everything in the barracks and assemble it on the parade ground…NOW."

They carried their beds, duffle bags equipment and everything that wasn't nailed down went to the parade ground, "You will now fill these four 48 liter jerry cans with water and drench the floor, we are going to make sure that the floor is good and clean before we reassemble the barracks."

Sergei looked at Ron, "Is this how the American's have morning inspection?"

He looked over at Sergei, "Like I would know this…I have never been in the army before."

"Now while we wait for the floor to dry we will run stretcher drills." The Sergeant Major ordered.

Ron took the left front of the stretcher and Tirza jumped into the stretcher and everyone took their places except for Nohn Minkle.

Sergeant Major Rabin got in his face, "Fall in with your company."

"No I do not feel like doing this anymore, I want to go home, I miss girls and my car." Nohn began listing all the things that he missed.

The sergeant major walked behind Nohn and kicked him hard in the butt, "You are going to fall in and run even if I have to kick you in the butt for the next 5 kilometers to do it."

Nohn finally decided to join the company, Ron took the whole episode in, _"Mental note to self…Don't do that."_

The Sergeant Major took his position in front of the company, "You are such a sloppy company I do not expect any of you to keep up with me."

The sergeant major then took off at a fast jog and the rest of the company followed, Ron was running and trying to manage his side of the stretcher. He could see out of the corner of his eye a hand go up and then heard Corporal Shomron yell, "Do not relieve that man it is not time yet."

They cleared the gate and were now outside the post, they were still managing to keep up with the sergeant major, and then Ron held up his hand and heard the same statement from Corporal Shomron.

He was huffing and puffing, they had never run with a full stretcher before and the fatigue was getting to them. The temperatures for early September were in the 80's and Ron was sweating bullets.

Ron looked out of the corner of his eye and saw the hand go up again, this time relief came. So Ron held up his hand and felt the next man take over and Ron brought his rifle to battle ready and fell into line behind the stretcher.

They passed their normal stopping point and continued running till they reached the Arab village of Kabatiya, Corporal Shomron ran next to Ron, "Keep up Stoppable, they don't like Jews here."

Once hearing this he put forth a little more effort and quickly caught up to the company, soon it was Ron's turn to man the stretcher again, he looked ahead, the sergeant major was no where in site now.

Corporal Shomron called the company to a halt, "Since you were unable to keep up with the Sergeant Major, you will now carry the heaviest man back to camp."

Ron closed his eyes, "God we have to lug Sergei back to camp."

Tirza rolled out of the stretcher and Sergei replaced him and looked at the group nervously, "Do not drop me."

Tirza began to walk to the back of the line and Ron grabbed him and shoved him forward, "You're fresh Smiley, you go first."

They struggled to bring Sergei to their shoulders and then they began the run back to camp, it soon became Ron's turn to man the stretcher again.

He could tell the difference in weight right away, "Sergei, your big ass is going on a diet."

Sergei was holding onto the stretcher for dear life, "I am not fat; I am just big boned Ronnie."

Ron started chuckling, and then Gerri Roth started chuckling and then all four the stretcher bearers started laughing, Ron tripped and fell and they hit the ground in pile laughing hysterically.

They quickly got back up, Corporal Shomron was screaming at them and they started laughing even harder. They were relieved from the stretcher all except for Sergei.

Ron took a position at the end of the line still laughing as he ran with his rifle at battle ready, _"Big boned my ass."_

They made it back to camp, where the sergeant major was waiting for them, "You have done the stretcher run for 22 kilometers, but you did it very slowly. In order to make it in Golani you must do the 22 kilometer stretcher run much faster…Some say that this run is tougher than the 100 kilometer forced march….I will get you ready though."

Ron was rubbing his shoulder, _"This is insane, 22 Kilometers…We would have made better time if we weren't carrying Sergei."_

They put their barracks back together and then dismissed for lunch with orders to meet back in the barracks for weapons inspection at 13:00 hours.

Ron went into the mess hall, "I miss food, I have eaten enough luff to last me a life time…Oh look luff, cucumbers and boiled eggs…I am sleeping away from you tonight Sergei."

"I still cannot believe you dropped me." Sergei said still feeling the bruises of where he hit the ground."

Ron chuckled, "Big boned…We start phase two next week?"

"Yes next week, only two and a half months to go." Sergei told him as he unshelled an egg.

They finished their lunch and met back at the barracks and Sergeant Major Rabin began inspecting weapons, everyone failed inspection. Ron's rifle was dirty and he had rust on the barrel.

"Since you all live like pigs, you keep your weapons in the same shape…You will fix your weapons and then at 16:00 hours you will assemble on the parade ground for night marching…Full combat packs."

Ron let out a breath, _"110 lbs of gear on my back…swell."_

He made sure the Corporal and Sergeant Major were well out of the way and then Ron pulled his little black bag out from under his bed and took out his steel wool. He began rubbing the barrel to take the rust off; it also pulled the flat black finish off the barrel as well.

Once he was sure the rest was fully gone, he pulled out his black shoe polish and rubbed it on the barrel, he then took a lighter and heated the polish up, it stuck to the gun and made the barrel look like it was brand new.

"Sure glad I had that class for a month before basic started." He thought as he began to break the rifle down for cleaning.

Next Ron started to assemble the jawbreaker pack, it was the light pack plus the sleeping bag rolled up and strapped underneath plus the addition of the half pup tent and rods, shovel that when fully assembled looked like a jaw.

When he was finished Corporal Shomron came round and shook it and it fell apart, "Incorrect if you take this pack out in the field you will lose all of your equipment."

Ron packed it again and it fell apart, then he packed it again and it stayed intact after a good shake. He remembered what he did and was able to get the hold of it.

Next the company was issued aviation flares and black camouflage makeup. There were told at this point that there would be no evening meal for them, that they would be dining out.

He put on the black camouflage makeup on his face and took an Meal Ready to Eat or MRE when it was passed around and Ron winced when he saw what his was, _"Luff and Eggs…I can't win…I just can't win."_

Corporal Shomron told everyone they couldn't eat the MRE until they were on the trucks heading to their destinations.

Ron looked over at Sergei, "I think we are staying out all night tonight."

At 16:00 hours they assembled on the parade ground and then the company was broken down into squads, Ron's squad was under the guidance of Corporal Spielman.

The squads were loaded on to trucks and then they were driven out, Ron looked around for Sergei but was no where to be seen.

He recognized Roth, Leonard, Minkle, an Yemminite Jew named Dankie Yaish who appeared to be spaced out most of the time.

They rode in the truck for about an hour; Ron noticed that Dankie stared straight ahead and almost never blinked, "Dankie…Are you alright?"

Dankie smiled at Ron, "Yes…I am thinking deep thoughts."

Ron chuckled and nodded, _"He is so stoned."_

He opened his MRE and began to eat as he watched the desert go by around him, _"Luff and eggs from the bag is much better than the mess hall…Strange figure it would be the other way around."_

The truck came to a stop a short time later in the middle of nowhere, the squad jumped out of the back and assembled around Corporal Spielman, "This exercise is to get you used to dealing with sleep deprivation. One of the most persistent obstacles we face in the IDF is lack of sleep…The Israeli soldier once in war cannot stop to sleep until the war is over…So from here on in sleep is a luxury."

They started up the dirt path that they could barely make out in the dark. Corporal Spielman split the squad in half one group walked on the right side of the road and the group Ron was with walked on the left.

Each squad spread out to where there was about five foot separating each soldier so if there was a machine gun burst it wouldn't kill all of them.

It didn't take Ron long to figure out that this was an exercise for the corporal's as much as it was for the troops. He could see Corporal Spielman up front navigating with a compass.

Ron whispered over to Leonard in English, "What's going on?"

Leonard shook his head, "Spielman's taking a test to move up to Sergeant…All the corporals take it."

"What kind of test?" Ron asked making sure that he wasn't heard up front.

Leonard was looking up that way also, "He's learning to read a topographical map and read a compass and navigate, lead a squad and stuff."

Ron looked around at the scenery or what he could see of it in the dark, "What happens if he can't read the map?"

Leonard shook his head, "No map tonight it's sealed, so he's only using a compass and visual markers."

Ron nodded and kept marching, "What happens if he gets lost?"

"We march and march and march." Leonard said with a chuckle.

They came up to their first land mark and the buzz was starting, "Camp 80, camp 80, the Nahal…Girls."

Camp 80 is home to the Mahal or Overseas Volunteers and it is also where the female soldiers were also trained.

The corporal called for a halt as he tried to figure out where to go next, the squad was attracting attention as several people came to the fence to say hello.

Ron stood on his tip toes to see over to the otherside of the road, _"Ladies…with machine guns and berets…Ohhhhhhhhhhh I so joined the wrong brigade."_

Ron stood across the road drooling until he heard the command to continue, "Leonard, did you get to talk to any of the ladies?"

Leonard smiled, "Yea they all wanted to talk about you though."

"Really, why?" Ron asked not sure of where this was leading.

Leonard looked away and Ron could tell he was laughing, "They all wanted to know who the big eared guy was with the really large hard on."

Ron winced, "Not funny Steve."

Leonard nodded, "I know…I joined the wrong group…Those guys got it soft, part military, part public service work…with girls…too much."

The corporal held up and hand to stop the advance and the soldiers did as they were trained, they went down to one knee and brought their rifles up to the battle ready position covering each flank.

Then the roll call began, one weapon ready, two weapon ready and so on. Ron listened till it was his turn and then whispered as loud as he dared, "Eleven Weapon Ready"

Ron looked around at the desert before him and thought about how much different it was than what he was expecting. It wasn't so much sand as it was hard packed sand and rocks with various sticker bushes growing up from out of nowhere.

He looked up as he saw a green flare go up and then the Corporal lowered his hand and stood up as did the rest of the company as they continued with the operation.

They marched until they reached the truck that brought them to where they were, Ron pulled back the leather strip that covered his watch an saw that it was close to 01:30 hours.

They loaded up on the truck and headed back to the base.

* * *

Kim was in front of Mr. Edwards in the process of being terminated, "Kim, you've been warned and warned and warned, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for your badge and pepper mace."

"But Mr. Edwards…She was shoplifting." Kim said trying to justify her actions.

Mr. Edwards shook his head, "Kim she was shop lifting but your stunt of launching yourself off the upper level railing and landing on top of the woman separated her shoulder and sent her head first into the Sunglass Hut destroying merchandise as well as knocking the women's front teeth out."

"I never meant to send her flying that far Mr. Edwards." Kim tried to explain.

Mr. Edwards stuck his hand out, "Badge and Mace Kim…There is never a good excuse in Mall Security for excessive use of force."

Kim handed him the badge and went for the leather holster before realizing it was empty, "I left the mace in my locker…I'll go get it."

A very sad Kim Possible walked out of the office; Bobby Troupe was waiting just outside the door, "Looks like your unarmed Possible."

Kim saw the none to subtle move to unbuckle his mace, she lunged at Bobby and took him quickly to the ground. Then she pulled her mace out of her pocket, "Surprise Bobby…its payback time."

"No…no…please" Bobby began to beg.

Kim brought herself to within three inches of Bobby's face, "Bobby…Paybacks a bitch and so am I."

With that being said Kim emptied the small aerosol can into Bobby's face, she smiled as he started to cry and gasp for air, then she got up and walked out of the office, _"Time to head home and get ready for the big biology test in the morning."_

* * *

It was Friday evening and Ron had about two hours of sleep and Sergei didn't have any as his group became lost for the evening. Now they were headed towards the evening meal.

"I cannot do this Ronnie my penis is broken from last night, we marched and marched and marched." Sergei said he tried to catch up with Ron.

Ron chuckled as Sergei came closer, "Tomorrow is Shabbat and we'll have all day to recover for next week and phase 2 of training…Remember only two and half more months to go."

There was a muffled explosion and black smoke from the other side of camp, Ron looked at Sergei, "I wonder what that was?"

"I do not know but I am hungry." Sergei told him as he pushed past Ron in line.

Ron laughed, "You know ordinarily I would have to kill you for butting in front of me but since it is a nutritious meal of luff on toast…I will spare you just this once."

After the evening meal they were called to the parade ground for an assembly, Sergeant Major Rabin addressed the company, "Many of you have asked about the explosion that was heard earlier…Sadly one of the recruits was playing with a hand grenade and it went off…He is dead…Remember these weapons are not toys and always keep your head about you when you are working with them or they may just blow yours off."

Sergeant Major Rabin then called out four names, "Burimovich, Cohen, Minkle Stoppable remain after the rest of the company is dismissed."

The four men assembled around the Sergeant Major and he instructed them to follow him, the walked to the other side of the base. Ron could smell the smoke from the explosion, and then a horrible thought crossed his mind, _"I bet we have to clean up the mess."_

There were cleaning supplies out side the small out building, the Sergeant Major addressed the men, "Everything I say from now on is secret, I don not want to hear this as scuttle butt around the base…Do you understand?"

The men all nodded that they did, "This was no accident, it was a suicide…The young mans name was Yosef Netanya, he was a young Rabbinical student who could not take the pressure of the Golani training, so with phase two approaching next week, he snapped…came in here and took out a hand grenade pulled the pin and placed it to his head."

Ron shuddered, _"Yosef Netanya…That was the guy giving Sima all that trouble back in June."_

The Sergeant Major took out his keys and opened the door that had lots of small tiny holes in it from the grenade. Once he opened the door Ron could see the blood sprayed on the wall in a fan like pattern.

"Clean this mess up properly and I will see to it that you have no chores of any sort during the Shabbat tomorrow." The Sergeant Major promised.

The men sat down to the ugly task of cleaning up after a suicide, Ron looked up at Sergei as he was washing the blood off one of the walls, "Sergei…What are we doing next week?"

Sergei who was working on another wall shook his head, "Starting phase two."

* * *

Kim wore a light blue dress and waited for Danny Baldwin to come pick her up, it was all she had thought about on Saturday, a chance to go out on a date again.

The blue Mazda pulled up into the Possible's driveway and Kim went outside to meet him, "Spankin' car Danny."

Danny smiled, "Thanks, but I bet it's not nearly as loud as yours is."

Kim chuckled, "No probably not."

Danny opened the passenger door for Kim and she slid in the car. Danny slid in behind the drivers wheel next and primped his hair in the rear view mirror, "Looking good there Kim, I really like the dress…It really brings the red in your hair out."

Kim blushed and returned the compliment, "You look really great too."

They drove to the Scatterton building on the Upperton campus, which is where the dance was to be held. He parked the car and then escorted Kim into the dance.

"I'll be just a second Kim, I need to check my hair." He told her as he disappeared into the men's room.

Kim smiled and listened to the DJ spin songs, it had been so long since she was able to go to a party or a dance. It felt like ages since Ron left, it had been nearly five months since she had seen him.

"Care to dance." Kim jumped as Danny interrupted her thoughts.

Kim nodded, "OK"

She danced to a slow song with him and he held her tight, she smiled as she thought about how good he smelled and then she leaned up and kissed him and then kissed him again, she was vaguely aware of a flash but figured it was a year book photographer.

Bonnie Rockwaller had been planning this moment for the last month, she was heading to Israel the next day and she would cause Kim more problems then she ever could have hoped for in High School.

The dance ended and Bonnie saw her chance, "Kim…HI"

Kim jumped and smiled nervously, "Hi Bonnie…I thought you were going to school in Israel."

Bonnie smiled her warmest fake smile, "No the school year hasn't started there yet, I leave on Sunday."

Kim smiled and nodded, and then Bonnie cleared her throat, "Kim aren't you going to introduce me to your new boyfriend?"

"Oh…yea…ummm…this is Danny Baldwin." Kim said sheepishly.

Bonnie nodded and shook his hand, "Nice to meet you, your so much more good looking than her last boyfriend…Would you be so kind and take a picture of Kim and Me?"

Danny took the camera from her and Kim smiled for the picture, a million thoughts were now running through her head, _"Bonnie is acting way to nice…This is wrong…I can't put my finger on it…but something is wrong."_

Bonnie took the camera back from Danny and said her goodbyes, she walked out the front of the building and smiled her best evil little smile, _"Now thanks to my cousin Danny, I'll show good ol' Ron these pictures and have him eating right out of my hand…This will fix Kim but good."_

They danced for a few hours and then Danny took Kim home, she kissed him goodbye and walked inside the house. Where she found Mrs. Dr. P waiting up for her, "Good date?"

Kim shrugged, "He's a nice guy, keeps primping his hair all time and looking at himself in the mirror…He's no Ron though."

* * *

Ron ran to the PX and bought an hour of internet time after he was dismissed from formation. He ran to the computer room to read the latest email from Kim, he didn't get one the week before so he figured that she'd make it up and send two this week.

Ron sat at the workstation and logged in, "This is the best part of the week, come on Kim have a few little emails for me."

The email account opened, one new message it was from Monique, _"Nothing from Kim?"_

Ron sat at the workstation staring at the screen, he reached up and touched the monitor and shook his head, for the briefest of moments he thought maybe Kim had found a new boyfriend and then quickly shook them off, _"No…no…I bet she's just really busy right now…midterms maybe?"_

Ron breathed out a heavy sigh and opened Monique's email:

"_Ron_

_Not much new here, see Kim from time to time in the student union._

_She's not nearly so flakey now that she's been fired from Mall Security._

_I miss having you around; even though your love is wasted on another._

_I hope you'll come around one of these days._

_Please let me know you're OK._

_Love you_

_Mon'"_

A shiver went up his spine, _"What a weird email."_

"_Monique_

_I'm doing great, I get to wonder around lost in the dark a lot…lol_

_We are starting phase two of our training next weekend; it will mostly be outdoors so don't expect to hear from me for a while."_

_I haven't heard from Kim…Is she OK or did she find a new boyfriend...lol_

_I miss you a lot too._

_Ron"_

Ron sat at the workstation staring into space and then he decided to write another email to Kim.

"_Kim_

_Hey haven't heard from you in a while._

_I hope everything is okay?_

_We are going into phase two of our training this week._

_It will be all camping and maneuvers so don't expect to hear from me for a while._

_I miss you a lot._

_Love _

_Ron"_

He sat in front of the workstation for a long time fighting all the nagging fears in his head, _"I mean if she did find someone new…It would be OK…I just wish…she'd tell me…No she's just busy, that's all…just like me busy."_

Ron wiped a tear from his eye logged out and then walked away.


	21. Chapter 21

The battalion for phase two of basic training was much smaller now; the reservists had left to go serve their two weeks at various posts through out Israel.

Steven Leonard was gone so Ron was the only American left in the platoon.

On Sunday morning the first thing first platoon had to do was draw their platoon special weapons. The platoon was divided into two squads, each commanded by a corporal. The sergeant was second in command of the platoon, and the Platoon Leader, a second lieutenant, was in command.

There were three platoons in Company C, which was commanded by a 1st Lieutenant. Another 1st Lieutenant was Executive Officer. Three companies made up the Recruit Battalion under the command of a Major, with a Captain as executive officer.

Each squad of the platoon was outfitted with one .30 caliber M60 machine gun, one mortar, .52mm, one spike antitank weapon,. M4 fitted with a M203 grenade launcher.

The M60 machine gunner was the most prestigious weapon to have in the platoon and was given Sergei got one squad machine gun. Each machine gunner carried 250 rounds of 30 caliber ammunition on his back. This was the most important weapon in the platoon, as it provided covering fire during assaults at medium and long range.

Backing up the machine gunner was the assistant, who carried 500 rounds of 30 caliber ammunition plus an extra barrel for the M60 This was by far the heaviest pack and was called the 500 pack.

There was only one mortar for the entire platoon, and it was given to Ron. He was also given a pack with 8 high explosive rounds on his back, and removed one canteen and carried two illumination rounds in his canteen holder. The only aiming device on the mortar was a white line painted down the barrel from the muzzle to the base. You had to take sighting shots in order to aim accurately.

Two other soldiers backed up the mortar man, Dankie Yaish was issued eight rounds of smoke, and Nohn Minkle was given eight rounds of illumination rounds.

Gerri Roth drew the large spike antitank weapon and was given three rounds.

Nimrod Lipsky drew the battalion communications equipped with different kinds of antennas and other accessories. He started to whine every time he picked it up he would say, "This radio, its heavy and breaking my penis!"

There was one stretcher, a collapsible one on a carrying rack. Someone else got a 10 liter gerry can filled with water, also on the same type of generic carrying rack.

Tirza drew the helicopter landing pack, a pack containing some empty ration cans, burlap, a canteen of diesel fuel, and some flares. It was in case they had to summon a helicopter at night.

The battalion worked far into the night assembling and preparing the packs. They stood proudly on the parade ground with their new weapons, during the course of training each member of the battalion would be trained on each weapon.

Sergeant Eldar made it back from his bereavement leave, and stood beside platoon leader second lieutenant David Stav. The second lieutenant addressed the battalion, "You have been told that phase two is the ABC's of basic training…I am here now to tell you that is wrong it is the AAA's of basic training, What you learn these two weeks will be the basis of all of your training and education."

A scream went up from the left of where Ron was standing, Sergeant Eldar walked jogged over to see what the problem was. Nimron Lipsky was looking all around where he was standing, "Lipsky what is the problem?"

Nimrod shook his head, "I saw a mouse."

Sergeant Eldar shook his head and turned to the second lieutenant, "This man has seen a mouse."

Second lieutenant Stav shook his head, "Everyone on your bellies, crawl around and see if you can find this man's mouse."

Ron groaned as he went to the ground and crawled around looking for the mouse, _"Lipsky…You're an idiot."_

The did the Indian crawl that everyone is familiar with from the war movies and then they were ordered to crawl from side to side, and finally they were instructed to do a one on one crawl where you moved so slowly that it would take an hour to move ten meters. This was the crawl that was to be used in sneaking up on an enemy position.

The trucks arrived and the platoon broke up and climbed aboard the trucks to start their next two and a half months of intensive training.

* * *

Kim sat down at a table in Student Union with Monique, Monique stood up and began to leave, "Don't go Monique…You haven't talked to me in a week." 

"Wrong I haven't talked to you since you knifed Ron in the back." Monique said angrily as she started to walk away.

Kim stood up and started to walk with her, "I didn't knife Ron in the back…It was just a date."

"Did you tell Ron?" Monique asked as she continued walking to the exit.

Kim tried to change the subject, "It wasn't that great of a date, I mean he's nice enough when he's not playing with his hair."

"That's a no then." Monique said firmly.

Kim finally got Monique to stop walking, "No I haven't told him…I…I don't want him to worry, you know how prone to drama he is."

Monique sucked in her cheeks and nodded her head, "Have you written to him lately?"

Kim shifted her weight from one foot to another, "Well no….I've been kind of busy with work and school."

Monique nodded her head, "You haven't written in how long now?"

Kim was becoming nervous and answered her friend in a low voice, "A few weeks."

"A FEW WEEKS…A FEW WEEKS…You've dumped him again, at least the last couple of times you had the decency to tell him…I don't believe you." She turned and started walking again.

Kim took off after her, "It's not like that…I've been busy with work and school and all."

Monique didn't stop walking, "Tell it to the hand girl, tell it to the hand."

Kim stopped walking and watched Monique disappear into the mass of students in the quad going from one class to the next. The loneliness had finally gotten to Kim, she had not opened any of Ron's letters or emails in a month. It had hurt too much for her to bear; it was easier just to not read or write to Ron, than to have to deal with his not being there for her.

Kim looked down at the sidewalk and realized that she had forgotten her books in the Student Union; she turned to head back inside and ran into a cute boy.

"Hey you ran off and forgot these." The boy said.

Kim smiled, "Sorry I was trying to catch up to my friend before she left for class…I'm Kim Possible."

"Cody Marshall, I'm a freshman here." He told her as he handed the bags back to her.

Kim took them from him, "I'm a freshman too, so where are you from?"

Cody smiled enjoying the attention of the pretty red head, "I'm from Butte Montana…I stay in a dorm over in Worthington hall."

Kim smiled and nodded, "I'm from Middleton, I commute to school…Well thanks for getting my books for me."

"No big…Hey my frat's having a mixer this Friday night…Want to go with me?" He asked excitedly.

Kim smiled, "Ok….How do I get a hold of you."

They exchanged phone numbers, deep inside Kim felt bad for Ron, but she missed having a boyfriend, missed cheerleading, missed saving the world, and most of all she missed having a social life.

* * *

Once the trucks deposited the platoon in the middle of nowhere to Platoon Leader addressed the men again, "I will not tolerate any goofing off. You see how many mountains are around here, I can run you as much as I want." 

On that cheery note the platoon climbed up the side of one of the mountain. It was cultivated, as most of the hills of Samaria by terraces and olive trees. They were ordered to dig foxholes.

The ground was rocky and extremely hard to dig in, Ron chipped away as best he could until he had a round 5 ½ foot hole dug. He jumped into the hole and tried to hide in it. Corporal Shomron walked by and told him it wasn't deep enough so he had to dig another six inches.

Then we pitched the tents next to the foxholes. Each soldier had 1/2 of a tent; they were snapped together and pitched with poles, held up by stakes. Ron and Sergei slept to a tent, and all the equipment had to be stuffed in as well.

Then they went down the mountain for evening meal. The MRE's were strictly rationed and generally there wasn't enough to go around so the soldiers at the end of the line frequently had to share.

After evening meal there was another stretcher march. Once again the Platoon Leader found cause to place two men on the stretcher, with the result that it tore.

The Platoon Leader then made them get one on one, wounded, half the platoon carried on the backs of the other half.

"Who tore the stretcher?" the Platoon Leader demanded.

Nimrod Lipsky began to sob, and the Platoon Leader slapped him in the face. "You dare to cry, God help you if you cry on me,"

Nimrod was trying to fight back his tears, "It's hard for me."

The platoon soon made its way back to our hillside camp and went to sleep.

Soon they were awakened for a battle preparedness inspection.

Ron cursed and stumbled around in the darkness trying to find the assembly point. Everyone except for Gerri Roth arrived late.

"Everyone who was late stand over there," Corporal Shomron said as he pointed to an area just off to the left of the platoon.

Everyone gathered to where the corporal was pointing except Nimrod Lipsky, who stood next to Gerri Roth. "Lipsky, you were late, go stand over there." The corporal ordered.

Ron took the disagreement between the two as an opportunity to sneak a look at his watch, _"01:30 we have only been asleep for two hours…ohhhhhhh mannnnnnn…two and half months of this."_

"But Corporal Shomron I was on time," Nimrod continued to whine.

"No, you were not on time, go stand among those who were not on time." The corporal ordered again.

Nimrod Lipsky's high pitched whining wail pierced the black night. "Corporal, I was standing right here when you shouted "Attention." I was on time."

"Lipsky," said Corporal Shomron in a sepulcher voice. "You most certainly were not on time, go stand among those who were not on time."

Nimrod continued pleading and whining until finally Shomron said "See here, Lipsky, being on time means not only being at the place by the time designated, but being there in full battle gear and with your shoes tied."

He indicated the untied state of Nimrod's boots. "Now, everyone run down the mountain and meet on the road there in two minutes."

The platoon made it down the hillside and to the road nowhere near on time and then they were told to go one on one wounded again.

"Well, you still have not learned," Corporal Shomron lectured us again. "We will keep drilling you until you are on time. Two minutes up the mountain and back in the camp."

Cursing, Ron ran back up the mountain, and was placed in a wounded position by Sergeant Eldar who was waiting on the top. He continued lecturing the platoon as Corporal Shomron joined him. Finally, Dankie Yaish broke and yelled "What about us? What about us, huh?"

"Oh, OK, now you can all go back to sleep," Corporal Shomron said, "Except Nimrod Lipsky guards the camp, and Dankie Yaish guards at headquarters."

Ron stumbled back to our pup tents for the remaining 1 3/4 hours left until reveille, "This isn't going to be easy Sergei."

Sergei didn't answer right away and then said in a very tired voice, "I do not like Nimrod Lipsky."

Ron who was already half asleep mumbled, "First day he will never make it."

Thus ended Ron's first day in the field.

* * *

Bonnie Rockwaller arrived in Netanya tired from the long flight, She arrived at the campus of Netanya Hebrew College and waited in a very long line for someone to help her that could speak English. 

"I need my school schedule, doesn't anyone her speak English?" Bonnie asked the lady in the admissions office.

They pointed her towards another line, she waited and finally found the help she was needing, "So this will give me 15 credit hours?"

The lady nodded and then pulled out a map of the city, "Your father arranged for an apartment near here."

She showed Bonnie the map and Bonnie nodded her head that she understood and left with her maps and course outlines. She was confused and didn't speak the Hebrew to well.

She hailed an old fiat taxi cab and handed the driver the address after he had stowed her luggage, _"Weird country, no one speaks English, and I don't see how Ron makes it here?"_

Bonnie arrived at the apartment complex and signed the papers for her keys; the lady in the rental office spoke English and gave Bonnie a run down on trash collection and utilities.

Bonnie nodded her head, "I have this friend in the IDF, and I was wondering how I would go about finding him?"

The lady wasn't sure and then she thought about the border check point, "There's a border checkpoint down the highway about 15 minutes from here."

She thanked the woman and began to get moved into her apartment, she opened the blinds up and was startled to see the Mediterranean Sea out her balcony window, _"Finally daddy does something right."_

Bonnie grinned as she thought about the plan, _"Rabbi Katz said Ron wouldn't be out of basic training until around Chanukah…That's a long time to wait to rub Kim's nose in it."_

"_She was always so smug, her and Ron running all over the place saving things, looking down on the rest of us, I can't wait to see her face when I introduce myself as Mrs. Bonnie Stoppable…Merry Christmas Kim…Meet my new husband...Your're familiar of course with Ron." _Bonnie chuckled and smiled evily at the thought as she put the photos of Kim and Danny kissing in a safe place till she could find Ron.

* * *

The next day dawned a warm autumn day. Despite the ordeal of the night before the platoon was in high spirits as they ate their MRE's and then went up to the head of the valley for the Company Commander's lecture. 

They were laughing and talking and not really paying attention to the sergeants or corporals, so the Company Commander made them run with "wounded" on their backs. This still didn't quiet us down so Sergeant Benzerus of 2nd Platoon addressed the platoons.

"Does everyone identify that mountain yonder?" he asked.

"Sure, it is beautiful," The companies answered cheerily.

"Malachi," he indicated a large blonde corporal from 3rd Platoon, "See that everyone is standing on the top of that mountain in five minutes."

Ron and the rest of the company started climbing rapidly up the mountain, leaping over terraces and moving through the bushes. When they were at the top Malachi shouted "Attention."

Several soldiers, among them Nimrod Lipsky, had decided they weren't going to climb the mountain. So they were trying to hide behind the terraces and trees on the slopes of the mountain.

Corporal Shomron climbed up the mountain, found them one by one, and sent them down to the Company Commander.

Ron saw the Company Commander talking to them, and then they got down on their bellies and began to crawl. Then he saw half of them lie on the other half and they crawled carrying each other.

He winced as he watched the unusual form of discipline, _"Note to self, don't hide."_

Then Sergeant Benzerus signaled the platoon to come down. The platoon headed back down and assembled and then the Company Commander began his lecture. "You will be trained on how to prepare your equipment so it doesn't stand out in the field,"

"You have already been told to cover your watches with camouflage cloth or special leather watchbands." He noticed several soldiers wearing shiny watches and confiscated them.

"Now, you will go back to your camp and blacken your packs with shoe polish, and cover all the buckles with black tape. Today you will practice setting up an observation post in enemy territory. Then you will learn tactics for combat in open terrain." The Company Commander paused for effect.

"If you come under fire from close range you immediately charge the target, bringing your rifle up and sighting as you run forward….If you come under fire from medium range you hit the dirt, crawl or roll toward a place of concealment, from which you return fire… Then get up and run toward the next place of concealment, aiming and firing as you run, until you reach close range, when you charge the target. You will be trained on how to do this and drilled all week and next week with dry runs." After his lecture the Company Commander turned and walked away.

The platoon was dismissed to go back to their base camp and blacken their gear. Ron and Sergei sat outside their tent putting black shoe polish on their packs, "Sergei remind me if we ever see the PX again that I need more shoe polish and a good pair of socks."

Sergei laughed, "I need socks too, the heel tore through on my sock."

Once they finished blackening their equipment they were ordered to assemble and move out but Nimrod Lipsky didn't want to go, and remained in his tent with his boots off. He believed that since he had been punished by the Company Commander that he could take the rest of the day off.

Corporal Rafi, was on loan from 2nd Platoon, asked for two strong men to come with him. Sergei and Gerri Roth carried Nimrod to the assembly. The Platoon Leader talked to him. "If you think you are sick we can talk about it, but you don't just decide on your own not to come. Now get your boots on and prepare to move out."

The platoon moved to a new training area, a field covered with rocks and thorny weeds, they were drilled on the proper way to hit the dirt by Sergeant Eldar, "When I say AP, hit the dirt.".

"AP, no not fast enough, everyone get up. AP! Still not good enough…I will keep drilling you until you do it right. AP!" When the sergeant was satisfied with the platoon, he then taught them how to crawl again.

He reinforced the first way the regular Indian Crawl, the second way is 1 on 1 crawling, and finally, the side crawl, used when you are moving under an obstacle and don't want your canteens to snag.

They practiced crawling over the thorny rocky field all afternoon. That evening the Platoon Leader built a bonfire on the top of a hill and told us to use what we had learned to sneak up on him. After that they went to bed.

The next morning started off with a hike before breakfast. As the platoon went down the mountain and out into the Sanur Valley, Ron thought it was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

An Arab village, gleaming white in the dawn, was on a low hill in the middle of the valley. Ron thought that he might like to live here some day, but as of the moment there were no Jewish settlements to be seen.

They reached another small valley and climbed up the side of the mountain to establish an observation post. Nimrod Lipsky elbowed Ron and found a nice little nook in the bushes, "We can hide here and catch a quick nap."

Ron lifted an eyebrow and looked around before he settled in for a nap but soon Corporal Shomron called out "Lipsky and Stoppable, good morning, how was your nap?"

Ron quickly moved some branches to prove he wasn't sleeping. Then Corporal Shomron saw that Nimrod had removed his body armor. "Lipsky, why did you remove your body armor?"

"But corporal, its too cramped in here," Lipsky protested.

Corporal Shomron was unimpressed. "You are encumbered with it and now you will wear your body armor everywhere."

Ron let out a deep breath after the corporal had left, _"Thought they had me this time…Better stay away from Lipsky, he's a marked man now."_

After the exercise ended the platoon went back to camp for breakfast, than begin learning about combat in open terrain on an individual soldier level.

They practiced hitting the dirt, crawling to a boulder, simulating shooting by saying "bang! bang!" and running towards the target.

Gerri Roth was amazing, he would run between the boulders like a mountain goat, yelling "bang bang bang bang bang bang" and trample the target down when he reached it.

It was all Ron could do to keep up with him, "Bang, bang…bang"

Then Ron would look up and Gerri was gone, _"He's fast in these hills, he must have been raised around here."_

The Platoon Leader was extremely delighted by Roth, and just carried on about what a good soldier he was becoming at evening meal.

That is when he dropped the bombshell, at the end of the week would have a 35 kilometer march, the first big march of the training.

Then it was off to the tents to get some sleep, Ron knew he would have to sleep fast because he was to pull guard duty in four hours.

He woke up and relieved Dankie Yaish and began pulling the second shift of guard duty that night, he stood on top of the hill looking down into the valley, _"This is a good time of night, not much happening."_

There was a rumble off in the distance and Ron could make out the purplish grey plum of smoke from two Qassam rockets as they arched their way into the sky. He watched the ark of the rockets and watched them land in the middle of the desert with two loud bangs.

Then he could hear various IDF artillery positions open up to retaliate, and on a rare occasion he could see little red embers falling off the artillery shell as it headed for the West Bank.

"They are long gone by now." Ron jumped when he heard the voice behind him.

He turned and saw Sergeant Eldar standing beside him watching the show, "They fire those rockets out of plumbing pipe with an automobile battery, by the time our artillery opens up….They are at home giggling about all the damage they have done to Israel this night."

Ron nodded as the Sergeant turned to leave, "Stay alert Stoppable, you never know when they will fire one of those things at us."

Ron swallowed hard, _"So much for a quiet night."_

_

* * *

_

Kim met up with Cody at the student union, "I've pledged Tau Kappa Epsilon, it's a pretty cool frat…Great parties and all."

They walked down the street to the large red barn that had a sign on the roof that had the Greek letters TKE, Kim looked at the building, "Kind of strange to have a frat in a barn isn't it?"

Cody shrugged, "It was a holdover from when Upperton University was all farm land back in the 1950's."

The couple walked inside the barn and found a party happening, there was a mousey looking guy that waived a Cody, "Hey Chaingo, who's the hot lady."

Cody smiled and whispered, "Chaingo's my frat name." Then Cody proudly announced who his date was, "This is Kim."

All kinds of guys started to materialize out of nowhere, "Hey Kim…Have some punch…or do you want something stronger."

Kim blushed and shook her head, "Punch is fine, I had a bad experience drinking a while back."

They handed her a large blue plastic cup full of punch, one of the boys a red head with bad acne smiled at her, "Special home brew."

She nodded and took a drink and then looked around the inside of the remodeled barn, and noticed something not quite right. "Not many girls here tonight?"

Cody smiled as he winked at another frat brother, "It's early yet…Should be some more ladies coming soon.

She took a drink of the punch and looked at the stair way leading up, "You guys live here?"

"Only the upperclassman, freshman plebes like Cody stay in the dorm….Hi, I'm Spanky." The tall man answered.

Kim was immediately taken with this man, he was dark and mysterious and very handsome, "So I take it you're an upperclassman?"

Spanky smiled a large toothy grin, "You are very observant, red heads have always fascinated me….So tell me do you have a hot temper?"

She took another drink of the punch and decided to flirt just a bit, "I can be…a…little…."

Kim's eyes rolled up into her head, the blue plastic cup hit the ground and she collapsed on the floor.

Spanky smiled, "Good job Cody, looks like you'll be brother yet…Let's take her upstairs guys, the train is in the station."

They picked Kim up and carried her up the stairs and into a room that was lit only with candles. They put her in the center of a large bed, and Spanky chuckled luridly as he pulled Kim's shirt off and flipped her over onto her chest and undid her bra.

Kim started to become conscious, "R…r…Roooooooooonnnnnn?"

Spanky looked at the other guys, "Check this shit out, she thinks I'm some guy named Ron."

Kim's eyes went wide open and realized what was going on, her mind said fight but whatever they had put in the punch wouldn't let her body obey her brain, "N...n…noooooooo."

She felt a hand grab her hair and yank her head around, the red headed boy with the bad acne was so close that she could feel his beer soaked breath in her face, "Now you just lie back and who knows…maybe you'll even enjoy it."

Kim glanced around and saw Spanky pulling down his pants; she turned back to the red headed boy and narrowed her green eyes, moved her head forward as if she were going to kiss him and chomped down hard on his nose.

The red headed boy screamed in pain and let go of her hair, Kim's body was starting to work again, she reached up and grabbed the red headed boy's ear and with her right hand and drove her thumb into his eye socket.

All activity had stopped in the room as the other frat brothers were trying to take in what was happening, Spanky had his pants around his ankles, _"None of the other girls ever fought back before?"_

Kim staggered towards the open door and a large man stepped in her way and threw a punch, she tried to move but was still groggy from the drink. She managed to take just a glancing blow from the big man but it still caught her and knocked her back towards the bed.

Now Kim's adrenalin was pumping as she grabbed one of the candles and threw it on the bed, it caught fire immediately. The big man moved forward and Kim snap kicked him in the groin and shoved him onto the burning bed.

Pandemonium had broken out in the room a third of the room was trying to put out the fire that was working its way up the wall, another third was trying to get to Kim and the more intelligent third was fleeing for their lives.

Kim made her way back to the door, and Cody stepped in the way. Kim savagely groin kicked him then drove her knee into his face and then she threw him down and made it out the door.

She almost made it to the stairs when Spanky caught up to her and grabbed her from behind, "I'll FIX YOU FOR THIS BITCH."

Kim forced herself backwards slamming Spanky into the wall, his grip loosened just a bit and Kim twisted and broke the hold. She was still wobbly from the drug but she had enough motor skills to sling him over the railing onto the ground floor.

Kim jumped from the railing and landed with both feet into Spanky's stomach, she grabbed a beer bottle and broke it off on a table and then turned and plunged it into the man's crotch.

Spanky let out a ear piercing scream and Kim twisted the bottle hard, and with her speech slurred by the drug calmly told him, "We'lllllll seesssssss whooooo fixxxxxxxxxsssssss whooooooooo."

Kim grabbed a jacket off of the coat rack and ran into the street; she ran back onto the campus and hid in the service entrance of the Science building.

She was sweating and out of breath, she could hear the fire truck sirens in the distance as she clawed at her pocket for her cell phone.

She frantically looked for Monique's phone number and pressed the call button, Kim heard Monique answer, "Moniqueeeeee, I neeeeeeeeed help…help meeeee, God helppppppp meeeeee."

"Kim…is that you? What's going on?" Monique voice was sounded alarmed over the phone.

"I neeeeeeeddddd helppppppp…I…I'm close to a barn……Upperton." Kim tried to explain.

"You didn't go to the TKE barn did you…Your crazey…Where are you…I'm coming." Monique told her.

Kim closed her eyes and said a little prayer of thanks, "I'mmmm Science building….I think."

Monique grabbed the keys to her dad's car and raced off towards Upperton, she didn't hang up on Kim so she could keep her talking.

"You're in the Science building then?" Monique asked as she got off on the Upperton exit.

"Outside…I'mmmmmmmm soooooo tiredddddddd." Kim said as she slumped into a dark corner.

Monique drove around the campus, she could see a large fire in the distance, _"Kim's handy work no doubt."_

Monique set speed records to get to Upperton University but now she had to drive slowly so she wouldn't attract attention to herself.

She spotted the Science building, "Kim I'm on corner of Baxter and Waverly."

"Other side…hurry." Kim sounded out of breath.

Monique made a right and headed towards the TKE barn which was going up in flames and the center of attention for the whole area. She stopped at the service entrance and Kim moved towards the car crouched over and slid into the passenger seat.

Monique drove off slowly and turned into an alley to keep from passing the burning TKE Barn, "OK….What did you do?"

Kim began crying, "I met this boy earlierrrrrrr…in the weekkkkk…invited me here for a partyyyyyyyyy…"

Monique nodded, "And you were the party…Girl haven't you heard any of the stories of that place?"

"Theyyyyyy druggeeddddd meeeeee…tried to….doooo thingssssssss…..Ronnnnnnnnn wouldn't drug meeeeeeeeee." Kim was breathing hard and trying to hold her thoughts together.

Monique nodded, "No Ron wouldn't have drugged you."

Kim closed her eyes, "I'm done with mennnnnnn…I'm going to be like Joshhhhhhhhhh…Monique….would you be gay with me."

Monique chuckled, "NO…just because I don't go out very much doesn't mean I'm a carpet muncher."

Kim chuckled and nodded, "Goodddddddddd…I was sooooo scared you were going to say yesssssssss."

Monique smiled, "Kim go home and sleep this off and write to Ron."

Kim began crying again and then started bawling, "I lost my good bra."

Monique shook her head as she turned off on the Middleton exit, _"She almost gets gang raped and she's worried about her bra….Only Kim."_

The car pulled up in front of the Possible residence, and Monique helped Kim out of the car and took her to the front door.

Mrs. Dr. P. opened the door, "I figured she'd come straggling in sooner or later?"

Monique winced and tried to think of something to say when Kim's head popped up, "Heyyyyyyyyy Mommmmmmmmm…Moniqueeeeeeeeee won'tttttttt go gayyyyyy with meeeeeeeee."

Monique shook her head and let Kim go, she fell face forward down on the floor, "She had a bad date."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "It's on the news, self styled vigilante Kim Possible burns down frat house."

Monique winced and tried to explain what happened, but Mrs. Dr. P. put up a hand, "I was in college once too…They probably had it coming…Thanks for bringing her home Monique."

Monique smiled and nodded, then she turned and walked back to her dad's car, _"I wish Ron was here…Maybe not….He'd have probably killed them all."_


	22. Chapter 22

Thanks for all the reviews...To the girl that PM'd me wantsing a cute cuddly story...I just ...don't do cute and cuddly...I will try and think of something cute to add later perhaps.

Now if it's angst and paranoia, violence, and a good laugh...I can do that.

* * *

The platoon had been in the field for the better part of a week; Ron and Sergei as well as the rest were growing beards and starting to smell of body funk. There were no showers, no toilets so when they had to go relieve themselves they would take their shovel and burry it when they were finished. 

When platoon awoke on Thursday they were told we were going to Base of Instruction 3 outside of Nabulus, to learn about the Achzarit Armored Personnel Carriers, which they would use when we finished Basic Training and went to a Battalion.

They were also told that they would have extensive field training on them later in the day but for now it was a day of pretty cushy classroom instruction, and that they would have their first big march the following day.

The platoon boarded the buses when they arrived and made the two hour trip to where the Armored Personnel Carriers were located, "Ronnie after this march tomorrow night we do a 72 kilometer march and then they give us a week furlough before the 100 kilometer march."

Ron smiled as the buses drew up in front of steel building, "The end is almost here Sergei…I get that week off I'm going to see if I can get a hold of Kim."

Sergei laughed, "Leave the beard, she might like it."

Ron picked up his pack and rifle, "If it fills in, maybe I will."

They walked out and inspected the Achzarit, Ron whistled appreciatively, "This thing is big"

Nimrod Lipsky finally found something he liked. He had a drivers license so he was selected for driver's training on the Achzarit He loved this and looked forward to doing it in the field.

Ron also had a drivers license and was selected for training on the big tracked vehicle, he continued looking over the monstrous vehicle before class got under way _"This thing is huge…It's almost like a tank…look at all the machine guns…Booyah."_.

The chassis of the Achzarit is based on heavily modified Russian T-54/T-55 MBT chassis which have been rebuilt in significant numbers by the Israel Defense Force for some years. The chassis has been stripped down and completely rebuilt, with the crew and infantry compartment at the front and the new power pack at the rear. An additional layer of Israeli-developed passive armor is mounted on the chassis, which makes the vehicle the best protected infantry vehicle of its type in the world.

A total of 10 men are carried, with the driver being seated at the front left with the vehicle commander and 7.62 mm machine gunner to his right. The driver is provided with four day periscopes with an additional six being provided in the rear troop compartment, two on the left side and four on the right.

The machine gunner operates the RAFAEL Overhead Weapon Station which is armed with a 7.62 mm M240 machine gun. This can be aimed and fired from within the vehicle in complete safety.

They sat in the class room, no one wanting to sit very close to the other, the foul stench of body odor hung in the air as the learned about the Achzarit and all it could do, Ron and Nimrod were removed from the class and taken to simulator.

Once inside they were taught what leavers to pull in order to make the vehicle change direction. It took a little time for Ron to figure it out but once he did Nimrod was no longer safe.

The large screen that simulated the desert environment had two of the large halftracks, Ron and Nimrod's supporting a column of Merkava IV tanks. When the instructors left the room for a moment, Ron made a hard right and rammed Nimrod's APC.

Nimrod began laughing and then he rammed Ron's APC, "You think you are pretty funny."

Ron had to stop, he was laughing so hard he couldn't stay in the simulator, "Ohhhhh this is just too good."

Ron and Nimrod were placed in two of the APC's, Sergeant Eldar ordered them to lower the rear door so they could load seven soldiers inside. Ron looked around inside the armored beast and found the right button and the door lowered.

He could hear the troops loading up, then the Sergeant took his place just to his right, "Now we are loaded, take us out towards the firing line."

Ron hit the switch for the glow plug and depressed the clutch, when the light went out he pushed the button and the large diesel engine rumbled to life, he worked the levers the way he had on the simulator and released the clutch and the big machine started moving.

He was ordered to turn to the left on the line and stop. Then the order came to lower the ramp, "That is enough for now Stoppable, go join the platoon."

Ron jumped out of the APC and went to join the platoon; Corporal Shomron stopped him, "Where is your gear?"

"Ummmmmm back in the classroom" Ron told him.

Corporal Shomron shook his head, "If we do not use our head, we are forced to use our back and get it and return here."

Ron ran as fast as he could back to the class room, he retrieved his pack and his gun and ran back to the firing line, he could see the men in their gear practicing running off and then running back inside the APC.

He was sweating heavily in the afternoon sun when he joined a line and practiced running in and out of the APC, he worked his way back to Sergei who looked at him strangely, "You really smell Ronnie."

He started laughing, "You are not a spring flower either."

They spent most of the afternoon working with the APC's, Ron finally got to cut loose with one of the .30 caliber machine guns and slaughtered a bunch of old fuel drums. This appealed to his love of property distruction.

Then they loaded up for the trip home, The Company Commander rode in the bus with Ron, "So tell me soldiers how many hours of sleep did you get last night?"

"Two hours," someone said.

"Well, in my opinion you don't deserve it, but it seems you are gong to make up several hours of sleep to get ready for the big march tomorrow." the Company Commander told them.

When they returned to their base camp it was close to 20:00 hours, the Company Commander told the platoon to go to the pup tents, post guards and sleep for four hours. Most soldiers were joyful but Ron and several others smelled a rat.

"Sergei stay dressed, this doesn't feel right." Ron warned his friend.

Sergei shook his head, "No, this deep into training, they do not let you sleep."

Their suspicions were further aroused when Corporal Shomron came around and checked in each tent to see if everyone were undressed. "You, there, get undressed and into your sleeping bag," he ordered someone.

After he left Ron told the guard "keep your eyes on the commanders and tell us what they are doing."

"They're all standing at the junction talking," he said.

He began to get dressed, after about ten minutes the guard said "OK, guys the games is up, he is going to call an alert."

Suddenly they heard the sound of the Company Commander's rifle being discharged into the air. Ron and Sergei were already dressed and ran out to the assembly point with all their gear. Soon others joined them.

After seven minutes the Company Commander stopped anyone who arrived and told them to stand aside. Tirza could be seen on the hill desperately trying to organize his gear. "Just tell that man to stay where he is…There is no need for him to even come down here." The Company Commander said in disgust.

When everyone else had arrived the Company Commander addressed the Platoon,"Now, you have not yet become proficient in battle preparedness exercises, as not all of you have arrived on time. It is very important that you learn to be up, dressed and in formation in seven minutes. I will keep drilling you on this even if I have to do it during the day. Now all of you who arrived on time are dismissed, those of you who did not will be drilled by me."

Ron and Sergei stood and watched as the Company Commander ran the latecomers, encumbered with their gear, from hill to hill.

"_So ends another day of basic training."_ Ron thought as he turned to go back to the tent.

* * *

Kim lay in bed her head pounding from the drug that she was given from the night before wore off, _"I'm done, I don't care how lonely I get…I'm not dating anyone."_

There was a soft knock on the door and Kim looked up, "Come in"

Monique popped her head in, "You feeling better?"

She nodded, "If I can get rid of this headache I'd be great…Feels like they took a ball bat to me."

"I just thought I'd drop by and see how you were before I headed off to work." Monique told her as she sat on the end of Kim's bed.

Kim let out a bitter chuckle, "Monique…I was just so lonely…I'm done no more dating…Thanks for coming and getting me."

Monique shook her head, "How did you get yourself into that mess anyway."

"I was stupid and didn't see it coming until it was too late…I'm just happy I was able to fight them off…Did I ask you to go gay with me last night?" Kim asked more than a little embarrassed.

"You…mean…you…don't remember…Kim it was so special for me…and you don't remember?" Monique was acting as though her feelings were hurt.

Kim shook her head nervously, "Ummmmm…no"

Monique tilted her head and gave her a strange look, "We were in the back seat of my dad's car and you were all glistening and smelling earthy from the fight…and…you know…"

"NO WAY…No…We…I…didn't" Kim stammered.

"It's ok Kim…I understand if you can't face it today…but we'll always have last night." Monique said sadly as she shook her head.

Kim was looking nervously around the room and then Monique raised her head, "Psyche"

She let out a deep breath, "Damn it Monique…You had me."

Monique laughed, "Need anything before I leave…other than a girl, girl thing."

Kim laughed, "No…Yes…Can you get my cigarettes out of the glove compartment of my car."

Then Kim put her hands to her head, "MY CAR it's still in Upperton…damn it…I could kill for a smoke right now."

Monique chuckled, "It'll stunt your growth…I'll see ya Kim."

She waived to her friend and then forced herself out of bed and got dressed. Then she headed down stairs, "Daddy…can you drive me to Upperton so I can get my car."

James Possible put down the paper, "Sure thing Kimmie Cub."

They headed outside and they loaded up in the family car and headed to Upperton, Mr. Dr. P. decided it was time to have a little talk with Kim, "Big trouble with the frat last night, huh?"

Kim nodded, "I learned my lesson…I'm not going to do anything like that again."

Mr. Dr. P. was still in a talking mood, "You know when I was in college, I went to this one party…Some gal asked me to dance with her"

He paused his story to take the high way towards Upperton, "Well I asked her, her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola…Ahhhh Lola…La..La..Lola…Well I'm not the world's most physical guy but when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine..Yea…Lola was strong alright…Well You know Kimmie, I'm not dumb but I can't understand. Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man…then we had a few beers and danced all night…Then she picked me up and sat me on her knee, and said pretty boy won't you come home with me…I said yes and then next thing I know Drew Lipsky's telling me that girl was a man."

Kim was giving her dad a weird look, "Ummm dad…What kind of party was this?"

Mr. Dr. P. chuckled, "Well Kimmie Cub the kind of party doesn't really matter…but I learned a valuable lesson…Yep…Don't go to parties with Drew Lipsky…and so I never went to another one again…until I met your mother."

Kim had a sick smile on her face and nodded her head, _"God I need a cigarette."_

They turned into Upperton University and found the large main parking lot, there were a few cars left on the lot for the weekend, Kim spotted hers and pointed it out to her dad. He let Kim off and waited to make sure the car started.

She watched her dad to leave then she started going through her CD's, _"Metalica…Kill Em' All…Ohhhhhhhh yeaaaaaaa."_

She cranked the CD up, she put the black Megadeath ball cap on backwards, fished her pack of Malboro lights 100's out of the glove compartment an fired one up, _"Ohhhhh yeaaaaaaa that's better."_

She closed her eyes and took another drag off the cigarette, she could feel the nicotine calming her nerves, _"I wish Ron were here….We cold have taken the entire frat down and been at Bueno Nacho before 11:00."_

She started her car and drove down the street she, she turned the corner and could see the burnt up remnants of the TKE barn, and she could see a few of the frat brothers out in front trying to salvage their belongings from the fire.

She slowed, trying to see if she recognized anyone and then flipped them the bird as they turned to look at who was driving by slowly.

"_Who needs Ron; I can do massive amounts of property destruction all by myself."_ The thought brought a smile to her face as she headed for home.

* * *

"Strike the tents." Friday evening finally arrived and Ron was prepared to go on the 35 kilometer march. They were served beans for dinner he figured it was for the protein. 

The platoon started the march in full combat dress and carrying the weapons that were issued to them back at the base, Ron was carrying a pack and a mortar tube that weighed almost as much as he did.

The platoon went down the side of the mountain to the main road and through the village of Az-Zababida. They were initially in high spirits, Tirza was singing horribly butchered classic American rock songs, _"__Purple haze infects my brain, lately things just seem so lame, Barkin' funny, because I see the sky, 'scuse me while I kiss this guy."_

Ron was imitating the sergeant's favorite sayings, when no corporals or sergeants were around, "I heard you," or "That does not interest me."

As night fell the Platoon Leader ordered night discipline. As the kilometers fell behind them the toll of the march began to tell. The Platoon Leader was going at a pace just short of a run.

Ron was told they were marching on an old Roman road, he could still see the cobblestones and rain gutters 2000 years after it had been built, Ron looked it over and nodded, _"It was probably built by Hebrew slaves."_

More and more soldiers began to fall behind only to be herded up to the Platoon Leader again by the Sergeant Eldar and Corporal Shomron.

In the distance red tracers were seen going up in the night. The Platoon Leader called on the radio to try to see who was firing the machine guns but got no response. They kept marching going behind a mountain.

One of the soldiers began to sob, and the Platoon Leader angrily told him to march 50 meters in front of the main column. Finally, one of the soldiers, a dark skinned Yeminite named Danny Naggar, stopped and said he couldn't go any further.

Just then the company commander drove up in his jeep. "Are you sure you can't continue?"

"No," Naggar said.

The Company Commander addressed us. "This is what you have been training for, now you will break out the stretcher and carry Naggar back to the base camp."

He went on about the virtues of tough training and how the IDF never leaves wounded behind and how important it was to train hard. He went on for so long, in fact, that Naggar got his second wind and by the time the Company Commander was done with his speech Naggar was ready to continue.

The Platoon Leader became angrier and angrier as more people began to wail and complain and move more slowly. They finally made it back to base camp. The Platoon Leader marched up to the base of the mountain, then turned 90 degrees and began walking down the road toward Kalkiliayh.

The wails and complaints and cursing reached a tumultuous crescendo. Several soldiers refused to follow the Platoon Leader and tried to go up the hill, forcing Corporal Shomron to chase them and drive them back to the road. Finally the Platoon Leader saw they were not going to follow him."

He called for an assembly, "You are a bunch of weakly wimps…You do not deserve to shout 'Up, to battle'"

Ron was asleep on his feet after assembly dismissed; he stayed in his position in the formation. Sergeant Eldar walked over to him and pulled up his eyelid and all he saw was white. His eyes had rolled up into his head.

Sergeant Eldar called motioned for Sergei to come over to him, "This man is unconscious, one on one wounded up the mountain with him."

Sergei lugged Ron up the mountain, not only would he have to carry him up the mountain but he would have to setup their camp once again.

Ron woke up half way up the hill, "What's going on?"

"Ahhhhhhh good you're awake, you were starting to get heavy." Sergei told him between breaths.

Ron closed his eyes, "Put me down, I can make it."

Sergei started laughing, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Standing in formation." Ron said as he strained to remember.

They made it back to camp and set their tents back up, Corporal Shomron came over to check on Ron, "Since you have had a nap, you pull first shift of camp guard duty."

Ron nodded his head and looked at Sergei, "I am so sorry…I was doing so good…I don't know what happened."

"Let's not worry about it, help me set up the tent." Sergei said to him as he began to break down his pack.

The next morning was the Shabbat so there was no field training but plenty of class room instruction carried out in a field at the bottom of the mountain. The Company Commander was giving one of his innumerable lectures when three Arabs and a donkey came down the road. "Now, go bring me those Arabs and the donkey," the Company Commander ordered.

Using no strategy what so ever Ron and the rest of the platoon simply charged toward the Arabs and the Arabs did what any self-respecting Arab would do if he saw a platoon of Israeli soldiers running towards them.

They turned and fled as fast as they could. The platoon only caught two of them, a small boy and his older brother. Ron dragged one of the kids back sobbing toward the Company Commander. He spoke to them in Arabic for several minutes and then released them.

The two boys left with whatever dignity they could muster. "That was not nice what the Company Commander did to those Arabs," Nimrod Lipsky said to Ron.

Ron nodded feeling sick to his stomach over what he did, "Yes…Those boys were scared to death."

The weather in Israel was starting to turn cold as the middle of November settled in. Saturday night they had a big Shabbat dinner, the Company Master Sergeant ordered us to sing glad songs, and the Company Commander gave a talk.

He told them what was good about their field training and where he wanted improvement. "Now, I see some of you have lost your field caps, and every Arab in Zababdeh is wearing an IDF work cap. If you lose your work cap, you wear your dress beret, and if you lose that you wear your helmet. I will fine you and you will pay for everything you lose, do you hear me Nimrod Lipsky?"

Nimrod looked uncomfortable and nodded that he understood.

"Also, you will learn to obey my orders. If I tell you to bring me three Arabs and a donkey don't bring me just two Arabs and smile at me."

Finally the Company Commander said, "I have begun to weed out the toilet people from the company. I have ordered a private Moshe Burnbaum from Second Platoon sentenced to 72 days in prison for his refusal to train. Now 35 days in prison is possible to bear but 72 days is very depressing. So all the toilet people will go to prison, and the good soldiers will remain here."

After the lecture they had a good Shabbat meal and then Ron and Sergei pulled first watch of guard duty for the camp.

Ron whispered to Sergei, "refused to train…OY'."

"They will run him out of the service and he will do volunteer work…Or he will get a shit post somewhere near Gaza." Sergei speculated.

Sunday morning began with field chain training. Chain training is the foundation of Israeli infantry tactics in battle. A chain is a formation of three soldiers, when a chain of soldiers assault a position from intermediate range, two soldiers take up covering positions and open fire on the target, the third identifies a place of concealment closer to the target, and runs toward it, bringing his rifle up and sighting and firing using the gun sights. He hits the dirt next to his place of concealment, takes cover and engages the target while one of his buddies then repeats the procedure. When you are all within 10 meters of the target someone throws a grenade, then everyone gets up and rushes the target, engaging it point blank and firing from the hip.

Now the soldier who is running toward a new place of concealment is most vulnerable to return enemy fire, but with two people covering him his chances of not being hit are much better. This is often referred to as the genius of the infantry tactics. The Israeli Army does not engage in firefights. The tactic is to advance on the target and engage it at point blank range.

Ron sat on the ground for the lecture and was trying hard not fall asleep, every now and then his head would dip and he'd be hit with a small rock courtesy of Sergei to keep him alert.

"When moving in enemy terrain and you reach a required crossing like a river or canyon ford, leave two soldiers in covering positions while the third slowly advances," etc. drone drone drone."

Several soldiers begin to drift off to sleep, lulled by the warmth and the CC's droning voice. Suddenly,

"Wake that man. Slap him." Sergeant Eldar would say.

"Stand," the Company Commander ordered the dozing soldier.

"To give hand signals to a soldier to take up a covering position, point to him and indicate," (demonstrates with hands) "you, that soldier, take up a covering positing in that direction drone drone drone…"

Ron finally dropped off asleep.

Sergeant Eldar shook his head, "Wake that man. Slap him."

Ron was slapped once again from every direction until he held up his hands.

The Company Commander pointed at Ron "Stand full battle pack."

_"Ohhhhhhh mannnnnnnnn"_ Ron slung his pack on and then shouldered his rifle and stood for the rest of the lecture.

"Everyone stop waking up your friends. Everyone worry only about yourselves. As I was saying drone drone drone…Wake that man. Slap him."

"You are a toilet person, now take yourself, weapon, helmet, body armor, full combat pack, and climb to the top of that mountain."

The soldier was Danke Yaish, who has fallen asleep with a dreamy grin on his face.

Resignedly he took his equipment and begins his long trek up the mountain. The Company Commander finished his lecture and the platoon prepared to move out to practice in the field.

Ron stood watching Danke run into the distance, _"Yea…he's stoned"_

They began training in chains of soldiers, including live fire. Then they trained with squads. A squad is simply two chains of soldiers attacking, with the added benefit of the 30 caliber machine gun providing covering fire. With the big gun's covering fire you could feel safe as if you were in your own home.

The mortar was used mainly for long range attacks. For a long range attack the 30 caliber machine gun. and mortar are left on a hill to provide covering fire when the rest of the squad makes a long flanking march to get within medium or close range, depending on the terrain.

The mortar puts down smoke on the target so the enemy can't see what you're doing, then adds some high explosive to make them nervous. White Phosphorous is also fun to shell with, the burning phosphorous floats down into the enemy foxholes, and water won't put it out as it begins to burn into you flesh. You have to dig it out with a knife. Naturally, when you are doing this you can't shoot, so it's very effective.

Ron was taking this all in, he was learning war, weapon by weapon, tactic by tactic and was actually beginning to enjoy the whole experience_. "They give me more stuff than Wade and this stuff actually works."_

They finished squad training and moved to platoon training, consisting of two squads attacking together. Next would come the final Company sized exercise, which would be attended by the Battalion commander.

"Ronnie, they are going to take us on buses to Jerusalem tomorrow for a tour." Sergei told him excitedly.

Ron shook his head, "How are they going to do that when we're supposed to have war games?"

Sergei shrugged, "I don't know but we're going?"

Ron wiped at his face, "We smell like pigs, someone is pulling your leg."

The morning of the tour dawned and after morning inspection they milled around waiting for the bus, and waiting, and waiting.

Ron shook his head, "I told you…I told you, they are messing with our heads."

Nimrod Lipsky smiled and imitated Sergeant Eldar "The tour is cancelled because of reasons of battle preparedness."

The buses finally arrived and the platoon started out, waving goodbye to First Platoon Mountain as they left.

They went down into the Jordan River valley and turned south toward Jerusalem. In Jericho they stopped at the Mount of Temptations, hiked to the top, and were treated to a tour of the monastery by a Greek Orthodox monk who showed them the rock shaped like bread and explained that Jesus had fasted 40 days. The religious Jews did not enter the monastery.

They were acting like tourists on this trip, the Israelis were strolling along chatting amicably with each other, so Sergeant Eldar made them run around the buses.

In Jerusalem, their tour guide was a very cute girl soldier with bleached blonde hair, and Ron began to drool again, _"Ohhhhhhh that beret is soooooo hot…I wish I didn't smell like a goat."_

"Slap that man he is lusting." Sergeant Eldar called out and everyone started slapping Ron.

They toured the old city and ammunition hill, where the Company Commander took over and told them the whole story of the conquest of Jerusalem and Ammunition Hill by the Paratroopers.

All during the tour they were strolling along without a care in the world. After the tour they were given a two hour liberty to eat dinner at a restaurant.

"Ronnie, you are going to have to stop your lusting….at least while the sergeant's around." Sergei told him.

Ron laughed and shook his head, "Do you know when the last time was I saw a woman….If Kim sent me a half way suggestive letter….It would not be pretty, I can tell you that."

Sergei started eating his food and waited for the waitress to leave the table, "When we get that week off, we shall find you a prostitute."

Ron's eyes grew large, "So that is the secret to Sergei's lack of lusting…Prostitutes…ewwww."

Sergei shrugged, "Eh' they serve a purpose….It is no big deal in Eastern Europe…You have to remember you are not in America anymore….Bat Yam, Tel Baruch has many fine brothels…They also know how to be discrete so Kim need never know."

Ron thought about it, "No, the women there are probably nasty and then I would get something that would make my penis fall off and then Kim is smart enough to figure out the rest….NO"

They loaded up on the bus and returned to First Platoon Mountain reformed their camps, posted guards and went to bed.

Tuesday morning was the big company exercise. First, of course, the company did a dry run with no live fire. Basically, the Company Commander left the 30 caliber machine guns from three platoons, six in all on a hillside along with the three 52 mm mortars.

The Executive Officer commanded this covering force, assisted by one of the sergeants. Then the Company Commander led the rest of the company on a flanking maneuver to come within medium range of the target. Then they began to advance on the target as they had been trained. Finally, they were within range and attacked.

The live fire exercise went well, with the 30 caliber machine guns providing a rain of constant fie on the simulated enemy position, and Ron and two other mortar men covering the target with smoke, then high explosive.

Ron saw his high explosive round hit the hillside directly on target, "Boofreakinyahhhhhhh"

When the flanking force got within range Ron's mortar fire group was ordered to cease fire. The 30 caliber machine guns gradually shifted their fire away from battalion as it closed on the target.

Then grenades were thrown towards the position and the assault began, the 30 caliber machine gun fire ceased and everyone all forward firing at the position.

The exercise completed, everyone gathered on the hill where the covering force had been set up and the Company Commander addressed the company. He talked about what was good in the exercise and what had to be improved.

Then he finished "All in all, I would have no hesitation taking you to battle on the Golan. You have completed this phase of the training very well. Now, we are going to go on an operation tomorrow, and only this fact prevented me from punishing you all night last night because of the slovenly carefree way you conducted yourselves on the tour, and I will think twice, and three times, and four times before allowing you to go on any tours in the future."

The operation was for 1st and 2nd Platoon to assist in the guard duty at Kibbutz Hagoshrim, a rural co-operative community where all of the property is jointly owned by the community. Then 3rd Platoon was sent to some god forsaken place in the Jordan River valley to guard the border.

Ron and the rest of 1st platoon arrived at HaGoshrim, a large secular Kibbutz in northern Israel, on Wednesday afternoon. There was a large pool there but it was mid-November and too cold for girls in swimsuits, Ron shook his head, _"No scantily clad ladies here."_

There was a mix of 1st and 2nd Platoon guarding here, accompanied by the Company Master Sergeant, "You will now go and eat and return back to your post promptly…Do not make me come find you."

Ron and Sergei went to a small bar and grill and sat down at a table to themselves and the server, a girl volunteer a stunning blonde that Ron believed she was from somewhere in Scandinavia, wearing a skimpy European bikini top that covered only her nipples and cutoff jeans short enough to be a belt, brought them potatoes and a cut of mystery meat.

Ron started visibly shaking every time the serving gal came round, "Come here….often?"

The waitress giggled, "Of course…I work here."

Ron smiled, "She works here Sergei."

"I figured that one out already Ronnie." Sergei informed him as he began eating.

Ron looked at the meat it was white with a bone in it and looked suspiciously like a pork chop. "Do you have a vegetarian selection?"

"Sure, soldier, I'll bring it to you" the volunteer said. She walked off, her partially exposed buttocks swaying back and forth enticingly.

Ron's mouth was open and he stared intently and then he felt a hand slap him in the back of the head. Ron turned to see Sergei smiling, "Stop lusting Ronnie."

Ron was still shaking, "What kind of place is this…This isn't one of those places we talked about in Jerusalem?"

"It is a sports bar of some kind…I think." Sergei told him.

"I hate organized sports." Ron said as he looked over the other waitresses.

Ron shook his head, "I can notstay here or bad things will happen….I will see you later."

Friday night Ron had no guard duty so he had a good nights sleep. Then Saturday he returned to the restaurant for lunch.

He took cleaned himself off as best he could in the men's room of the restaurant to try and cut down on the stench. He ordered lunch but sadly the blonde waitress was no where to be found, _"This is torture….I wonder how Kim's doing?"_

Then Ron guarded from 12 to 6 at the gate to the Kibbutz. This was incredibly boring, and his relief from the kibbutz members didn't come until 07:00.

After that he guarded again from midnight until 06:00 with a 5 foot 2 inch soldier from 2nd platoon by the name of Alvin Yorke. He guarded in a tower in a corner of the kibbutz. The tower had a spotlight, and Ron began playing with it.

He switched it on, _"Yes we will soon spot the jail break…bored soldiers trying to escape to Bat Yam in search of prostitutes and once I spot them…I shall join them."_

Ron turned and looked for Alvin, "Yorke, are you awake?"

"No, why should I be awake?" Alvin answered.

Every so often a motorized patrol would go by and Ron would turn on the light and signal them so they would know he was awake. Ron wanted to beat Alvin to make him stay awake, after a while he just didn't care anymore.

Finally after six hours of abject boredom he was relieved, and had breakfast in the kibbutz dining hall, and then went back out to the field to continue training.

"Now, we will spend a week or two learning Warfare against prepared positions. The position you will learn is a Jordanian prepared position, a mock up of what had been constructed in the field." The company commander explained.

Ron looked the position over; it consisted of trenches radiating out from a central point with twists and turns in the trenches, which terminated in a branch with two firing positions.

"To assault the position you first must run and jump into a portion of it. You then make your way down the trench taking advantage of the areas of concealment in the trench, firing as you go. If you run out of ammo you shout "ammo" and the soldier behind you replaces you and moves in front." Ron was listening intently he'd seen lairs but nothing this fortified.

"The 30 caliber machine gun can provide covering fire from a position farther back in the trench. When you reach the end of the trench you throw a grenade into the firing position, shouting "you go left and I'll go right" indicating that the soldier behind you clears the left position and you clear the right. This type of warfare is necessarily much more dangerous than Warfare in Open Terrain, because you are one behind the other." The Company Commander finished his lecture.

They practiced a couple of maneuvers for taking the position, the weapons were unloaded so they wouldn't accidentally shoot each other.

Ron was third in line, they ran into a "T" junction and he forgot to hold his gun up in the air and swept it behind Tirza's head. This brought instant action from Sergeant Eldar, "Stoppable, if this were real and you had bullets in that gun you most probably would have killed Cohen."

Ron looked puzzled not realizing what he had done, Sergeant Eldar jumped into the trench and grabbed the barrel of Ron's gun and pulled the weapon upright, "When you are running behind another soldier you make sure never to point that weapon at the soldier…Do you understand now?"

Ron's eyes were big but he understood, "Yes Sergeant"

* * *

"Dr. Wong will see you now Ms. Possible." The secretary said as she motioned towards the two large oak doors. 

Wanda Wong was the Chief Executive Officer of the rocket base that Kim's dad worked at. She had rescued her a few years ago from Dr. Drakken and she and Ron were hit by ray from an experimental weapon that was built at the base.

The ray was a truth ray and it caused Kim quite a lot of problems but fortunately the effects only lasted one day and were completely temporary. Or so Kim thought.

"Kim, good to see you again." The attractive older asian lady said as she shook hands with Kim.

Kim smiled, "Hello Dr. Wong, dad said you wanted to see me."

Dr. Wong frowned, "Yes Kim….Follow me to the lab."

She activated a secret door and there was an elevator, they walked inside and Ms. Wong pushed the only button there was on the panel. The elevator descended and the door opened on lab 13.

Lab 13 was the most highly secretive part of the base and it is also where Drakken had kidnapped Dr. Wong and stolen the truth ray.

Dr. Wong began to bring Kim up to speed on the research of the truth ray, "You and Ron Stoppable are the only two in existence who have ever been exposed to the truth ray…We thought the effects were only temporary but…we noticed other…anomalies."

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Anomalies?"

"Kim have you ever had occasion over the last couple of years to act…strangely or irrationally?" Dr. Wong asked.

Kim took a step back, "Define…irrational…Strange?...ummmmmmm…maybe?"

Dr. Wong could tell by Kim's actions that she had, "Do you have a craving for cigarettes?"

She smiled, "Meeeee…nooooooo…WHAT has daddy told you?"

Dr. Wong brought her over to two Plexiglas cages containing two white lab rats, "This is Gertrude and Edger."

Kim looked at the white lab rats, "Edger looks dead."

Dr. Wong nodded, "Edger is dead, he rammed his head into the side of the container so violently and so many times that he fractured his skull, notice the blood stains on the Plexiglas."

Kim shook her head, "Why would he do that?"

Dr. Wong looked at Kim, "Because he thought Gertrude was in trouble…During routine tests Gertrude was very animated so one of the research assistants injected her with nicotine…It was a large dose and calmed Gertrude down….Edger saw this and thought Gertrude was being harmed and tried to escape to help to her…or so we think…but animals can't really imitate human emotion can they?"

She closed her eyes quickly, _"I could see Ron doing that if I were in trouble…Ron would have killed everyone in that frat house…I Miss Ron."_

Kim was getting a sick feeling in her stomach, "So that's what is wrong with Gertrude?"

Dr. Wong shook her head, "No…We're trying to ween her off of the nicotine but we're not sure if its withdrawals or the fact that she knows Edgar is dead."

Kim shook her head not quite understanding.

"Kim both of these rats were exposed at the same just like you and Ron…Has Ron been having any abnormal mood swings or strange sexual urges?" Dr. Wong asked.

Kim's nodded, "He has a really nasty temper…I mean he's always had a temper…but now…it's really bad…As far as…the other thing…He is 18 you know."

Dr. Wong chuckled and raised an eyebrow, "How bad…the temper that is."

Kim frowned, "Kill them all, let God sort them out…bad."

"Oh Dear" Dr. Wong said.

"Will Gertrude die?" Kim asked.

Dr. Wong frowned, "Kim…since they were both exposed at the same time, there is what I believe to be a mildly telepathic link between the two…I don't believe Gertrude is going through withdrawals…I think she knows Edger is dead….and she is trying to join him."

Kim's eyes grew big, "So what your saying is…that if Ron or I die the other will die also?"

Dr. Wong shook her head, "No…we have no way of knowing that, but…we would like to hire you and Ron to help us…evaluate things."

Kim was watching Gertrude convulse in her little Plexiglas world and thought of that being her, when Ron left, "Ron's….Not around anymore."

"You mean he's going to school somewhere?" Dr. Wong asked.

Kim shook her head, "No…Ron's in Israel."

"Oh….that's too bad." Dr. Wong said.

Kim looked at Dr. Wong, "So we're both going to die?"

Dr. Wong laughed, "Nooooooo, let me show you something."

She took Kim to another room where there were two other white lab rats playing in larger Plexiglas cage, "See the one on the left is Candi and the one on the right is Mortimer. Both of them exposed at the same time."

"Ok?" Kim said.

Dr. Wong, "When they're together they are just like any other lab rats, when their apart they begin to break down mentally and act irrationally."

Kim became very nervous, _"So that's why I act so weird when Ron isn't around…and…ohhhhhhh Ron's temper."_

"Oh look, Mortimer is giving Candi a food pellet…He's very sweet, he's always giving her food pellets." Dr. Wong observed.

Kim became weak at the knees and started to collapse, Dr. Wong grabbed Kim's arm to help steady her, "Ron's always giving me stuff."

"Have you ever tried to communicate with Ron telepathically?" Dr. Wong asked.

Kim wasn't listening; she was watching Candi and Mortimer interact with each other.

"Kim…are you alright…What are you thinking?" Dr. Wong asked gently.

She shook her head and looked at Dr. Wong, "I…I…was thinking…that I'd kill for a cigarette right about now."

* * *

Dawn was lightening in the east when the sergeant called the platoon to assembly, "See here 1st Platoon you will now dismantle your gear and bring it to the bottom of the mountain and load it on trucks, we are headed back to Bezeq, you will board buses and be taken 22 kilometers from the base and then you will do a stretcher run back to base. This is your last chance to pass this requirement." 

They carried our equipment down the mountain and had breakfast; Sergei was in a really good mood. "This should be easy Ronnie, we're headed back to base….Showers and shaving again."

"I would kill for a clean uniform….I may leave the beard….What do you think?" Ron asked turning his face from side to side.

Sergei chuckled, "You had better shave, it will grow fuller next time."

After breakfast they loaded up on buses and went out to meet the Platoon Leader, he was waiting for them as they got off at their destination. "Good morning, platoon," he said cheerily.

"We will now do a 22 kilometer forced stretcher march back to the base. You will wear full battle gear, let's move out." The Platoon Leader began clapping his hands.

The stretcher was broke out, Tirza hopped into the stretcher and then the platoon took off after the Platoon Leader.

The road back to camp ran through Tubas to the River Jordan, and they were on the east side of the watershed, which meant that they were going uphill. Panting, without even the strength to curse or groan, they ran after the Platoon Leader.

They started the march about 10 kilometers east of Tubas. Ron just finished what he believed to be his third hill and stuck up his hand, he was relieved and went to the back of the line huffing and puffing.

They came to a steep hill and struggled to the top. "That's the last hill," Corporal Shomron informed the platoon.

"No, it's not, there are 12 more hills," the Platoon Leader said.

Ron became weak in the knees, _"Twelve more hills…I can't do this."_

The truck with their gear passed, and Sergeant Eldar was sitting in the back, "1st Platoon, I don't know what your problem is, you are, after all, just walking,"

They reached the village of Tubas, Corporal Shomron turned to the Platoon. "This is a town that hates Jews…so no stragglers."

The Platoon went through Tubas. They were so far managing to keep up a respectable pace until they were one kilometer east of Zababdeh. Here they stopped to drink from their canteens.

"Sir," someone said, "This man is asleep while walking."

The soldier was Danke Yaish. The Platoon Leader went over to him and peeled back his closed eyelid. He saw only white.

"Cohen out of the stretcher, we have to carry this man," The Platoon Leader said.

The platoon finally managed to straggle into the camp, Ron was exhausted and the sun was going down and it was becoming cold in the mid November evening.

The Platoon Leader addressed the company, "This is the first time I am even remotely satisfied with you. You kept up with me. Now, you may shout 'Up, to battle' three times as you have passed one of your requirements.

Ron smiled and joined in the cheer, "Up to battle….Up to battle….Up to battle."

They were ordered to showers and to clean up, Ron stood under the hot water, _"How long….A month…My uniform is still standing at attention….Might have to burn it."_

They were introduced to a new Corporal Dahl and he had determined that Gerri Roth and several other soldiers had rust on their weapons. They were ordered to prepare a complete commanding officer's inspection to be checked at 2:00 am in the morning.

Gerri Roth was a conscientious soldier who always obeyed orders to the letter, "My weapon is spotless there is no rust on it."

When he got the orders to prepare the inspection Corporal Shomron felt sorry for Gerri, "Look, I know your weapon is in order so, when you are finished come to the corporal's quarters and wake me, but DON'T YOU DARE come up the steps. Stand at the bottom of the steps and call me. I will be awake in a few seconds."

That evening, not only did they have to guard the barracks, and the ammunition stores but they also had to guard the front gates. This meant long guard shifts of two hours for everyone. Ron was assigned to guard the front gate with Nohn Minkle, Nimrod Lipsky was assigned to the ammunition bunker and Danke Yaish was assigned to guard the barracks until 03:00.

The ammunition was stored in a small locked bunker and Nimrod Lipsky didn't want to guard the ammunition because he was afraid that there were mice hiding down at the bottom of the stairs, "Ronnie trade with me….I don't want to go down there…I'm afraid a mouse will bite my toe."

Ron looked at him, "How can a mouse bite your toe if you are wearing boots?"

"I…I like to take them off when I am pulling guard duty." Nimrod informed him.

Ron nodded, "I will switch with you but you owe me big time."

Ron smiled as he walked away, he had guarded there before and knew there was a bench that he could sleep on down at the bottom where no one could see him.

Ron dozed off and around 02:00 was awakened by someone yelling somewhere. Gradually he realized that what he was hearing was Roth calling out to Corporal Shomron.

"Corporal Shomron…Corporal Shomron!" he could hear Roth shouting.

Ron smiled, _"Shomron's out like a light, give it up Roth."_

Forty-five minutes later he awoke again. To his surprise and amusement, he could still hear Roth shouting "Corporal Shomron."

Despite his promise, Corporal Shomron had not woke up, and Roth was so straight laced that he would not walk up the stairs to the Corporal's Quarters to shake Corporal Shomron awake.

Ron stood up and stamped his feet he was becoming cold n the drafty bunker and his shift was finally coming to an end, Sergei had shown up to relieve him.

Sergei walked down the stairs, "Is everything ok?"

Ron shrugged, "I got a little bit of a nap on the bench…It is quiet though."

He walked up the steps from the bunker and out into the night, he grinned at Gerri Roth who was still trying to wake up Corporal Shomron, _"Still trying to wake Corporal Shomron up for that inspection…He'll be voted outstanding soldier…I'd be in bed"_

Ron was walking insight of the front gates and could see that something was wrong, he turned and started heading towards the gates. Danny Nagger had seen him coming and ran out to meet him, "Ronnie, Ronnie me and Morganstern can't get Lipsky and Minkle to wake up?"

Ron shrugged and jogged back up front with Nagger, _"Great one on one wounded carry at three AM."_

He stuck his head in the darkened guard booth, "Lipsky wake up, time to go back to the barracks."

There was no movement from inside, so Ron stepped into the darkened guard house, _"Sticky floor he must have spilt something."_

Ron grabbed him by the shoulders and shook Lipsky hard, he noticed his head just rolled around and then he pulled his hand back it was wet, "What is this?"

Ron reached over and turned on the light and realized that Nimrod Lipsky had his throat cut from ear to ear and that his hand was covered in blood and he was standing in a pool of blood on the floor, _"Ohhhhhhhhh Nooooooooo…nooooooooooo…what do I dooooooo…alarm."_

He turned his head away quickly not sure what to do, he quickly looked at the guard panel and hit the red button. Claxons and bells rang out all over the base, there was a voice from the intercom wanting to know why he dared disturb his sleep.

Ron wasn't sure who it was, "I have two dead at the front gate."

"You mean dead drunk…I will turn off the alarm so there will be no trouble for you." The voice said.

"NO I SAID I HAVE TWO DEAD AT THE FRONT GATE…SEND SOMEONE." Ron yelled into the box.

Then a thought occurred to him, maybe Minkle wasn't dead, Ron turned and hurried across to the other guard booth and sure enough Minkle was dead too, throat cut from ear to ear.

The Company Commander made it to the front gate and Ron explained what happened, "Where were you guarding last night?"

Ron was getting nervous, "I was in the ammo bunker."

"You will go assemble company "C" and tell them to meet on the parade ground, combat light, weapons hot….Do you understand Private Stoppable?"

"Yes Officer" Then Ron was running for the barracks, he entered and quickly turned on the lights, "Combat light, weapons hot in the parade ground NOW, NOW, NOW."

The soldiers were telling him off and not moving, "LIPSKY AND MINKLE ARE DEAD, combat light, weapons hot in the parade ground, NOW, NOW, NOW."

Telling them about Lipsky and Minkle did the trick, everyone was out of bed and scurrying around trying to get dressed, and Ron turned and ran to the parade ground.

The rest of the company began to fall in and everyone was asking questions, "What happened, how did they die?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't know they fell asleep on guard duty."

Tirza turned and looked at Ron, "I fall asleep all the time…ohhhhhh nooooo."

Ron stood in formation waiting for the Company Commander to show up, when the sickening thought hit his mind, _"If I hadn't of traded with Lipsky…That would be me in that guard booth."_


	23. Chapter 23

The Company Commander called the troops to attention, "We have reviewed the video camera footage and there are three Arab men that took advantage of our sleeping guards, we have called in a Bedouin tracker and we are going to support the Paratroopers in apprehending these men."

Ron nodded his head, _"Support of the paratroopers…OK." _

"I will of course expect you to observe weapons discipline….In other words safeties on…Also keep in mind that both Lipsky's and Minkle's weapons are missing...So be wary." The Company Commander ordered as Sergei and the rest of the company that was relieved from their guard duty so they could participate in the hastily planned operation.

Safeties could be heard clicking on throughout the company, including on Ron's M16, _"Paratroopers, probably won't be much of a chance for any shooting…too bad."_

"Machine gunner to the front….Let's move out." The Company Commander gave the order and Sergei took point with his 30 caliber machine gun, the Bedouin tracker took a position 50 meters in front of the company.

The tracker picked up the trail at the front gate and signaled to the Company Commander, "We are looking for three men."

The company "C" spread out once outside the gate, Ron fell in to line across the road from the base, _"That Bedouin tracker is staying close to the fence…I bet it's those three men that me and Sergei saw back at the end of September."_

They were spread out one soldier every five to eight feet or so, Ron was looking ahead as well as covering his left flank, _"We should be in Kabatiya very soon…Should be when the people are called for morning prayer…This could be ugly."_

They were reaching the outskirts of the village, Sergeant Eldar jogged up the center of the road, "You, you, you and you….Move down the flank 200 meters…you will find a drainage ditch…spread out along the length of the ditch ever 20 meters, you will be covering those dwellings there…Move out and stay low."

Ron was one of the four mentioned and jogged out 200 meters until he saw the drainage ditch, Ron lay on the slope of the ditch concealed from the view of the casual observer. He looked down the trench and saw where everyone had placed themselves.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then looked back towards the road, he could see another section of the company spread out down the road and the third section was put in a line towards where Ron was positioned.

Ron saw Sergei positioned on the other side of the road to help give fire support should it be needed.

The paratroopers in their red berets and red jump boots arrived by truck and conferred with the Bedouin tracker then quickly entered the building that Ron was hiding behind in a drainage ditch.

* * *

"Are you feeling better Kim?" Dr. Wong as she looked into Kim's eyes while holding a pen light.

Kim nodded her head and took another drag off the cigarette, "So…how…screwed up are we, and can this be…fixed?"

Dr. Wong shook her head, "We've only just now discovered the side effects."

Kim swallowed nervously, "So is this going to eventually kill us…Can we have still have kids…Is this going to happen to our children?"

Dr. Wong grew quiet and thought for a moment, "Life span unknown…Probably normal, and there is no sign of the genetic damage in Candi and Mortimer's offspring, we're three generations in so far in testing."

Kim started to shake, "So Ron and I are messed up genetically now?"

"We prefer the term genetically injured." Dr. Wong responded.

Kim shook her head_, "How do I tell Ron, he's still bitter about being exposed to the mystical monkey power and now this!"_

"Have you tried to telepathically communicate with Ron?" Doctor Wong inquired.

Kim stubbed the cigarette out in a little metal tray that Dr. Wong had given her for a makeshift ash try, "No…I mean…I don't know…telepathy is kind of…far out."

Dr. Wong smiled, "Nonsense, Candi and Mortimer show signs of it…If Ron is too far away…We may be able to help…We have developed a secret technology that can help boost the area of the brain that can establish a telepathic link…Unfortunately we have no other live human beings that have exposed to the truth ray other than you and Ron."

Kim swallowed hard and started to look around the room for a way out, "I…I don't want to be a lab rat….I want to be normal…I don't want to be a guanine pig for some untried machine."

Kim got up and began looking for a way out; she was upset and started to beat on the elevator door, "I WANT TO GO HOME."

Dr. Wong followed her to the elevator, "KIM…you are not a prisoner here and you are not a lab rat…I'll open the elevator and we can go back up to my office, if that will make you feel better."

The elevator door opened and Kim walked in and crouched in a corner and cupped her hands over her mouth and nose, _"I didn't want this…I didn't want any of this…Now I understand how Ron feels…Poor Ron…I can't tell him about this…I should have stuck to babysitting."_

The elevator door opened and Kim ran not for the door but for the window and looked out into the mid-afternoon sun, "So dad said you wanted to talk to me about a position?"

Dr. Wong was relieved that Kim didn't run away, "Yes, I want you to work here and help with the research on this project…If you can work it into your school hours."

Kim nodded, "I…I think I can do that…That machine you were talking about…will it scramble my brains?"

Dr. Wong laughed, "No Kim it's completely harmless."

"Just like the truth ray?" Kim said absently as she looked out the window.

Dr. Wong closed her eyes, "Kim…I don't blame you for not trusting the machine, but so far there have been no side effects to the mental focusing unit."

Kim brought her hand to her face and then began to bite her thumb nail, "OK…I'll give it a try."

She rode down the elevator with Dr. Wong, who led her to a lab where there was a large dentist style chair that lay back with a head piece connected to three workstations.

Dr. Wong pointed at the chair, "Have a seat, and I'll hook you up for a preliminary test."

The head piece was placed on Kim and a heart monitor was attached to her index film and then the chair was laid back into position and then Dr. Wong switched on the device.

The lights in the room dimmed and Kim closed her eyes, Dr. Wong came out from behind the workstations, "Can you feel Ron, can you see where is and what he is doing?"

Kim shook her head, "No…wait…it's a jumble….but I think I can hear his thoughts."

Ron watched the paratroopers enter the stone multi-family dwelling, _"Next time I see Kim…She's not going to walk right for a week…" _

Kim blushed in the chair, "I think Ron misses me."

Dr. Wong nodded, "So it is Ron then."

Kim smiled, "Ohhhhhhhh yeaaaaaaa it's him" She giggled and blushed an extra shade of red, "Ron,Ron, Ron, I wouldn't do that with Shego…Next time I see you we are going to have a long talk."

Ron looked around where he was positioned again, _"Maybe Sergei's right…maybe I should go to that brothel in Bam Yam and find a prostitute."_

Kim just about sprang from her chair, "YOU"D BETTER NOT."

Ron shook his head, _"No…that's not the answer…Why doesn't Kim write to me anymore?" _

Kim shook her head, "I…I'm sorry Ron…I should have written you more…but it's so hard…"

Ron brought his rifle up to his shoulder, _"You know why she hasn't written….admit it…she found someone else and has forgotten you…No…Don't think like that Kim would have said something."_

"Nooooooooooo Ron…there's no one else….Oh my God…I can see what he's seeing." Kim exclaimed.

Dr. Wong stood up from behind the workstations, "What do you see?"

Kim closed her eyes tightly, "He's lying on the ground…Has a rifle on his shoulder and he's looking at some old building."

Ron heard gunfire from within the building, _"Stop thinking like this…too easy to get killed here."_

Kim heard the gun fire too, "Head in the game Ron."

Two men jumped out a window holding M16 rifles and began running for where Ron was laying down, they were trying to make it to the drainage ditch behind him. Trying to get away from the paratroopers that were inside the building and who would soon be chasing them.

She saw the men running at Ron, "RUN RON THEY'VE GOT GUNS."

The men spotted Ron and brought the rifles up and prepared to shoot Ron to escape.

Kim heard two loud pops and she could see mists of blood fly out from behind the men's heads as the bullets from Ron's rifle exited their bodies.

Then Kim watched as both men slumped to the ground dead, She pulled the device off of her head, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, HE SHOT THEM, HE SHOT BOTH OF THEM…"

Kim was shaking in corner and crying, Dr. Wong ran over to her, "Kim…calm down…Deep breaths and tell me, what is Ron doing in Israel? Why did he shot people?"

Kim shook her head and tried to stop shaking, "He...He's in the army over there…Oh Godddddddd Ronnnnnnn."

* * *

Ron stared out from behind his rifle, _"Did I really just shot two men?"_

He looked at his rifle and saw the barrel was still smoking; he was beginning to feel sick to his stomach when Sergeant Eldar showed up and happily pulled Ron to his feet, "Let's go see who you just killed."

He drug Ron over to where the bodies were, "Fifty meters, two quick head shots, you are a natural marksman…Look this one here right through the eye and his friend right between the eyes."

Ron felt a wave of nausea pass over him and he turned away and the rest of the company was coming forward for a look. They were slapping him on the back and all Ron could think of was, _"I want to go home."_

"Ronnie you are big time hero, next time I will be the one shooting and I will be the big time hero." Sergei said as he happily slapped Ron on the back.

He heard the call coming out over the village loud speakers calling the Muslims in the town to Morning Prayer, he turned and looked at Sergei and sadly told him, "Yes…next time you can be the…big time hero."

The Company Commander spoke to Ron, "I have informed the Paratroopers that the future company sniper killed the ones that got away from them. They killed the third man and took two wounded...We would have preferred to take them prisoner but still the bastards got what they deserved."

Ron nodded and was suddenly feeling very tired, he had been up all night after a long march and all he wanted to do was go to sleep.

The call came up to form up so they could march back to camp, Ron looked towards the front of the building as saw the Paratroopers loading up in a truck with their wounded, the company surgeon was working on one of the injured, _"I wonder what happened inside the building?"_

_

* * *

_

Kim finally calmed down and went back to Dr. Directors office where she was given a bunch of forms to fill out, "Kim….I'm sure Ron did what he had to do…Please take these home and fill them out…It's tax stuff and an employment application, bring it back with you on Monday."

Kim nodded and took the packet of forms, and in a far away voice said, "Please and thank you."

Kim left the office building and walked to her car, she sat behind the steering wheel and rolled down the window and lit another cigarette_, "Did I actually see Ron shoot two people? I bet he feels awful…I better write him…No…I'll go and visit him during Christmas break from school…surprise him."_

She drove home, exhausted by what she just went through, _"Ron…felt really tired…horney, but tired….I don't' think he's been sleeping much."_

"I'm tired, I'm going to bed." She thought as she pulled into the driveway to her house.

She climbed the stairs and walked in the door, the twins were standing in the hallway by the stairs, "WHAT ARE YOU TWO LOOKING AT…I KNOW WHAT I SAW AND I'M NOT CRAZY." Kim screamed at them as she ran up the stairs.

Jim looked at Tim, "Sis is going psycho again."

Tim nodded and smiled, "Bicka, bicka, boo"

Jim smiled and joined his brother for the big finish, "BOOSHA"

Kim threw her packet down on top of the makeup table and kicked off her shoes and curled up with a pillow on the bed, _"I…hope Ron doesn't go find a prostitute….that is soooooooo…ewwwwwww."_

* * *

"Company since you have distinguished yourselves so well during these events, you may have four hours of free time to do with as you please…Dismissed." The Company Commander was all smiles as he turned and walked away.

Ron turned and walked into the barracks and dropped his gear and started to go to bed, Sergei came up still excited, "The company has voted you a new nickname Ronnie…You are now Big Time…Get it Big Time American…Big Time."

Ron nodded and crawled into bed, "Tell me about it in four hours."

After a nap they were called to assembly, "On Friday you will be leaving on a 72 kilometer march, full combat packs, so be ready and buy some new socks. This afternoon and evening you will have a short run and be allowed to rest up for the two day march…Except for Private Stoppable who will see me after you are all dismissed."

Ron waited around after the company was dismissed, the Company Commander came and spoke to Ron, "You are to clean up and wear your dress uniform and beret, and report to that vehicle over there…You are wanted in Tel Aviv."

Ron saluted, "Yes officer"

Ron walked back inside the barracks and retrieved his shaving kit, "Sergei stop by the PX and buy me two pairs of socks."

Ron dug into his wallet and handed Sergei a five shekel bill, "I will get you your socks…but you have such small feet what if they don't have your size."

Ron laughed, "Quit pissing Sergei, I wear nearly the same size boot as you."

Sergei smiled, "So where are you going?"

"All they said was I was to get into that vehicle and report to Tel Aviv." He said.

His friend nodded, "They are going to give you a medal or make you a General."

Ron chuckled as he grabbed his shaving kit and started to leave, "I think not."

Ron walked down the dirt path to the restroom and showers, _"I hope the water is warm this time."_

He brushed his teeth and shaved, _"Did I really shoot two people this morning?" _

_"I don't feel any different…They gave me a nickname…Big Time…great…that's just great…I guess it was good they got us out of that village quick this morning…Didn't give me much time to…think about it." _He thought as he stripped down for his shower.

_"This is strange…I wonder what is going on."_ Ron thought as he took a shower and shaved again with a fresh razor under the slightly warm water.

Ron dressed in his dress uniform and retrieved his dress beret from the green nylon bag and fitted put it on his head, he looked at himself in the mirror. He had only wore the uniform once for a liberty call that was cancelled, _"I haven't had any leave in…four months…wow."_

He reported to the hummer and was driven to Tel Aviv, Ron used the opportunity to catch up on his sleep.

The hummer pulled up in front of the Sheraton Hotel in Tel Aviv, Ron stepped out of the vehicle and looked inside, "Why are we stopping here?"

The driver shrugged, "This is where I was told to take you."

Ron nodded and walked inside, _"I feel like I did when I walked into that luxury hotel in Tokyo…wow."_

An older lady walked up to him and said in English, "Are you Ronald Stoppable?"

Ron nodded that he was, "You're late, follow me…I think they will be plenty of food left."

Ron followed the lady, _"Food?"_

She showed him into a big ball room and Ron read the banner that was hung across a stage, "Welcome to the American Friends of the IDF Thanksgiving Diner."

Ron blinked and shook his head, _"Thanksgiving…its Thanksgiving back hone?"_

"Well just don't stand there take a plate get some food, you are way too skinny." The lady observed.

Ron took off his beret and tucked it under his left epaulets on his shoulder and found a plate, he looked at the people seated at tables, there were older people and other American IDF soldiers seated around tables.

Ron made him a plate of turkey and loaded up on food he hadn't seen in ages, _"Cranberry sauce…This morning I shot two people…now I'm at a fancy party…weird."_

Ron sat at a table with a few other soldiers, they were neat and shiny clean and they didn't quite know what to make of Ron, "Did we give you permission to sit at our table?"

Ron shook his head that they didn't and kept eating, "Well we think you should move."

"Not a problem, I don't like eating with Jobnicks anyway." Ron said as he got up and left the table to find another one.

_"Now be nice, no reason to shoot two people and then start a brawl all in one day."_ Ron thought as he sat at another table.

There were older people at this one, "So where are you from son."

Ron swallowed his food, "Middleton…just south of Upperton."

The man smiled, "I see you still have your training beret on, are you with the Mahal?"

Ron smiled, "No I'm going into the Golani Brigade."

The man smiled, "Reserves or regulars."

Ron took another bite of food, "Regulars"

"Good for you, so how do you like the IDF so far." The man asked.

Ron chuckled, "I'd like it more if I wasn't still in basic."

The man laughed, "Of course, of course, I am Benjamin Franks…I was in the IAF many years ago."

Ron smiled, "I'm Ronald Stoppable…You flew jets?"

The man laughed, "No…no…eyes were too bad, I was ground crew…So you're the one that has everyone is talking about here?"

Ron looked up, "Talking about?"

"Yes, you shot those two terrorists this morning…They were part of the PLF." The man told him.

Ron shook his head, "PLF?"

The man laughed, "There are many, many terrorist groups over here, Hamas, PLO, Islamic Jihad, and the Palestinian Liberation Front…and you killed two of the bastards…head shots too from what I heard."

Ron swallowed hard and almost choked on his food, he suddenly losing interest in his food, "Yes sir."

The man looked at Ron, "You didn't know who they were."

"No…all I knew was they killed two men in our company." Ron told him.

"Then you must be very proud that you were able to avenge their deaths." The older man said as he slapped Ron on the shoulder.

Ron smiled and nodded, _"They wouldn't have had me here if I wouldn't have killed those two…They would rather have self-important Jobnicks than ground pounders like me here…They make prettier speeches…Ohhhhhhhhhh Noooooooo please don't make me make a speech." _

"Eat up; you never know when you'll get a chance like this again." The man told him.

He nodded and ate some more turkey, _"I wish Kim would write me…I wish…I was still at…No…If I stayed home I'd be going to a Junior College and Kim would have met her new boyfriend anyway…That's the only reason I can think of for not writing."_

"You look distracted?" The man asked.

"Just thinking of my girlfriend back home…Haven't heard from her in a while…I think she's moved on." Ron said sadly.

The man nodded understandingly, "You are over here, she is over there…it happens…Find you a nice Israeli girl and settle down and you will find true happiness."

Ron smiled and nodded.

The dinner continued and then the speech making by various members of the American Friends of the IDF, Ron felt a hand on his shoulder it was Mr. Halevy, "Hello Ronald…I was hoping to bump into you here…You had quite a day from what I hear."

Ron nodded and said nothing.

Mr. Halevy sat next to Ron, "We are going to bring you up for a few words, I will ask you some questions and all you have to do is answer them."

Ron nodded nervously, "OK"

It was like some sick dream, one minute Ron was half starved with little or no sleep on a mountain side with his company eating out of a bag and the next minute he had more food than he knew what to do with.

Now everyone wanted to hear him brag about shooting two men in the head, he felt like he was a thousand miles away staring at himself, he could barely hear Mr. Halevy's speech.

He was sure it had something to do with Zionism and pride in Israel but he wasn't sure, then he heard himself being introduced as a proud defender of the State of Israel. Ron stood nervously and nodded to the crowd that was applauding.

Mr. Halevy put a microphone to in Ron's face, "We heard on the news about what happened in Kabatiya, this morning…Tell us a little about what happened last night, Ronald"

Ron looked around nervously, "I was coming off guard duty…I was guarding an ammo bunker…One of my friends came up and said that they couldn't wake up the guards at the front gate…I went up to the gate and discovered two of my friends…were murdered…I sounded the alarm….We were ordered to assemble and then we went to go find the ones that did it."

Mr. Halvey seemed surprised by Ron's story, "So you were actually a lot more involved than what we had heard."

Ron's eyes were darting around the room; he really didn't want to talk anymore about what had happened that morning.

"So your company marched down to Kabatiya and then what happened?" Mr. Halvey continued to inquire of Ron.

"Ummmmm…we marched down to Kabatiya…and we surrounded a building to wait for the Paratroopers to arrive…I was positioned behind the building, the Paratroopers arrived and there was some gunfire…Two men came thru a window and then they came running at me…They saw me raised their rifles that they took from the guards…and then…I shot them." Ron finished the story and nodded his head as people applauded him.

He quickly left the stage and shook a few hands as he headed for the door, _"I want to go home…I want to go back to my company."_

The jobnicks that chased him away from the table met him at the door, "If we knew who you were you could have eaten with us."

Ron smiled and nodded and in his best Hebrew told them what he thought, "I would have soon eaten with dogs."

He walked out the front entrance and found the hummer he came in, woke the driver and headed back to the base, _"I definitely don't think I would have been invited if I wouldn't have shot those men…Strange country…they want nothing but peace but they love killing Arabs…Very strange country indeed."_

Ron arrived back at Bezeq very late and he walked into the barracks and undressed. Sergei looked up from his bed, "So what did you do in Tel Aviv?"

He chuckled, "You were right…They made me a general…Now go to sleep that is an order."

Sergei smiled, "I bought you some socks."

Ron lay down in the bed, "Thank You"

* * *

Reveille sounded at 05:00 hours, the company got up and made their bunks and prepared for morning inspection. Ron looked over and noticed that Lipsky and Minkle's gear and personal belongings were now gone; only their empty bunks remained.

After inspection was complete they ate breakfast and prepared they're jawbreaker packs and assembled onto the parade ground, "New socks feel great Sergei."

Sergei was bubbling over with excitement, "Yes, we get this march over, a week of Liberty, take care of your lusting problem and then return for our final two weeks."

Ron shook his head, "No…No…I like my lusting problem….No prostitutes."

Ron was feeling good he had plenty of rest and a good meal the night before, _"Let's see 72 Kilometers that's…45 miles?"_

The sky was overcast and the temperature was cool, perfect for a march, Sergeant Eldar and the Company Commander called them to order and the command was given, "Machine gunner to the front…Move out."

They marched out the front gate, Ron noticed that the guard houses had been cleaned since the murder and then they turned south and headed towards Kabitiya. When they reached the Arab villages, the residents stared at them impassively from their coffee houses.

Then they turned west and kept on marching, the company was far more serious on this march, having lost two of their own the previous day, Ron smiled and decided to mess with his friend Tirza, "Hey Tirza…Smiley…Know any more screwed up American songs?"

Tirza smiled and turned, "Sorry Big Time, it is too cold to sing, it is nearly seven Celsius."

Ron nodded, "That is what…40 degrees in America? That is not cold."

Danke Yaish laughed, "Easy for you to say…I am freezing my penis off."

They marched by an airfield, Ron watched as airplanes landed and took off, _"Cool, I wish I could fly one of those things…Fly over and see Kim."_

At the end of the day they reached a mountain, the Company Commander pointed to the mountain, "Climb that mountain there and set up camp."

They sat up camp and passed around MRE's for the evening meal, Ron shook his head, _"Man…Eggs and Luff again."_

They started to hear chanting from the other side of the mountain; Ron listened and then figured it out, "Sergei…Second Platoon is in trouble again."

_"We are whores, we have always been whores, but now we will be friends"_ Second platoon chanted over and over again.

Sergei smiled, "I wonder what they did?"

Ron sat on the ground and put his hands behind his head, "No telling."

Corporal Shomron came up from behind the two, "So this is all you have to do...Stand at attention."

Ron and Sergei stood at attention, and Corporal Shomron told them their punishment, "You will place your hands behind your heads and say "I am a prisoner" as you run between those to rocks over there."

Ron and Sergei ran between the two rocks with their hands behind their heads, it was all Ron could do to keep from laughing. Then Corporal Shomron told them to halt, "You will now run around those rocks with your hands at your side and say "I am not a prisoner."

Ron and Sergei ran between the rocks again with their hands at their sides, until Corporal Shomron ordered them to halt, "You will now run around the rocks normally and you will say "I am a soldier in the IDF…Now Run."

They ran around the rocks once again until Corporal Shomron told them to stop and then he left. Ron started laughing, "That was pretty good."

Sergei nodded, "Yes that was interesting punishment."

They assigned camp guards and their shifts, now no one slept on guard duty. The rest of the company "C" spent the night in their tents and arose before dawn to prepare for their trip back to base; they broke camp and had a quick morning service as today was the Shabbat.

Then they turned and headed back to base, the weather was much like the day before except now it was raining, Ron dug his rain poncho out and put it on, _"Great, just great, wet walk home."_

The slogged along at a much slower pace as the dirt roads were turning to mud, this time there was no sightseeing and when the company drug through Kabitiya there was no one in the coffee houses and Ron never even glanced at where he had to shoot the men two days ago.

They finally stumbled into the base, they were ordered to clean up their gear and stow it away and then clean themselves up and get ready for Liberty in the morning.

Ron stood in line at the payphones and used his calling card to call the Oster's to let them know he was coming to their home for the week. He was so excited he could barely sleep, _"I get back to the Oster's I get the Ronnunicator and I call Kim…I hope everything is ok with her."_

* * *

Kim sat in front of the computer looking over Ron's emails that she hadn't read since August, "I should have written him…I'll…wait, he says he won't be home until around Chanukah…That's in December…I've got plenty of time to reply."

Kim closed out her email account and sat in front of the computer, _"Ron was right…we are stuck with each other…Candi and Mortimer seem to be doing okay…I still feel like a lab rat."_

She walked over to the Kimmunicator and tried to contact him, _"No connection, well Wade had it right once…I'm sure Ron doesn't have it with in training, we'll get it fixed by Christmas…No I'll head over there and surprise him….He'll like that."_

Kim sat on the bed and crossed her legs, _"I still can't believe he shot those men…They were pointing rifles at him…but…wow…I can't tell him about the truth ray…I do know how he feels now…I feel doomed…Doomed to live out my life as a lab rat."_

* * *

Ron woke up early before reveille and ran to computer room and used the last of his computer time to check his email, _"I bet Kim has written me twenty emails by now."_

He logged into his email account and there were no messages from Kim, Ron sat and stared at the screen and shook his head, "Well….damn."

Ron opened one of the three emails from Monique:

_Hey Ron _

_Things are good here, you aren't missing much. _

_Congratulations _

_As far as Kim goes…You really need to talk to her. _

_I'm not getting involved. _

_Love ya _

_Mon'" _

Ron stared at the monitor, _"I guess I don't need to inquire any further…I wish she would have told me." _

He turned the computer off and ran back to the barracks to get ready for reveille.

"Ronnie…ready for Liberty?" Sergei asked as Ron ran into the barracks.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh yeaaaaaa, now about those places in Bat Yam." Ron asked with a smile.

Sergei shook his head, "We will cure your lusting problem in no time."

The went through morning inspection, Ron skipped breakfast as he was tired of eating luff and eggs or luff and cucumbers and toast. Then it was off to the parade ground to wait for the buses.

Sergeant Eldar reviewed the company, "You all look very pretty, relax and focus on the big march when you come back…Private Stoppable…Find you a prostitute."

Everyone started laughing and whistling, Ron just shook his head as they were dismissed, "I'm not going to find me a prostitute."

"Of course not Ronnie, I will find one for you…One with great big tits." Sergei laughed and slapped him on the back.

They rode the bus back to Tel Aviv and the Oster's were waiting to pick Ron up, Ron stepped off the bus and hugged them and then retrieved his rifle and duffle bags from the bus.

"So Sima how many boyfriends do you have now?" he asked as he loaded his gear in the car.

Sima smiled, "One or two, did you hear about Yosef?"

Ron nodded, "Yes I heard"

They rode back to the Oster's house Ron enjoyed being back in civilization again. They returned to Bat Yam and Ron toted his gear back to his room, _"I'm going to try and call Kim."_

Ron dug the device out of the dresser and stared at it, then he hit the button to call Kim, "No signal….WADE!"

Ron sat on the bed and stared out towards a the Mediterranean, "I guess I'll focus on catching up with the Oster's today."


	24. Chapter 24

Mature note...Many prostitue refrences...

* * *

It was Wednesday and Ron was out walking on an empty beach, it was winter time in Israel and the only people on the beach were the die hard joggers and the occasional surfer, _"I've went out with Sergei the last two nights, he didn't have any problems paying for a prostitute…He's older than me…been around a little…I just can't do that."_

He had walked further than he had ever walked on the beach before, he turned and started to walk back, _"Still Kim's gone…I wish she would have told me…I guess…she didn't want to hurt my feelings…Maybe one day we can get back together…Man…that surfing looks like fun…I'm going to have to buy a board next summer."_

Ron stopped walking down the beach again and looked out into the Mediterranean, _"I shot two men last week…I can't believe it…It seems like such a bad dream…They must of done something to me at Yamanouchi…I surprised I don't feel worse than I do…I don't know maybe this is normal."_

He continued to walk back up to Hatsmayut Street and continued down the street to the little store on the corner, he bought a bag of chocolate milk and a kosher caramel kiss pastry and walked to the park that served to dived east and west bound traffic on Hatsmayut and sat on a bench.

"_Everyone's running around like its zero outside, big heavy parkas, it's only what…about 40 degrees?"_ Ron thought as he ate his pastry.

Ron popped the straw into the bag of chocolate milk and took a drink, _"Ahhhhhh this is good stuff…bendy straws too…weird…all I ever wanted to do since I got to Bezeq was to go out on Liberty…Now I'm missing the base."_

He finished his milk and stood up and walked back the Oster's, he walked in the front door and headed upstairs to the dining room and sat in a chair looking out towards the Mediterranean Sea, _"I wish Wade had those communicators working…Would have liked to have tried talking to Kim…even if she was going to dump me gently this time…just to hear her voice…Stop it…she's moved on…forget about it."_

"Telephone call for you…I think it is Sergei." Sima said as she walked into the room.

Ron smiled and nodded, "Thank you"

Ron stood up and walked downstairs to the phone, _"I don't think I'll go to any more brothels with him…They're such sad places."_

"Hello Sergei" Ron said happily as he answered the phone.

"Hello Big Time Ronnieeeeee…Put on your dress uniform…we are going out tonight." He told Ron happily.

Ron looked around the room to see if anyone was listening and then he said in a quiet voice, "I don't really want to go to any more brothels."

Sergei laughed, "If you would get over your fear of working ladies it wouldn't be so bad, but that is not why I called…The IDF is sponsoring a dance down at the King David Hotel tonight."

"A dance…I didn't think the army danced." Ron said trying hard not to laugh.

Sergei was silent for a moment, "Maybe that is last week of basic training…It is a dance for young single IDF men to meet young single IDF ladies…and then get married and raise big fat babies for the state."

"GIRLS IN BERETS…I am so going, what time is the dance?" Ron said as he looked around the room again to see if he was making too much noise.

Sergei told him the time and Ron told him he'd meet him at the dance then hung up the phone, _"I got a few hours, I think I'll take a nap…catch some dinner and head out."_

* * *

"Kind of early to be working isn't it Kim?" Dr. Wong observed as Kim was trying to hook up the equipment by herself. 

Kim shook her head, "I've tried other times but he's either asleep or getting ready for bed, He's home on leave…I know that much."

Dr. Wong nodded, "Have you fed Candi and Mortimer this morning?"

Kim nodded her head as she sat down in the chair, "Yes, Mortimer is still giving Candi food pellets…Ok…I think it should be late afternoon in Israel."

Dr. Wong dimmed the lights and started working with one of the three workstations, "Are you able to make contact with Ron?"

Kim nodded and smiled, "He's in his uniform and looking at himself in the mirror…He looks so good…very tan…and his hair is so short!" Kim let out a giggle, "Look at those ears."

Ron looked at himself in the mirror, _"Well at least we're not going to the brothels again…I'm not going to throw money away like that…I can't believe Kim moved on and didn't tell me."_

"I didn't move on…Quit thinking that Ron." Kim said quietly to herself.

Ron was looking at the Ronnunicator, _"I wish this thing worked…no emails…no letters…she wouldn't of answered it anyway…oh well at least Monique was straight with me."_

Kim gasped, "MONIQUE…what did you tell him?"

Ron smiled at himself in the mirror, _"Time to meet up with Sergei at that dance… he said…what…meet nice single IDF girls get married and have nice fat babies for Israel…he, he, he, if they're his babies they sure will be fat."_

"Ron…You better not be looking for a new girlfriend…MONIQUE you are so dead." Kim said as she shook her head.

"Have you tried to implant a thought or talk to him yet?" Dr. Wong asked.

She shook her head, "No…no…I'll try that now..."

She closed her eyes and focused on talking to Ron, "…No…His…mind is very cluttered lots of different thoughts…big march…where he's going to be posted…girls in berets…I should have wore that beret more often."

Ron walked out the door of his room and ran into Sima, "Hello Sima, I am going to the big dance tonight."

"So you broke up with Kim?" Sima asked.

Ron nodded, "I did not so much break up as she moved on…She met someone nice, I am sure of it."

Sima nodded, "So you are not sad?"

Ron nodded and held up his thmb and index finger, " A little…a little bit sad…Too busy to be really sad…What is for dinner? I am very hungry."

"Mamma has made luff and eggs." Sima told him trying to hide her smile.

Ron shook his head, "You are really funny…luff and eggs….you are not serious are you?"

Sima started laughing, "Noooooooo…Mamma is fixing Lamb and Cabbage stew."

Ron nodded and headed down the stairs, _"I don't know why that sounds so gross?"_

Kim missed the entire conversation since it was in Hebrew, "Ron keep thinking English for me."

Ron spun around in a circle, "KIM?"

Kim put her hand over her mouth, _"OH MY GOD HE HEARD ME."_

Ron shook his head kept going downstairs, _"That was weird…Probably just missing her too much…have to stop that…That ship has sailed."_

Kim kept her hand over her mouth, _"I can't tell him I don't have a boyfriend because then I'd have to explain everything else…He'd get really mad at me…ohhhhhhh nooooo."_

Dr. Wong walked over to the chair, "Something wrong?"

Kim nodded, "He heard me….I don't want him to hear me…I don't want him to get mad at me."

Dr. Wong nodded, "I'll turn down the output just a bit then."

She walked back behind the workstations and fiddled with one of the computers, "How's that?"

Kim closed her eyes and thought real hard, "RON, I haven't found a new boyfriend."

She had her eyes closed and noticed no difference in Ron's behavior as he was eating dinner, _"I can't figure out why I hate this so much…I mean it tastes good and everything."_

"Ron is everything alright? You look like you swallowed something rotten." Sharon Oster asked concerned with his reaction to her cooking.

Ron chuckled and shook his head, "No it is good, I just thought it would taste bad…I don't like cabbage much."

"Oh…I found the recipe in a cook book for food from Norway." She explained to him as began to put the dirty plates into the sink.

"He loved it didn't you Ronnie." Eli asked trying to convince Sharon that the stew was good.

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's very good, especially with the bread."

"_Norway…I hate Norway…Why do I hate Norway…weird?"_ Ron thought as he finished his plate.

Kim looked around the lab, _"I hate Norway too…that is so weird…We really do have a lot in common."_

Dr. Wong came up to the chair again, "Problems?"

She shook her head kept her eyes closed, "No…He's talking in Hebrew and I don't speak the language."

Dr. Wong nodded, "We have some language filters, let me see if I can find one that will work for this program."

Kim gave Dr. Wong a thumbs up and continued to focus on what Ron was going through, "Sounds Spankin'"

Ron was in a car now headed to the King David hotel, he had never been in that part of town so he was taking everything in.

Kim shook her head, _"It doesn't look that much different than Middleton…except for the signs I can't read."_

They arrived in front of the King David hotel, and Ron began to get out of the car, "I will call when I am ready to leave."

Sharon nodded, "Not too late, I have a big day tomorrow."

Kim's eyes grew big, "I understood that."

Dr. Wong nodded, "Good I picked the right program then."

Ron nodded, "Thank you for the ride."

He took his beret off his left shoulder and placed it on his head and then he spotted Sergei, "You just get here too?"

Sergei nodded, "I took the bus…Lot's of ladies looking for Lone Soldiers tonight…We are the only soldiers with any money to spend."

Ron chuckled, "Well at least I do, you spent all yours on whores."

Sergei smiled, "Not all…The one I was with last night…The one you would not have anything to do with…she actually moved…I think she liked me?"

Ron looked at him strange, "Moved?"

"Yes moved, most of the prostitutes just lay there until you get done and then take your 50 shekels." Sergei said as he rubbed a five shekel bill in his fingers.

Ron winced, "Too much information Sergei…five shekel cover charge?"

Sergei shook his head not understanding the term cover charge, "Admission is five shekels."

Kim smiled, _"He didn't do it with a prostitute good for you Ron."_

They walked in the door and Ron's mouth fell on the floor, "CHICKS…GIRLS…BERETS…OHHHHH…WOWWWWWWWW…"

Kim laughed, "You leave them alone…I'll wear all the berets you can handle."

Ron wondered around and saw Tirza, "SMILEY…Good to see you."

They hugged and then Tirza hugged Sergei, "Too many ladies here for just me."

Ron looked around and saw a cute little brown haired girl that reminded him of Lacey, _"She's cute, think I'll talk to her…Turn on the ol' Ronshine…yeaaaaa"_

"You'd better turn off that Ronshine mister." Kim said out loud in a harsh voice.

Dr. Wong looked up, "What is Ronshine?"

Kim giggled, "Code word of Ron's for charm."

She was seated at a large round table by herself and Ron sat down in front of her, "I see someone here needs a friend."

"Get lost big ears before I punch you in the mouth." The girl said in a slightly vicious tone.

"Or not…" Ron said nervously as he began to get up Tirza came running over.

"Ronnie…that is Bina…She bit a man's ear off in a fight last week." Tirza explained excitedly.

Bina smiled a menacing smile and began acting as though she were chomping on some big piece of meat, "You have really large ears."

Ron smiled a sick little smile, "Ummmm…yes."

Sergei came over to the table, "Pay no attention to her, she is angry bitter woman."

Bina looked at Sergei, "And you are a stupid fat large man."

"I am not fat…just big boned." Sergei said defensively.

Ron shook his head and walked away, _"Geeeeeeeezzzzzzzzz and I thought Kim was a nut."_

Kim bristled in the chair on the other side of the world, "Oh thanks a lot Ron."

Ron smiled as he looked at the couples dancing and how many girls that weren't dancing, _"Still…I sure would like to see Kim in that beret again…Of course the last time she wore one, she did kick me in the face."_

Kim put a hand over her mouth, "Ohhhhhhhh that's right." Then Kim had an evil grin, "That'll teach ya."

Ron walked to the edge of the party, _"Everyone looks like they're having a good time…I wish Kim were here."_

"I wish I were there too." Kim said quietly.

Ron walked over to the bar, "Coke"

He paid for the soda and walked around some more and then he heard a voice behind him, "Shalom"

Ron turned and there was a blonde headed girl in a green training beret, "Shalom…I am Ronald Stoppable and you are...?"

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO HER!" Kim screamed from 3,000 miles away.

Dr. Wong looked up, "Everything alright Kim?"

"No…He's talking to some blonde girl." Kim said angrily as she crossed her arm in the chair.

The Doctor chuckled, "I see."

"I am Babbette Shangra…I am from France originally." Babbette said she reached up and started to rub Ron's ear.

She was petite, blonde, and cute, Ron was starting to froth at the mouth, "Ahhhhh…soooo when did you make your aliyah?

Babbette smiled, "Only since last year, do you mind me rubbing your ears? They are so handsome."

Kim sat in the chair stewing, _"All right Babbette…Your number one on my list…Maybe number two depending on what Ron does."_

He smiled and nodded, "No…rub all you want."

"_That's it Ron…Your number one now."_ Kim shook her head and drove her right fist into the palm of her left hand three times.

Ron was smiling and enjoying the attention, _"Ahhhhh that feels so good…I wonder what she would do if I told her I had something in my pants that needed rubbing."_

Kim gasped, "RONNNNNNNNN"

Babbette stopped rubbing Ron's ears, "Would you like to dance."

Ron chuckled, "Yes of course I would like to dance."

Ron walked with Babbette out to the dance floor, _"A slow dance...Yesssss."_

Kim sat in the chair, "Ron you are so dead."

They began to dance, "Your accent…You are an American." Babbette asked.

He nodded, "Yes I made my aliyah in June. I'm almost done with my training with Golani."

Babbette frowned, "You will be so far north, I am with the Mahal."

Ron nodded, "You'll be stationed down near Jerusalem then?"

"Yes I will be close to home…Do you know why I chose you to dance with?" Babbette asked.

Ron shrugged, "You like big ears?"

She giggled and started to rub the back of Ron's head, "It was no longer safe to be a Jew in France, what with all the rioting…So we come here and because we are from France…We are not too well received…"

She tilted her head up and kissed Ron tentatively at first and then a little more forcefully.

Ron felt a tongue snake into his mouth, _"WOW, she has such a nice tongue."_

Kim opened her eyes and looked around the room, _"OK Monique dies first, Ron next and then…Babbette gets her little French ass kicked."_

Dr. Wong noticed Kim's agitation, "Ummmmm Kim would you like to quit for the day?"

"HELL NO…opps, I mean no Dr. Wong…I'll be ok." Kim slunk back in the chair looking around the room nervously.

"Anyway…as I was saying, the French Jews aren't well liked right now because of the Government's appeasement policy, so it is hard for me to…find good boyfriends." Babbette giggled nervously.

Ron rolled his eyes, "No way…They would have to be gay not to like you."

Babbette giggled nervously and looked around, "So…are we going to start a relationship?"

Ron coughed, "Ummm…Yes…well…I mean…Babbette…I ummmm…Yes...That sounds good…Yes."

She put a finger to Ron's mouth, "Shhhhhhhhhh…How do I contact you?"

Ron blinked, _"I really didn't want a relationship right now…I just wanted to dance with a pretty girl."_

Kim had her eyes shut in the chair and shook her head angrily, _"Well Ron…It looks like you got yourself into one."_

They exchanged email addresses and Ron gave her the phone number for the Oster's, "The phone number is not my own but the people I live with…They'll know how to get in touch with me."

Babbette smiled, "It is nearly ten o'clock, I must leave now…I will contact you later Ronald Stoppable."

Ron smiled and walked her to the door where she kissed him again before she left with a few other lady IDF soldiers. They giggled and laughed at Ron and waived goodbye.

Ron stood at the door a while, _"I get the feeling that I've just been had…Oh well at least I got a dance out of it."_

Ron turned and walked back into the dance, _"Better find Sergei and Tirza and see if they met their future mates."_

He sat in a chair next to Sergei who was still arguing with Bina, Tirza was no where to be found, _"He's been here fighting with her since I left him…He has to like her?"_

Ron looked around the ballroom and began letting his mind wonder, _"So they want us all to get married…I wonder if Kim would have married me…If she did…I couldn't see her living here."_

Kim sat up straight in the chair, _"I'd marry you…I would…I'd move there…ask Ron, ask"_

Ron chuckled as he watched Sergei still trying to explain the concept of big boned to Bina, "Sergei give it up…You are fat…I had to lug your fat ass around in a stretcher."

Sergei glared, "You stay out of this Shorty."

Ron smiled, _"I'll write Kim a letter, maybe her computer is down…and she lot my address…the communicators really aren't working…Soooooooo maybe…I'll write her a letter…I'd call her on the phone…how many hours ahead or behind is the US? I don't even know how to make a call to a foreign country…I barely know how to make a phone call here…I wish that Ronnunicator worked."_

"Where did he go, what happened?" Kim asked as she sat up in the chair.

Dr. Wong looked at the workstations, "Computer crash…Microsoft junk…I say let's use open source…but noooooo don't listen to the CEO, the I.T. people know everything." Dr. Wong looked around quickly, "You didn't hear that just now."

Kim giggled and shook her head, "Nope didn't hear anything."

Dr. Wong chewed on the end of her ink pen, "I've got some fascinating data to go over, I'll probably have you working on other stuff for the rest of the week…At least until I figure out exactly what I am looking at."

She nodded, "Its ok, the machine leaves me so tired."

"With Ron being so far away, you're probably feeling more of an emotional or mental strain." Dr. Wong theorized as she started flipping through her paper work.

Kim yawned and nodded, "I never realize what a drain it is until I get out of the chair."

Dr. Wong nodded, "We'll try to figure out a way to negate the effects of the chair, spend the next hour or so taking care of the rats and cleaning out their cages and call it a day."

"OK…I can do that. "She said and then let out a big yawn as she left the lab to finish her work for the day.

* * *

"You are stupid and smell of Borscht." Bina told Sergei as there conversation went into its third hour. 

"You are angry pathetic woman…Where are you posted anyway?" Sergei asked.

Bina growled, "If it was any concern to you fat head I am posted at Tulkharm."

Sergei stood up, "I hope you have miserable time there…Come Ronnie it's time to go."

Ron was busy talking to another young lady when he heard Sergei, "I am busy talking with Solome' now…We can go later."

Sergei grabbed him by the collar of his uniform, "NO WE GO NOW!"

Ron shrugged and waived, "I guess we go now…bye, bye."

They walked out of the hotel, "That Bina, she makes me so angry."

Ron smiled, "I think you really like her, eh'."

Sergei looked startled, "NO…If I was stranded on desert island and had my choice between Bina and a pretty homosexual man…I would pick the pretty homosexual man."

Ron rubbed the back of his neck as they walked down the street, "Sergei you are starting to scare me here, you want me to share an apartment with you and you tell me you desire a pretty man…what does that say to me…huh"

Sergei waived his hands in the air, "No, no, If you…Ronnie were stranded on a desert island who would you rather be with Bina or a pretty homosexual man…who would Ronnie take?"

He chuckled a little bit, _"Let's see female homicidal maniac or Josh Mankey...That's a tough choice, Bina…I might wake up cold and dead in my bed. Josh Mankey would just want to rub baby oil all over me."_

"WELL" Sergei's insistence refocused Ron's attention to the question.

Ron looked at him, "Why are we walking?"

Sergei put his hands on top of his head, "RONNIEEEEEE"

He laughed and nodded his head, "I see your point Sergei…I see your point…Now why are we walking?"

Sergei looked at him strangely, "We are going to the bus stop."

Ron shook his head, "How do I get back to Hatsmayut Street?"

"You ride the bus…Do you know the bus schedule?" Sergei asked as he started digging in his wallet for a schedule.

He shook his head, "I have never had to look at a bus schedule."

Sergei pulled the schedule from his wallet, "You do not have buses in United States?"

Ron laughed, "Yes…but in Middleton we do not have public transportation…So I have never read a bus schedule."

"So how do you get around?" Sergei asked incredulously.

He smiled at the big man, "Everyone has a car, I had a car and a motorcycle and an old blue Vespa scooter that barely ran."

Sergei laughed at him, "So you left all that to come here and ride a bus?"

"Yes…I guess I did." Ron said as they sat on the bench and waited for the bus.

Sergei held the bus schedule up to the light, "See the 310 comes to this stop and then it will let us off at Ben Gurion, from Ben Gurion you walk down to the intersection of Ben Gurion and Hatsmayut…there you catch the 224 and then just ride it down the street to where you need to go."

"So when does the 310 get here?" Ron asked.

Sergei smiled and pointed, "There it is now."

They climbed onto the bus and Ron put his 75 argots into the coin drop and rode with Sergei to his stop, "Now you go down that way and the 224 should be by in about ten minutes."

He nodded and waived, "I will see you later."

Sergei waived and walked the other way down the street,

Ron walked down the street to the next bus stop, _"I miss my car."_

* * *

Monique sat down next to Kim at the Student Union, "OK why did you need to see me so bad?" 

Kim looked around, "What did you tell Ron in your email to him?"

Monique gave her a weird look, "What email, I've sent him a bunch of emails…unlike some others that I could name."

Kim looked around, "Look…I've got a new job where dad works…I'm trying to figure out a way to explain this without sounding insane."

"You've never worried about sanity before." Monique said trying not to laugh.

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head, "Monique…Ron and I were exposed to a truth ray about three years ago…There are some Side effects…When Ron and I are separated we become mentally…unstable…we are in a symbiotic relationship according to Dr. Wong."

Monique started laughing, "Oh…Kim…You are so full of it."

Kim shook her head, "MONIQUE…There's a machine at the lab that they hooked me up to where I can hear and see Ron's thoughts."

"Girl you have lost your marbles." Monique said as she started to leave.

Kim panicked, "Don't go…not yet."

Monique looked around and sat back down, "OK tell me your story."

"I was hooked up the machine last week and…" Kim looked around, "I saw Ron shoot two men in a gun battle over there…One minute he's missing me and then bang, bang two dead guys." Kim said nervously.

"Why did he shoot them?" Monique asked still not quite believing Kim's story.

Kim shook her head, "I don't know…because they were bad…Anyway we've been trying to contact him again and weren't having much luck till yesterday…He thinks I have a new boyfriend and it's because of one of your emails."

Monique shifted in her seat nervously, "Oh…That email."

"What did you tell him?" Kim urgently asked her.

She smiled, "Not that I believe anything your telling me but…I told him the truth."

"MONIQUE…I was under the influence of the truth ray." Kim was becoming agitated.

Monique looked around, "Kim…He said he hadn't heard from you in a while and wanted to know if you had a new boyfriend…I told him he'd have to ask you and I was staying out of it."

"That's the same as telling him." Kim said pointing a finger at him.

"So you can read his thoughts, well why don't you send him an email so he can read your thoughts." Monique said accusingly.

Kim shook her head, "Monique…I can't tell Ron about any of this…He has such a bad temper because of this ray…You've seen his temper…I…He was at a party last night and met a blonde French girl…"

Monique crossed her arms, "So you're spying on him then."

"NO it's not like that at all…It's…I…I'm not spying on Ron." Kim said nervously

"Do you think Ron would see it that way?" Monique asked as she leaned back in her chair.

Kim tilted her head from side to side ant then tried to speak and then finally found her voice, "I never thought of it like that…I mean…I…Your trying to change the subject."

Monique nodded, "IF and I mean IF I believed your story…Would you want someone crawling around in your head listening to your thoughts?"

Kim sat in her chair and blinked, "NO"

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Kim, "Remember TC?"

"TC?" Kim asked not quite understanding what Monique was getting at.

Monique looked around the break room of the student union, "The Chip?"

Kim closed her eyes at the memory, "Oh God, he'd never talk to me again."

The thought of Gertrude and Edger went through her head and she put a hand over her mouth, "Without Edger…Gertrude died?"

"Who?" Monique lifted an eyebrow, "Kim are you cracking up again?"

Kim shook her head and replied distantly, "No…I just have something else to think about…that's all."

"Kim get in touch with Ron…even if he did shoot two guys, I think he'd like to talk to you." Monique suggested.

Kim smiled, "I'm going drop by and see him during Christmas break."

Monique nodded and smiled, "I think I've got you one up on you then."

Kim shook her head not quite understanding what Monique was getting at, "What?"

"You know how you have to have three credit hours of a foreign language?" Monique asked.

Kim nodded her head and Monique continued, "I'm going to study Hebrew next semester and when Club Banana opens a store up in Tel Aviv…I'll be able to manage the store, then I can take care of Ron and his loneliness…I may even convert to Judaism."

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Ohhhhhhhhh Noooooo how could you Monique?"

She smiled, "Hey you quit writing him and talking to him…I figure he needs me right about now."

Kim stood up and picked up her books, "I'm going to add that Hebrew class to my course load next semester, you're not getting your hands on him again."

Monique smiled as she watched Kim stomp out of the break room, _"Psyche…I'm taking Spanish…The only way to get that girl moving is to act interested in Ron…Then that natural Kimminess takes over…He's going to hook up with that little blonde French girl if someone doesn't kickKim in the ass and get her over there."_

* * *

Leave was over and Ron, Sergei and Tirza were riding the bus back to Bezeq to start the final two weeks of training,

Tirza smiled and looked over the seat, "So Ronnie how did you do with Babbette?"

Ron shook his head, "I think that was a joke or a setup of some kind, I don't think I'll ever hear from her again…Now Solome' if someone would have given me time to talk with her…Who knows."

Sergei shook his head, "Oh sure blame me for not solving your lusting problem, you had four chances to take care of it during the week and you were too squeamish."

He chuckled, "That party was good enough, all those gals with berets…Babbette…That really helped."

Tirza smiled, "She took down all the phone numbers and emails of the guys, you were the only one she danced with?"

Ron turned and looked at Tirza, "Smiley...How do you know this?"

"Because when she made it around to me and got my phone number she wanted to know who you were and I told her that is the man who shot two terrorists in the head last week." Tirza said happily.

Ron shook his head, "Tirza…do not go running around telling everyone that…I just…would rather forget it."

Tirza shook his head, "No way, you are big time hero now…You would have had women all over you if you would have told them this."

Ron frowned and shook his head, "You will not understand until you actually have to shoot someone…It is nothing to brag about…It makes me sick and I do not like thinking about it."

Tirza nodded, "I think she liked you anyway…You were blonde headed man."

Ron shrugged, "Maybe…Sergei found a new love…Binaaaaaaaaaa."

Sergei pointed at Ron, "I do not like that mean girl."

Ron and Tirza laughed, "You sat there and bickered with her for three hours Sergei…come on now admit it."

"Whatever" Sergei said in English.

Ron laughed, "Yea Whatever."

Sergei looked over at Tirza, "I did not see you much, where did you go?"

Tirza smiled, "I met someone…danced and then we found a quiet spot."

Ron started clapping, "Tirza the ladies man…So when are you getting married?"

He waived a hand at Ron, "Not so fast…I have to take her to meet mamma first."

Ron and Sergei started laughing and Ron started clapping, "I know what that means…I take nice Jewish girl to meet my momma, she will plan for a big wedding."

Sergei reached across the isle and slapped Tirza's on the leg, "Well now you have to tell us about her."

Tirza smiled, "Her name Miriam and she's a settler girl…"

Ron and Sergei chimed in, "A settler girlllllllll…ohhhhhh yeaaaaaaa."

"She is from Massua in the Jordan Valley…She is very pretty." Tirza said quietly.

Sergei smiled, "So did you see her after the dance?"

He smiled sheepishly, "We went out twice already and then we ate dinner together during the Shabbat."

Ron smiled, "Sounds like serious girlfriend to me."

"At least one of us found a girlfriend at that dance….Mazel Tov." Sergei told him as he reached out and shook his hand.

"Yes…Mazel Tov Tirza" Ron said as he reached over and shook Tirza's hand.

Tirza shook Ron's hand, "But we are not married yet."

Ron pointed at him, "Yes but you are closer to being married than us….Oh except maybe Sergei and Bina…Mazel Tov."

Sergei shook his head, "As if that will ever happen…I would as soon marry the blonde prostitute that moved the other night."

Ron started laughing, "Then maybe you would get some action for free then."

Sergei raised his hands and acted like he was choking Ron, "Keep it up and you will from Big Time to Short Time."

The bus arrived at the base and the three got off and collected their gear and then followed the other soldiers into the barracks to start preparing for their final two weeks of basic training.


	25. Chapter 25

The platoon was assembled on the parade ground; Ron was in full battle dress with his body armor, jawbreaker pack, rifle, and helmet, 110 pounds worth of gear waiting for the march to begin.

Trucks rolled up and Sergeant Eldar ordered the troops into the back, "We are going to train on entering and exiting a helicopter before we fly off to the Negev desert to start the march."

It was the first week of December and it was cold and overcast as the platoon rode off in the trucks for fields not far from the base there they would board Owl helicopters and fly south.

Ron recognized the helicopter immediately, _"These are Blackhawk helicopters…No Hebrew word for Blackhawk so over here they are just called Owls."_

They practiced entering the helicopters and how to quickly get out in case of an emergency or if they were under fire, Ron paid attention to the lesson, "_Useful safety tips."_

Israel is a very small country that can easily be driven across in a few hours; however this flight was going from north to south. They flew for about and two and a half hours, and sat down just north of Elat Airport just off the Gulf of Aquba.

The helicopters landed and the Ron and the rest of the platoon hopped off, Sergeant Eldar and the Platoon Leader ordered them to assemble quickly, "Faster, faster or we will end up marching all night.

Once the platoon was assembled the order came out, "Company C has drawn the honor of being the first company in line of march, now…machine gunner to the front, move out."

Ron was excited and happy the march was finally under way, _"Get this thing done and everything else is easy…No more forced marches."_

* * *

Kim stared at the cage that held Candi and Mortimer, watched them interact and play together, "I wonder…Maybe…I'll try to separate them and see how far I can get them apart." 

She put on a pair of powder free latex gloves and reached into the Plexiglas cage and picked Mortimer up, almost immediately Candi began to run around in circles and hurl her body against the cage.

The force of Cani's body hitting the Plexiglas side of the cage unnerved Kim as the cage began to move off the table, Kim quickly grabbed the cage and put Mortimer back in side.

Once inside they began playing and then Candi began bringing Mortimer food pellets, _"She was afraid of losing him…I can relate to that."_

Dr. Wong entered the lab, "Ready to go next door and work with the mental focusing unit?"

Kim shook her head, "No…I was thinking that…Maybe we are invading Ron's privacy…I just don't want him to hate me."

"I never really thought about privacy issues, well if you don't want to use the mental focuser, we won't…Have you noticed any changes in yourself since you were attached to the machine?" Dr. Wong asked as she pulled out a pen light and looked into Kim's eyes.

She remained still while Dr. Wong looked into her eyes, "No…Well yes, I'm not smoking as much."

Dr. Wong smiled, "Do you feel less stress, since you are able to keep in touch with him?"

Kim frowned, "I feel better but…I honestly think the chair might be addictive…I've wanted to do nothing but sit in the chair since I came in this morning."

"Do you think it's the chair or the pull of your feelings towards Ron?" Dr. Wong asked as she pulled out her clipboard to take notes.

She pulled the latex gloves off her hands and was silent for a long moment, "My feelings for Ron…I loved knowing that he's ok…I get mad at some of the things he did at that party…It's always Ron though…I haven't seen him in nearly six months…and…and…I want a cigarette."

Kim closed her eyes and put her hand over her mouth, _"I…I have to go in the chair…No…Don't cry…Maybe an hour in the chair…I'm…loosing my grip…Stay together…Don't wig out…not here…"_

She opened her eyes and there was Dr. Wong, "Kim…are you having emotional problems right now?"

"Yes…I want…I need to sit in the chair…its killing me…I want to see Ron." Kim said as she started to shake.

Dr. Wong looked at her nervously, "We could try it for just a little while, and it's been several days since you were in it."

Kim's eyes went wide, "YES…I NEED TO SEE RONNN."

They quickly moved into the lab next door and Kim sat in the chair and placed the head gear on, "I'm ok over here."

Dr. Wong nodded and opened the necessary programs, "I'm up and running here."

Kim let out a deep breath and noticed that she was sweating, "I'm concentrating…."

She could see Ron marching in the rain, _"Weird rain storm in the desert…Good about time they called a halt…find my rain poncho…Ahhhhhh didn't forget it…good."_

Ron stood up straight and worked his shoulders, _"Damn jawbreaker is giving me a blister on my shoulder from the strap…I hope it doesn't get any worse."_

He looked around and saw that everyone looked like they were still in good spirits, "Corporal Shomron…How far do you think we have marched?"

"Only maybe 20 kilometers, how are your feet doing?" The Corporal asked looking down at Ron's boots.

Ron stomped his feet, "They feel pretty good, new socks."

The corporal smiled, "Do not worry you will make good infantry man…Remember you feet get limber after the first few thousand kilometers."

Ron nodded and then started digging in his pack again, _"Condom, condom where did I put that condom…I know it didn't get used in Bat Yam…Ahhhhhhhh here we go."_

Kim made a face in the chair back in Middleton, "Ron…?"

Ron pulled his rifle off his shoulder and pointed the barrel towards the ground and a little bit of water rolled out. He looked up at the desert and the rain was coming in sheets now.

He fought the wind as he brought the rifle up and rolled the condom over the barrel of the rifle to keep the water out, _"Ok…dust cover still on…good…man it's raining hard."_

Kim nodded and smiled, "Now that's clever."

She could hear Ron grunt and groan as he put the pack back on, and then she felt the burning sensation in her right shoulder and quickly told Dr. Wong, "I'm feeling pain in my shoulder…Ron has a blister there."

"Do you want to quit?" Dr. Wong asked as she furiously scribbled some notes on the clipboard.

"No…I'm fine." Kim told her as she made herself comfortable in the chair.

Ron reached off to his right side and brought up a canteen and began to drink, _"Glad they let us carry two canteens this time…Weather's too crappy to bring aviation flares."_

Tirza walked up trying to pull the helmet over his eyes to keep the rain out, "Ronnie did you hear from Babbette?"

Ron chuckled, "No…I think that was a setup…I stand as much of a chance of getting an email from her as I do of getting one from Kim."

Kim frowned, "I emailed you already, check your email account."

Tirza laughed, "I don't think Sergei has heard from Bina either."

Sergeant Eldar walked the ranks, "Gear up we're moving out."

Ron fell into formation and began to march with the rest of the platoon, "Sergei, how much rain can the desert get?"

Sergei shrugged, "I do not know…This is starting to break my penis."

"Tell me about it." Ron said as he looked over at Tirza.

Tirza saw the look Ron was giving him, "What?"

Ron smiled, "You are supposed to be the medic, fix our penises."

Tirza laughed, "The only thing I have for sad, lazy soldiers is hard penis and bubble gum…and I am all out of bubble gum."

Kim put a hand over her face, _"I don't think this was a good day for the mental focusing unit…I wonder if Ron's like that all the time when I'm not around?"_

She lay back with her eyes closed as Ron kept marching and giving guys in the company a hard time, _"OK Ron, Enough of calling various guys parts of the female anatomy...He has developed such a dirty mouth."_

"_Ohhh some big guy just threw a hand full of wet sand at him…He's laughing and promising to shut up…Good."_ Kim shook her head at what was going on as the march continued.

Kim was startled and she let out a scream, Dr. Wong looked up, "What's going on…Should I shut down the chair?"

"Nooooooooo…He's…fantasizing and I can see it…clearly." Kim's eyes were closed tight as she was enjoying the new sensations.

Dr. Wong prodded her for information, "Is the fantasy of a sexual nature?"

Kim shook her head, "No…I think it is one I'd better keep to myself though."

"_Ohhhhhhhhh Ron…wow…I don't believe it…yes I do…."_ Kim smiled as she enjoyed the fantasy.

They were in a house, with a fire in the fireplace, it was winter and Kim was holding a baby. A daughter and he was kissing her forehead and playing with the baby and saying sweet things to her that she couldn't quite understand and then the image faded and she was back on the long march.

She could see Ron shake his head and an overwhelming sadness came over her. Then Ron's thoughts were coming through again, _"Stop it…STOP IT…Those things aren't for you…Remember what Sensei said…I'll never have that kind of life….focus on what you are doing."_

Kim was fighting back tears, _"SCREW SENSEI…Ron you can have that kind of life."_

Ron's mind was blank as the march continued, he looked over towards Tirza, "What?"

Ron shrugged, "If we stop again…I might need you to look at my shoulder…The webbing is giving me a blister."

Tirza nodded, "I will look at it."

Kim opened her eyes and realized that the pain in the shoulder was getting worse, "Dr. Wong…Can you look at my shoulder?"

Dr. Wong walked over to Kim, "Which one?"

Kim pulled her shirt up, "Right"

"Oh my…That's an ugly looking blister…Ron's must be getting worse." She observed.

Kim nodded, "Yea"

Dr. Wong took measurements of the blister and Kim closed her eyes again and focused on Ron, _"I can feel him tiring out, that rain has turned the desert into a bog."_

"_Kim's boyfriend is probably nice…rich…can buy her things I couldn't….She probably wouldn't let the kids be brought up Jewish anyway."_ Kim could see the ground and Ron shook his head back and forth.

She wiped a tear from her eye, _"I am so going to kick your ass…Why don't you talk to me about these things?"_

"_He won't talk to you about them because he's afraid of the answers and doesn't want to make me mad…Or drive me away, Ohhhhhhh I've got so much to think about."_ Kim shook her head and let out a deep breath.

She looked up at Dr. Wong, "I'm ready to quit…I'm really tired…Ron's really tired."

Dr. Wong looked at the time, "Oh….We missed our hour mark…You've been in the chair for a little over three hours."

Kim struggled to get up, "I'm going home now…It was good seeing Ron…Thank you."

"Alright Kim…We'll see you tomorrow." Then Dr. Wong went to the business of data retrieval.

She frowned and shook her head, _"She may be right about the chair…I'll bring an egg timer next time so we don't lose track of time."_

* * *

"Company HALT." Sergeant Eldar yelled as he took over the field radio. 

He talked and nodded his head as Ron and the rest of the company stood watching, then he hung up the field radio, "I have been told that we are a thousand meters away from our rear…So we will wait here for the rest of the Platoon."

Ron sat on his butt in the wet sand and took his helmet off, the rain continued to fall as he took off his pack and rain poncho. Tirza came over and helped him unbutton his shirt.

"Ewwwwwww that is a nasty one." Tirza exclaimed as he made a face and started digging in his medical bag.

Ron looked at the ugly purplish blister on his shoulder, "You are going to have to lance it…yes?"

Tirza nodded and pulled out a scalpel and sliced the blister, purplish blood sprayed out from the incision and Ron yelped as Tirza quickly put a dressing on it, "You have your pack cinched to tightly…You need to loosen it just a bit."

Kim was at home napping when she felt a sudden bolt of pain through her shoulder, "Ahhhhhgggggghhhhh…That hurt."

Then she sat up in bed, "I can feel what's happening to him without the chair!"

Ron was breathing hard as Tirza finished taping him up, "Do you feel better?"

He closed his eyes and nodded, "Yes, help me to my feet, I am soaked to the bone and I am tired of sitting in a puddle of water."

Tirza helped pull him to his feet, Ron looked pale and then his eyes started to roll back in his head, Tirza looked over towards Sergie, "Help me with him."

Sergei reached over and grabbed Ron's left arm, "Ronnie, are you alright?"

Ron smiled embarrassed that he was causing such a fuss, "I will be fine, I just need some help to get my gear back on."

"I will get your body armor." Tirza reached down and picked up the vest and helped Ron put it on.

Next came the rain poncho, Tirza helped him on with hit, "This weather is most odd, they normally only get about ten centimeters of rain a year here."

Sergei saw Ron looking towards his pack and rifle, "Ronnie leave it off until we are about to move out."

Ron nodded his head in agreement, "How far do you think we've marched so far?"

Sergei shrugged, "I am not sure, we haven't moved very quickly today because of the weather, maybe…40 kilometers…we will march well into dark before we make camp."

Ron looked behind him and saw the rest of the platoon catching up to them, Sergeant Eldar called the company to formation, "You are all very lucky…In my opinion you do not deserve this…We will march another two kilometers towards the north then we will march another eight kilometers to the west where we will find a highway….From there we will board choppers and head back to Bezeq."

Sergeant Eldar shook his head in disgust, "The march is being cut short because of rain and cold weather..."

There was much cheering and Ron just stood there with his mouth open, _"Cold weather…this isn't cold…Yamanouchi is cold, the kind of cold these desert people can't understand…Well…good, cut it short then."_

Tirza helped Ron put his gear on and shoulder his rifle, he then loosened the straps so they wouldn't dig into Ron's shoulders so much, "This should help you out some."

Ron nodded as the company set off to finish the march.

* * *

Bonnie finally received what she had been waiting for several days, "Ahhhhhhh Email from Rabbi Katz." 

"_Bonnie_

_I am happy you are doing so well in Netanya._

_I hope you are adjusting to speaking Hebrew._

_Sometimes it takes a while to pick up._

_I think finding Ronald Stoppable and having _

_Him help you is a great idea. _

_I know he is almost finished with basic training, _

_And will probably be stationed close to you._

_Here is his email address if you would like to write to him. think he would enjoy hearing from a friend._

_Good luck to you_

_Rabbi Katz"_

Bonnie smiled, _"Ahhhhhhhhh Ron, soon you'll be mine and Kim will be crushed…I will marry you and then I will crush you."_

Bonnie surfed over to and clicked on the mail button, she typed in Ron's email address and then under password typed "Kimberly", _"Well that wasn't it."_

She tried again this time using "Rufus" for the password, _"Ah ha…He's as transparent as glass…Ron's always been a good guy…Maybe I'll just crush Kim…and divorce Ron."_

"_Look at this a new email from Kimmie...Let's she what she has to say."_ Bonnie smiled as she double clicked the email message.

"_Ron_

_I'm sorry I haven't written in a while._

_I've been busy with school and work._

_I hope your doing ok and I really miss you._

_Just to ease your mind, I haven't found a new boyfriend._

_You know there couldn't be anyone else to replace you in my heart."_

Bonnie rolled her eyes, _"Danny sure did some replacing…Kimmie's lying to Ron…Kimmie hasn't been writing Ron…Ohhhhhh this will be too easy."_

"_Rufus is doing good and says "Hi"_

_Did I tell you that I miss you…A lot!"_

_I have to run…Be careful_

_Love you_

_Kim"_

She smiled as she read through Ron's email messages, _"She never mentioned Danny...It's payback time little Miss Perfect, I'm going to deprive you of the one person that means most to you…Ron."_

Bonnie started humming an Oh Boyz tune as she clicked on the "Check All" box and then she hit the delete button, _"This will make sure that my email message is the only one Ron receives…anything else…I'll just delete it."_

"_Who knows Ronnie, maybe if you tow the line and do as I say…I may just keep you around."_

Bonnie smiled as she started to write her heartfelt email to Ron.

"_Hi Ron_

_I hope that you are doing well. _

_I just started school at the Netanya Academic College, _

_I'm very lonely. There are not very many people that speak English here._

_Hebrew is so hard for me. _

_I know from what Rabbi Katz says that you will be out of basic training soon._

_I'd really like to see a familiar face._

_Please call me._

_Bonnie_

_09-833-6324"_

Bonnie was on cloud nine as she hit the send button, _"This is all just too easy."_

* * *

The next two weeks flew by for Ron; he was trained on the scorpion rubber rafts, water obstacles, and urban combat, now for the final lesson before the end of basic training close order drilling. 

Sergeant Eldar walked in front of the company, "In the IDF we teach you to fight wars not to march in parades…However since you will be marching in your commencement appearance at the Western Wall in Jerusalem…I do not wish to be embarrassed."

Sergeant Eldar and Corporal Shomron marched and drilled the company until they could march and maneuver in formation, this took most of the afternoon, "Now your marching is satisfactory, You are to receive Liberty for the Shabbat and I know that you are planning a party…Do not get so drunk that you vomit on your dress uniforms on Sunday night."

Ron smiled, _"Important safety tip"_

Sergeant Eldar looked over the company, "You all we be fine soldiers, now when I dismiss you, you will head back to the supply house and check back in all your equipment…Any equipment not accounted for your pay will be docked."

Sergei stood in the line shaking his head, "Ronnie…They are taking all our stuff away."

Ron shrugged, "We will get new stuff once we are posted."

Tirza smiled, "Less stuff we have to carry."

Ron looked around, "So where is the party going to be?"

"I think it will be at Jacob Spielman's farm just west of here…There will be much celebrating tonight." Tirza offered.

Sergei smiled, "I hope they have something harder than Rabbinical wine."

Once the gear was checked back in, they loaded up in a few large trucks and drove west to Jacob Spielman's family farm. They had survived four and a half months of training and everyone wanted to celebrate.

They built a bon fire and passed bottles of wine around, Ron began to get sauced and was enjoying the feeling know that he didn't have to drive home.

Sergei slapped Ronnie on the back, "Sooooooo tell me once again…Why did you make your aliyah?"

Ron weaved back and forth, "I had trouble in school…I was having too much sex with too many girls…Sooooooo ummmmm they sent me to this doctor and she said I was addicted to sex."

Tirza laughed, "Soooooo what does that have to do with aliyah?"

Ron gave him a stern glance, "I am getting to that…You just…have to wait…ummmm…So I try to go back to school…They say Ronnie…you have sex so much…you make girls…nervous…Sooooooooo they decided to send me to the one place on earth that I will never experience sex again."

Tirza and Sergei started laughing and chimed in with Ron, "ISRAEL"

He smiled and said softly in English, "Jinx you owe me a soda."

* * *

"Kim have you been drinking?" Mrs. Dr. Possible asked as she walked in and discovered Kim sitting in a chair with glassy eyes and a silly grin on her face.

Kim shook her head, "Nope…Not me…its Ron…Ron's tanked."

Mrs. Dr. P. gave her daughter a strange look, "Kim, Ron's in Israel…I think we need to have a talk, about your smoking and drinking."

Kim shook her head, "Nuh huh…I'm not drunk…Ron is."

Mrs. Dr. P. winced, "Kim…The first step towards recovery is to admit you have a problem. I can smell cigarette smoke on you from across the room and now it's not even 8:00AM and you're drunk."

Jim and Tim ran into the kitchen, Jim put his face right up to Kim's, "Tim, Sis is still smashed."

Kim was starting to become annoyed, "I do not need help, I do not need sommmmeee twelve step program…I am not drunk…Daddddddddddyyyyyyyyy can you drive me to work….Pleasssssssseeeeeeee."

Mr. Dr. P. shook his head from the edge of the kitchen, "Ummmmm Kimmie Cub…it's Saturday…Kim…I think you need to drink some coffee."

"Kimmie…dear…we know you miss Ron…but we think your headed down the wrong road…I'm going to make an appointment with the Bridgeway House and see if we can get you some treatment." Mrs. Dr. P. said quietly as she patted Kim's hand.

Tim and Jim started to sing a happy little rhyme, "Kimmie's a lush, Kimmie's a lush."

The bonfire finally started to burn out and Ron was running out of steam, so he finally collapsed against a bail of hay and went to sleep.

Kim's head jerked upright, she got out of the chair and walked towards the door, "OK…Great, I am not drunk, Ron is, Ron's passed out so now I'm fine."

Mrs. Dr. P. followed her to the door, "Kim honey…You're in denial."

Kim was loosing her temper, "MOTHER" She raised her hands palms out towards Mrs. Dr. P., "It's complicated…Now I have to get to work."

Kim turned and started walking towards her car, _"When I go visit Ron…He's going to have to do some fast talking."_

Mr. Dr. P. walked up behind his wife and put a hand on her shoulder, "I think if Ron ever comes back for a visit…I'm going to try and get him a job at the Space Center."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "Or we'll have to try and get Kim to go to school in Israel."

Kim wheeled into the Space Center parking lot and then realized it was Saturday morning, "Where is everyone…grrrrrrr…OK, call Dr. Wong at home."

She quickly dialed Dr. Wong's cell phone number and was connected to her voice mail, "You have reached the number of Dr. Wanda Wong, I'm not able to answer your call right now, so if you could. Leave a brief message and a number where I can reach you, I will return your call as soon as possible…Thank you…."BEEP"

"Dr. Wong, This is Kim Possible…I'm experiencing things without the chair…I need help…Call me as soon as you can." She ended the call and buried her head in her hands.

"_I need a cigarette."_

* * *

Ron awoke late in the morning he staggered behind the barn and walked down a path to a small pond and relieved himself, _"Ohhhhhhhhh I've been tipsy before but nothing like this…My head is killing me."_

"_Well at least I'm not throwing up…That was a good party…From what I remember of it."_ Ron thought as he began looking for Sergei and Tirza.

It was a cold morning he could see his breath in the air, He walked around the soldiers lying passed out on the ground until he found Sergei, "You awake?"

Sergei smiled and slowly rose to his feet, "Ronnieeeeeeeeeee…You look…terrible."

Ron smiled, "You don't look real good either."

Sergei laughed, "I have looked much worse…Rabbinical wine…Ha…Now if we had some Vodka…Now…What time is it?"

"I think it is morning, we have to load up and get back to base." He told him as he started his search for Tirza.

Ron put his hands on top of his head, "You know where Smiley is?"

Sergei started moving around, "Not sure…I can tell you he was in better shape than me last night…That little guy can drink."

Ron spotted him sitting in the corner of the barn, asleep still holding his bottle, "Tirza…Tirza wake up."

Tirza looked up at Ron and smiled and then went back to sleep, "Come on…get up…I think I am hungry."

"What am I supposed to do about that?" Tirza asked as he struggled to his feet.

Sergei spotted Jacob Spielman, "Jaaaaaaaaaaacobbbbbbb, you look good this morning."

Jacob walked over to the three men, "I should look good I slept inside."

Ron punched him in the shoulder, "So when we headed back to base?"

He scratched his head, "ahhhhhhhhhhhhh I guess soon…We have to these guys up and moving first."

Eventually the rest of the company was able to wake up and they loaded up in the trucks and returned to base. Ron still had left over computer time and decided to use it up before he left.

He showered and dressed in his dress clothes, and logged into the computer then logged into his email account, _"What the hell…Where did my emails go…Stupid Yahoo…Hmmmmmmmm email from Bonnie!"_

Ron opened the email and read the message, _"I know the feeling Bonnie, of course I'll call you."_

Ron signed off of the computer and went out to a pay phone, first he called the Oster's to let them know that he was going to in Jerusalem that evening to be sworn in and receive his brown beret and he invited them to the ceremony.

"Of course we'll be there Ronald. " Eli told him happily.

"I'll have all my cloths with me, so I'll be coming back with you guys …If that is alright." Ron said nervously.

Eli laughed, "Of course it is alright, will you be staying for the week before you report for your post?"

"Yes, looking forward to the week off, well I shall see you down there tonight at 6:00 PM then." Ron said as he quickly fished out another calling card.

They said they're goodbyes and then Ron dug Bonnie's phone number out of his pocket, _"OK Bon Bon, let's see if you are home."_

Ron dialed the number, _"09-833-6324…okay."_

A female voice answered the phone, "Shalome"

"Shalome Bonnie this is Ron…Ron Stoppable." He said happily as he heard her voice.

Bonnie turned on the sad voice, "Ron…Is that really you…I'm so glad you called, I need so much help…I'm not…adjusting to things here…I miss Middleton."

Ron frowned, "I understand, I will be off for a week before I have to report for my assignment…I will be in Bat Yam tomorrow, how do I get there to find you?"

Bonnie was quiet for a long moment, "Ron my Hebrew stinks…Ummmmm let me see…I'm in Netanya."

Ron closed his eyes and nodded, "Your just up the highway from Bat Yam, I could take a bus up there in the morning."

Bonnie's voice was much more animated, "I have a better idea, I have a car that Daddy rented for me…I'll just come and pick you up and we'll have lunch…If I can find you."

Ron laughed and gave her directions to the Oster's house and gave her their phone number in case she got lost, "I have to hang up Bonnie my calling card is out of time…It's good to hear a familiar voice."

Bonnie's voice was happy and upbeat, "Ron you have no idea how much this means to me…bye."

Ron smiled and hung up the phone, _"YES…I'm going to have someone to goof off with this week."_

Bonnie chuckled as she hung the phone up, _"This is all too easy…Life is good."_

* * *

Ron went back to the barracks and packed up his cloths shoved them in a duffle bag and then took his duffle bad and gear to the bus. Once the bus was loaded the company left Bezeq, many for the last time. The next stop was Jerusalem. 

Ron dozed on the trip south and woke up at the entrance to the ruins of the great temple, _"It's time, this is the finale to four and a half months of training."_

In the Jewish faith it is believed that God walked the halls of the Great Temple so when one goes to pray at the walls of the ruins of this temple that it is similar to making a local phone call to God.

The company formed up and then marched in formation into the temple ruins, they moved in next to other companies that had also finished basic training.

Ron looked around the spectator's area for the Oster's, he couldn't find them so he just focused on the ceremony.

General Efi Halutz Commanding General of the Golani Brigade, Spoke of the importance of the IDF in the protection of Israel and how that the soldiers were fortunate to become a part of the Golani tradition.

The General then ordered the new soldiers to swear their oath of allegiance, "You will all raise your right hand and repeat after me…_I swear and obligate myself on my word of honor to remain loyal to the State of Israel, its laws and its legitimate administration ... and to devote all of my strength, and even to sacrifice my life, in the defense of the homeland and the freedom of Israel."_

_Then the soldiers threw their training berets into the air and gave three resounding cheers, "UP TO BATTLE, UP TO BATTLE, UP TO BATTLE."_

_The names of the companies were called one by one and they received their brown berets of the Golani and an envelope with their orders. _

Ron's name was finally called and the announcer also informed the audience that Ron was an American and was voted outstanding soldier in his company.

Ron was stunned as he went to the podium, _"Outstanding soldier…ME?"_

Ron saluted General Halutz, who decided to show off his English skills, "You are outstanding soldier…You must be very proud."

"Yes Officer, very proud." Ron barked out nervously.

He was given his brown beret, envelope and then General Haltuz pinned the gold emblem of the Golani Brigade on Ron's uniform. Ron looked at the gold embalm of a combat knife with an olive tree attached to it.

Ron saluted and moved off, "Why me? Roth was the super soldier….Oh yea, he didn't shoot two people in the head."

At the end of the ceremony Ron, Sergei and Tirza met up and opened their envelopes. Ron opened his, "I will be stationed with Company C, 3rd Platoon, 51st battalion stationed at Tulkharm."

Sergei and Tirza opened their orders, "I am going their too." Tirza said happily.

"I will be there as well….I think most of the company will be stationed at the border crossing." Sergei observed.

Ron smiled, "Now Sergei will get to be with Bina always."

Sergei cringed, "Ohhhhhhhh Noooooooo"

They then stood in line to pray at the wall and then Ron found the Oster's gathered his gear and left for Bat Yam..

* * *

Bonnie headed south from Netanya, _"Let's see, Tel Aviv, and then keep going till you reach the Bat Yam exit."_

Once Bonnie was in Bat Yam she called the Oster's on the cell phone, Sima answered and gave the phone to Ron and he gave her directions for the rest of the trip to the Oster's house.

She drove up in the driveway and got out of the car, Ron walked out the door and she gasped, "Oh my God, You look so different…Good but different."

Ron smiled and gave her a big hug, "Ahhhhh it's the army haircut, You look great as usual…It is so good to see you"

"I can't tell you how good it is to see a familiar face." Bonnie said as she looked over the outside of the Oster's house.

"Come in, it's a little chilly to be standing out here." Ron told her as he escorted her inside.

Sima was waiting inside the door and Ron glared at her, "This is the daughter of the people that live here, her name is Sima."

Bonnie smiled and shook her hand, "Shalome Sima."

Sima giggled, "Are you one of Ron's old girlfriends?"

Ron looked embarrassed, "SIMA"

Bonnie shook her head, "No…I'm a friend of Ron's old girlfriend Kim."

Ron caught the word "old", "Follow me upstairs, there's a great view of the Mediterranean up there."

Bonnie and Sima followed Ron up to the dining room where they sat down at the table, "So Bonnie, when did you get here?"

Bonnie smiled and shot a questioning glance at Sima, "I just arrived back at the beginning in October."

Ron nodded, "How's Kim been doing? I haven't heard from her since September."

Bonnie smiled, _"This sure didn't take long."_

"Ohhhhhhhh her and Danny are doing great, they were registering for wedding presents all over the place when I left."

Ron smiled and nodded, "No I meant about Kim."

Bonnie lost her smile, "Didn't Kim tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Ron said as he was starting to look around the room nervously.

She closed her eyes, "Kim must have been so busy she forgot to let you know."

"Know?" Ron said quietly.

Bonnie licked her lips and took Ron's hand, "Ron…Kim's engaged to a man named Danny Baldwin that she met at Upperton University."

The color drained out of Ron's face, he took a deep breath and then he started to shake his head, "S…Sima…Please leave the room."

"Why?" Sima asked since she was curios as to what was going on.

"Because…I…I have received bad news from Bonnie and…I would prefer that you were not here…in the room with me." Ron said trying to hold back his tears.

Sima nodded and quickly left the room.

Ron then turned his attention back to Bonnie, "Ummmmmm…How did this happen?"

Bonnie chuckled, "Ron how does it always happen, the two met in school and they just clicked."

Ron turned his head away from Bonnie, "Yes…Well…It is all for the best I suppose."

Bonnie shook her head, "Ron…English please."

"Shaaaa…ummmmmmm…yeaaaaaa…I'm down with this…ummmmm…yeaaaaaaaa…I…just always thought that…oh…oh." Ron was beginning to lose control of his emotions.

Bonnie pulled the two pictures from her purse, "They make a great couple, I was at the engagement party."

Ron was still shaking his head in disbelief, "Engagement party?"

Bonnie looked sympathetically at Ron, "Yea the Possible's rented out a hall…I've got some pictures from the party."

Ron's hands were shaking as he looked at the pictures, he swallowed hard and turned away and then looked at them again, he licked his lips, _"She's kissing him…wow…This has to be a bad dream."_

"So…is he nice…does he treat her…ok?" He asked as he continued to stare at the image.

Bonnie shook her head, _"Always more concerned about Kim than himself."_

"I don't know Ron…I only met him at the party…I think he's ok…The Possible's really like him."

Ron winced at that piece of information and started to rub his chin, "I…I just wish…things could have been…different."

He looked at the picture again, the image burning into his mind, _"She looks happy…He's tall good looking…Probably rich…He can give her all the things that I can't….good for you Kim."_

Ron hands were shaking so bad he couldn't look at the picture anymore so he looked at the one behind it, "You and Kim…She looks happy."

Bonnie squeezed his hand, "I'm so sorry Ron."

He shoved the pictures back towards her, "Ummm…I…ummm…didn't know…ummm.

"Come on Ron…I'll buy you some lunch." Bonnie said quietly.

Ron turned his head away, "No…I…ummm…ahhhhh."

Bonnie started to rub the back of Ron's neck, "Ron…Kim's moved on…She wouldn't want you to be this way."

He smiled and nodded, "You're right…ummmmm…I'm stunned Bonnie…I just don't know what to think."

Bonnie smiled, "Come on Mad Dog, let's go to lunch and catch up."

He stood up and walked with Bonnie back downstairs, "I'll be just a minute…I need to talk to Sima."

Bonnie nodded her head, "I'll be in the car…okay?"

Ron smiled, "I'll be only a minute."

He turned to Sima, "Bonnie told me…that my Kim is engaged to another man…I'm sorry to run you out of the room…I am very sad right now…I will talk to you later tonight."

Sima nodded her head, "I…I am sorry Ron."

He left the house and climbed into the passenger seat with Bonnie and then the two drove off for lunch.

* * *

Monique was awakened by a telephone call in the night, "Monique…Something's wrong with Ron…Something happened." 

"OK…That's great Kim…I'll talk to you tomorrow." Monique said half asleep.

"MONIQUE" Kim screamed into the phone to wake her up.

Her eyes opened, "I'm up…who is this?"

"It's Kim…Something's happened to Ron." She repeated to her groggy friend.

Monique looked around the darkened room, "Kim…go to bed."

Kim wouldn't give up trying to wake Monique up, "I just got hit with a wave of sadness that left me sick to my stomach….Monique...Something is wrong with Ron."

She laid her head back down on pillow, "Have wade fix the doohickeys and call him tomorrow…Bye Kim."

Kim sat in a darkened room, "That's not a bad idea."

She grabbed the Kimmunicator and hit the connect button, "Wade are you up."

Wade's voice came over the Kimmunicator, "You have reached the basement of Wade Load, I'm currently not available at the moment so at the sound of the beep leave your name and a short message and I will get back to you as soon as possible."

Kim put the Kimmunicator on the nightstand and continued to sit in the dark all by herself.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and to the nice girl that want's cute and cuddly...I'm sorry the bunny farm is as close as I can get to cute and cuddly. I just don't do cute very well.

Ahhhhhhhhhh Ron and Bon Bon.

I have the feeling this story is going to be way longer than 30 chapters.

* * *

"This looks like a nice place." Bonnie said as she parked the red Toyota in front of the restaurant. 

Ron shrugged, "Sure Kim." Then he closed his eyes, "Sorry Bonnie…My mind is a mess right now."

She gave an understanding nod and patted him on the shoulder, "Let's go inside, maybe you'll feel better after you eat a good meal."

Ron chuckled, _"Yea, Bonnie's Jewish alright, she trying to tell me I'm too skinny."_

"Well…I guess you can't beat a place called 'The Place'"

They exited the Toyota and walked inside; Ron held two fingers, 'Table for two, no-smoking."

Then he quickly turned to Bonnie, "You don't smoke do you?"

Bonnie shook her head, "I never picked up the habit."

Ron grinned, "Kim was trying to hide her smoking when I left."

Bonnie was shocked, "Kim smokes?"

"From time to time...I never picked up the habit either." Ron told her as they made they're way towards a table.

"So how's army life treating you?" Bonnie asked as she rested her chin, on her left hand and leaned in towards Ron to show she was interested.

Ron was starting to perk up from the attention Bonnie was showing him, "Now that basic training is over it's a lot better, I'm going to be stationed at the border crossing close to Netanya, I have to report next Sunday."

Bonnie's eyes lit up and she took Ron's hand, "That's great Ron; we'll be close to each other."

Ron blushed and nodded, "Ummm…This is so weird…I'm still not really used to you being nice to me."

Bonnie frowned and nodded, "I grew up a lot after Jr. Prom, I still feel really bad about calling you a stupid Jew back then."

Ron shrugged and lowered his head, "Ahhhhh…That was just a bad day for everyone."

She nodded her head in agreement, "That's the day you got into that fight with Jared Masters…I sort of felt responsible for that."

"Not your fault…not your fault…I broke my hand in that fight and two days later Kim dumped me….That seems like a lifetime ago." Ron said quietly.

"You were always too good for her Ron…At the engagement party she didn't even mention you until I brought you up." Bonnie said shaking her head in disgust.

Ron looked surprised, "What did she say?"

"Well I told her I was leaving to go to school in Israel and she said, 'Wow that's where Ron is now.'" Bonnie then held up a finger, "Opps looks like it's time to order."

Ron looked at the menu, "I would like two cheese blintzes and a coke."

"Ummmmmmm…I would like the Quiche du Jour with fruit, and an unsweetened iced tea." Bonnie said as she closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter.

After the waiter left, Ron pressed for more information, "So that's all she said was 'Wow, that's where Ron is.'"

Bonnie lifted her eyebrows, "She was kind of busy with Danny and his parents when I talked to her."

Ron cringed, _"All those years together…Awwww Kim…"_

"Ron"

Bonnie had just brought Ron back into the restaurant, "Maybe it would be better if we talked about something else."

Ron bit his lower lip and nodded, "Yea…So ummmm what kind of classes do you have?"

Bonnie laughed, "Language classes mostly…I really need a good tutor and I see you've really mastered the language….Maybe you could help me?"

"Bonnie, you should know that I would be glad to help you." Ron told her in Hebrew.

Their food arrived and Bonnie was eating her food and noticed that Ron was picking at his, she waived her fork at him and told him in Hebrew, "Eat…You are too skinny."

Ron smiled and started to laugh, "Yes, Momma"

They shared a good laugh, and Ron decided to try and catch up on his other friends, "How's Ned and Tina doing?"

Bonnie drank a little ice tea and gave a small chuckle, "I'm not sure I didn't really travel in Ned's crowd."

Ron smiled, "Ned never really did have a crowd, he had more of a line."

"OK, let's see how about Monique?"

"Maid of Honor" Bonnie said between mouthfuls.

Ron smiled and took a bite of his cheese blintz, _"Well I'm glad to hear they're good friends again."_

Ron twisted his fork around in the air and tried to think of other people to ask about, "How about Tara?"

"She's going to Upperton, she's not seeing anyone…" Bonnie told him with a wink.

Ron frowned and shook his head, "No…not me Bonnie…I'll look for a new girlfriend another day...Maybe when I'm out of the army."

Bonnie wiped her mouth with a napkin, "How long will that be?"

"Thirty two months…I think." Ron replied as he looked up to the ceiling trying to calculate the months that he was already in.

"That's a long time Ron, what are you going to do when you get out?" Bonnie asked as she pointed to his plate and made a motion for him to eat.

Ron chuckled and took another bite and tried to think of something while he chewed, "Well…I was thinking about going to school, not sure what I'll be majoring in…Maybe become an Actuary like my father."

Bonnie pointed a fork at Ron and reminded him as she tried not to laugh. "Hey remember when you made that Mad Dog mask and was trying out for the cheer squad."

Ron laughed and rolled his eyes, "Yea and I had it rigged to froth at the mouth and I shook the head and covered you guys in banana cream froth…It was funny but I really didn't intend for that to happen."

She forced a grin on her face and bobbed her head around, "Yea...I remember that well."

"I'm sorry Bonnie about spraying you guys…I just…wanted…to…oh…never mind." Ron became sullen again and started to pick at his food.

"What Ron" Bonnie asked as she once again took his hand in hers.

He licked his lips and then pulled out his wallet, "Hey I have a baby sister now, I have to show you this picture…She's a cutie…not as cute as me of course but close.

Bonnie took the picture and looked at it, _"He doesn't want to talk about cheer squad?"_

"Ohhhh She's soooooo cute…So what's her name?"

Ron smiled, "Kaley Brianna, now how's that for a cute name."

"I like it…so do you like being an older brother?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm not really sure, I've never seen her…I may never see her…When she graduates high school…I'm going to be an old man."

Bonnie shook her head, "Ron can I ask you something?"

"Sure Bonnie"

Bonnie licked her lips and looked around the restaurant, "When we were talking about the Mad Dog mask…You were going to say something and then said 'oh never mind' what were you going to say?"

Ron laughed and looked around trying to come up with a good answer, "Well…Ummmm…I didn't want to sound too pathetic…I just wanted to be close to Kim."

Bonnie squeezed his hand more firmly, _"Now to plant the idea."_

"Ron…Kim's moved on, you need to think about the kind of girl that will make you happy…You were always so concerned with Kim that you never took time out for yourself…The time to discover the kind of girl that can make you happy and give you that normal life."

Ron nodded staring at his half empty plate, "Hmmmm…I guess I have to now."

"Ron…Eat." Bonnie said as she motioned at his plate.

He smiled and chuckled, "OK, OK…That is so weird Kim getting married…huh."

Bonnie watched him to take a bite, _"You know I'm actually having fun… when he's away from the Princess of Power he isn't really a bad guy….No Brick Flagg that's for sure…but still…"_

"Well Ron we're getting to that time in our lives when people start pairing up and committing to relationships, starting families that sort of thing…I will admit that Danny and Kim was kind of sudden and took me by surprise" Bonnie lowered her voice to make sure no one else could hear, "I'm glad I'm over here or Mom would be on the non-stop find a nice Jewish boy and get married kick."

Ron started laughing and looking around, "Tell me about it, my Mom's on the same kick…This will make her day, she hates Kim."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes and nodded, _"Mother knows best."_

"So you're off for the week then, want me to pick you up tomorrow and we can head up to Netanya? I'm off until after Chanukah."

He sat up in his seat, "Booyah, yes I'd love to go to Netanya for the day."

Bonnie smiled, "You and your booyah, Great, we'll do some shopping and then I'll drop you off and I'll come back and pick you up in the morning." She looked and saw that Ron still wasn't done with his food, "Now clean that plate, looks like I'm going to be fattening you up this week…You look like a tooth pick with ears."

Ron laughed, "I'm eating, I'm eating."

Once they left the restaurant Bonnie took Ron shopping with her and bought him a shirt, and her outfit as they went from mall to mall in Tel Aviv. Ron normally dislikes shopping but his desire for companionship out weighted his objections.

She dropped Him off in the late afternoon, and walked him to the door, "So I guess I'll pick you up tomorrow then…Remember to bring your coat tomorrow…You'll catch cold."

Before Ron could speak Bonnie gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek that made Ron blush, "Uhhhhhhh…he, he, he, yea…ummm...Sounds great Bonnie."

Ron stood and watched Bonnie back out the driveway and then he waived, _"Kim's moved on…Maybe me and Bonnie…Nahhhhhh, She's still Bonnie, she'd never have anything to do with me."_

Bonnie turned the corner and drove away from the Oster's towards Tel Aviv, _"He's a sweet guy for a loser…I'll just crush Kim, crushing Ron would be too easy."_

Ron walked inside the house with his bag from the mall and found Sima waiting for him, "So is Bonnie your new girlfriend?"

He shook his head and pointed at her, "You are too nosey."

"Awwwwwwwww I want to know." Sima said as she sat on the stairs to block the way.

"You only want to know because my life is better than a soap opera…Real life Agony County." Ron chuckled not knowing if Sima understood what a soap opera was or not.

Sima narrowed her eyes and frowned, "So…Is she your girlfriend or not."

Ron started to scratch his chin, _"That's a good question, could she be or I'm I just so messed up from Kim's engagement that anything looks good now."_

"I do not know, I think she likes me but…I am afraid…to have a girlfriend…Maybe after I get out of the army."

"I'll be your girlfriend." Sima said happily.

Ron made a face at her, "and what of your boyfriend...What do you tell him? Do you do like Kim and reach into his chest and pull his heart out and throw it on the ground and say…" Ron looked around the room and swallowed hard and said quietly, "Ha, ha, ha, I have…found another."

He was embarrassed, the entire time with Bonnie and he never had a chance to grieve and now it was coming out and in front of people he didn't want to see him hurting, "I will be in my room Sima…I…I don't feel well."

Ron moved past Sima and ran up the steps, Sima turned to watch him go, "I'm sorry Ron."

Ron turned at the top of the second floor, "There is nothing for you to be sorry about, I have deep thoughts going on in my head."

Then Ron turned and continued up the stairs to his room, he turned oh his clock radio and listened to 99.2 'The Bizz' Tel Aviv's local hip hop station as he took off his shirt and sat down on his bed.

His IDF dog tags swung from the chain around his neck as he looked at the floor, _"Why didn't she tell me…I mean it still would have hurt but I would have understood...I don't blame Monique for not wanting to get involved…Damn…Engaged?"_

Ron lay back on the bed, _"Spent too many nights sleeping upright because of Kim, now I know to lie down so I don't have a sore back in the morning."_

He looked over towards the radio and smiled, there was a commercial on where a boy and his girlfriend were making out and her mother walked into the bedroom, _"I remember Mrs. Dr. P. throwing a bucket of water on me and Kim…It's funny now…but then…Man, that water was cold."_

Ron started laughing, _"Well, maybe there is a good reason that Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P. like good ol' Danny better than me…Now they don't have to worry about accidentally serving good ol' Danny pork at Easter."_

Ron let out a deep breath and stared at the ceiling, letting his mind go blank and then he shook his head, _"Kim Baldwin…Kimberly Anne Baldwin…Kim Baldwin…She can do anything…huh… I will say one thing about all this…Kim Baldwin has a nicer ring to it than Kim Stoppable."_

Ron looked over at the radio, there was a hip hop group he had never heard before on and the music was getting him stoked:

"_Sometimes I feel like a lab rat_

_They do experiments to me ignore the effects/_

_How long will we keep closing our eyes?_

_How long will someone ? put weapon/_

_Waste of time what happens here to my people_

_I'm tired of seeing in the news just blood/_

_All the time blood and we are not reacting_

_They make terror against us because we are giving up/_

_Like scared dogs with our tail between our legs_

_We are fleeing, giving bribes to murderers/_

_The Zionism of the underground era has disappeared_

_Now we have become apathetic and everything looks different/_

_Suddenly I come and give the era?_

_(Ah Becha) Listen to me well and learn the formula/_

_If he wants to kill you kill him first_

_And if he doesn't want peace (shalom) then f'k goodbye (shalom) to him._

_I'll wear the Star of David until my dying day"_

"_Booyah…These guy's get it…Who are they?" _The song ended and Ron heard the DJ say it was Subliminal and the Shadows, _"Ohhhhhh man…When I go out with Bonnie tomorrow…I'm going to find me some CD's."_

There was a soft knock at the door, "Ron…Pappa wants to know if you want to play backgammon?"

Ron smiled, "Yes…I will be down as soon as I put my shirt on."

"Ron I didn't mean to make you upset." Sima said sadly.

Ron shook his head, "You didn't make me upset…I should be used to my Kim's ways…Who knows in two or three months after they are married, she may like some other boy and then it will all be Danny's problem…and I will be the one laughing."

Sima giggled and left the room, Ron looked into the mirror, _"Yea, I'm used to Kim doing this sort of thing by now…no big."_

They played backgammon in the family room on the first floor till well after 10:00PM. Sharon Oster was in a talkative mood, "So now that you're a free man, are you going to romance the girl that came to pick you up today? Sima says that she is very pretty."

Ron smiled, "No plans just yet…Maybe one day, but not right now."

Eli smiled and wiggled his finger, "You fall off the bike you get back on it. Since she is coming in the morning to pick you up as you say…I think she has more than just Hebrew lessons on her mind."

Ron chuckled and nodded, "I am not sure Bonnie thinks of me as boyfriend material."

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh see…I win again." Eli said as he put his hands behind his head and basked in the victory in all its glory.

Sharon shook her head, "Time for bed it is late."

Ron helped pick up the family room and then headed upstairs to his room, Sima told him good night and then he closed the door behind him.

"_Yori…I'll meditate and see how Yori is doing…She didn't look to well the last time I saw her."_ Ron thought as he was taking off his cloths for bed.

Ron sat cross legged on the bed and emptied his mind and contemplated his belly button, soon he was transported to the beach, with the white sand and the cool blue water surrounding it, he was in the beach chair with the drink with the little paper umbrella in it.

Yori soon appeared, she was wearing her traditional black martial arts gi, she bowed towards Ron, "Hello Stoppable San…I hope that you are well."

Ron smiled, "I'm doing ok, you know me…I was wondering if you was okay…You looked really wore out the last time I envisioned you."

Yori looked embarrassed, "Stoppable San…I…it was the end of the school year here and there was much work to be done…Now that you are controlling your temper it has been easier on me."

He looked at her for a long moment and remembered how close they had become at Yamanouchi and how he believed he could turn away from the world and remain with her forever.

"Stoppable San…I have very good news…Someone has entered my life and I am very happy." Yori said excitedly.

Ron was shocked back to reality, "Oh…So…ummmmm you are not lonely anymore."

Yori looked quickly away, "No not anymore…I am sorry Stoppable San but I must go now."

Yori was gone and Ron felt more alone than ever, _"Bonnie was right, every one is pairing up."_

He came out of mediation and felt extremely tired and lonely. He lay down on the bed and stared at the clock radio until sleep over took him.

He dreamed of when they were children, carefree happy days of summer when the days seemed to last forever. Good days before freak fighting and boyfriends, days when the only worry were when Kim would be up and what time he would have to go back to his house.

He dreamed of Peterson's Bunny Farm, they were eight years old and it was Kim's birthday and they went to the bunny farm for a party.

Kim was sitting on the ground and playing with all the different bunnies, "Here Ron, you can play with this one."

Ron took a step back, "Nuh Huh…It's going to bite me."

Kim got up off the ground and walked towards him carrying a bunny, "Ron, quit being a baby and hold the bunny."

He stepped back, "I don't think I should, I might get dirty before the party."

She forced the bunny into Ron's hands and he held it, he could feel the warmth from the fur and see its little bunny nose wiggling as it sniffed the air around it.

She looked pleased with him, "See it's not so bad is it?"

Ron looked into the sad eyes of the bunny and then he felt a rage, a rage he did not know he possessed boiling from up the depths of his soul. He gritted his teeth and snapped the bunnies' neck and threw it on the ground, and then he picked up another bunny and snapped its neck and threw it on the ground.

Kim gasped in horror, "Ron what are you doing."

As Ron broke the neck of the fifth bunny he calmly told Kim, "I'm killing all the bunnies because you're going to marry Danny Baldwin and not me."

She screamed in horror and ran away.

Ron jerked awake and sat up, the room was aglow in a hue of blue that was coming from his eyes before they dimmed and eventually returned to normal.

He sat up in bed and wiped his face, he was covered in sweat, he began to shake and then to cry.

* * *

Kim was half a world away sitting in the Student Union Building of Upperton University with Monique, "Kim are you okay?" 

She shook her head and looked at her friend, "Ron was really mad, I could feel it…it scared me and then he became really, really sad."

Monique nodded, "I think it's all in your head…Just is case it isn't, have you checked to see if everything is alright with the Stoppable's?"

"I've seen them out shopping for baby stuff for Ron's sister…Ron's never seen his sister." Kim said in amazement.

Her friend nodded but didn't say anything; she was busy contemplating the same thing.

Kim shook her head, "I want to go back in the chair but Dr. Wong won't let me after I started to feel things outside of the chair…I need to be back in the chair."

* * *

He woke up early and dressed, then sneaked out and walked over to the Internet Café, "Time to check my emails and send my condolences…I mean my congratulations to Kim on her engagement…Have to hurry Bonnie will be in town about 11:00 or so." 

Ron paid for an hour of internet time and then sat at one of the workstations and logged in, and then he checked his email account, _"Ahhhhh two messages." _He winced as he read the first one._ "Great, I can have a larger penis."_ Then he brightened, _"Ahhhhh one from Ned."_

Ron opened it up and read the message:

"_Ron _

_I got brave and popped the question to Tina and she said "Yes" _

_We are going to get married. How about that?"_

_I was wondering if you could be in town in May the weekend before Memorial day._

_I need a best man buddy, what'd ya say?"_

_Let me know as soon as possible._

_Ned"_

Ron chuckled, _"Ned you dog you…Wish I could get married."_

He hit the reply button and began to type:

"_Ned_

_I would be honored to be your best man at your wedding._

_I'll put in for leave for the month of May and June and come home just for the wedding._

_I bet you and Tina are pretty excited, looking forward to seeing you both._

_Congratulations!_

_Ron"_

He looked over the message and hit the reply button, _"Bonnie's right, Ned and Tina, Kim and Danny…This is too weird, Ned's getting married."_

Next hestarted to write a message to Monique:

"_Monique_

_Ran into Bonnie down here and she told me about Kim and her engagement to Danny Baldwin._

_I don't blame you for staying out of it._

_She told me you're going to be the maid of honor._

_I'm happy that you and Kim are good friends again._

_I made it through basic training…yeaaaaaa!_

_My first post is going to be a border crossing called Tulkharm._

_I'll be living on the post three weeks out of the month._

_My friend Sergei says we need to get a place together but I'm not sure if I want to rent a place just to stay there for one week a month._

_Bonnie is picking me up today to show me around Netanya._

_I still can't believe Kim is getting married._

_Good job on keeping an eye on her and keeping her out of trouble._

_I'm going try and get leave for Ned and Tina's wedding._

_Ned has asked me to be best man._

_Weird, everyone is getting married now._

_Hope you and your family is okay, I'm in pretty good spirts considering._

_Bonnie's helped to take my mind off of the losing Kim._

_I will try to write more often now that I'm out of basic training._

_Your friend always_

_Ron"_

Ron sat back in his chair, "_Now for the hardest thing I've ever written in my life."_

Hehit the compose button again fora new emailmessage to send and began to type:

"_Kim_

_I understand now why you haven't written me and it's okay._

_Bonnie told me of your engagement to Danny Baldwin._

_While I don't know the guy personally, I know he must be pretty special to have won your heart._

_I'd just like to take this time to tell you how much your friendship has meant to me over the years. _

_You would always inspire me to do better and how you would never let me give up or quit. _

_No matter how bleak things seemed to be, you were always there for me._

_I only wish happiness to you and Danny you embark on your journey together, may your joys be many and your sorrows be few._

_I only request one favor from you, when ever you see a three alarm fire and people are running around screaming and waving their arms in the air._

_Think kindly of me, your old friend Ron in Israel._

_Good luck on the wedding, I wish I could go._

_Your friend always_

_Ronald Stoppable"_

He hit the send button while holding back tears and then his eyes flashed blue for a moment and the mood suddenly changed, _"If that ain't the biggest load of shit I've ever written in my life."_

He logged out of the workstation and stomped angrily out of the café, "Have to get home and get ready for my day with Bonnie."

He made the trip back to the Oster's house in record time and saw that Bonnie was already in the driveway.

"Sorry, hope you weren't here long, I had errands to run." Ron said as he jogged over to the driver's door.

Bonnie smiled, "No I just got here…Hey I had a thought…Instead of me burning up all this gas going back and forth, why don't you just pack an overnight bag and spend the night."

Ron nodded, "That's not a bad idea, I'll be just a second."

He quickly ran upstairs and packed his duffle bag with some civilian clothes and then he spotted the Ronnunicator, _"Never know Kim might try and call once she reads the email."_

Ron quickly packed it up and ran back outside and threw the bag into the back seat of Bonnie's car.

Then they drove off for Netanya and a night that Bonnie Rockwaller will never forget for the rest of her life.


	27. Chapter 27

The ride up to Netanya was enjoyable for Ron, Bonnie chattered away non-stop about this, that and everything. It was actually comforting to him; he never was much of a talker when he was younger.

He used to sit back and let Kim do all the talking, it always made him feel special that anyone would want to talk that much to him. Even if little or nothing was said that was of any consequence.

When he and Kim started going on missions the chattering stopped and then he took over the talking, mostly because he wasn't sure what kind of mood Kim was in and early on in their careers of saving the world this would un-nerve him to no end.

"Are you paying attention to me Ron?" Bonnie's question brought him back to reality.

Ron smiled and nodded and answered in Hebrew, "Of course Bonnie, I always pay attention to you."

Bonnie smiled, _"He is so full of it…Sweet but full of it."_

"I was asking you if you would like a tour of the campus."

Ron nodded, "That would be nice Bonnie, I am curious to see just how close you will be to my new post…Maybe I could start taking courses and get some credit hours before I am discharged."

Bonnie smiled and nodded as she continued driving north from Tel Aviv, "Now there's a great table."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Ummmmm…Bonnie…Idea…maybe?"

Bonnie cringed, "Yes, idea…idea not table."

Ron chuckled, "Do not worry Bonnie, it happened to me all the time, when I first arrived…Only Hebrew today…Only way to learn the language is to speak it"

She looked at Ron "I'll try, just don't laugh at me."

He smiled, "Now Bonnie, you know I would not do that."

She took the exit for Netanya and then drove by Sironet beach where even in the winter time there were people standing on shore fishing off the breakwaters, "They ever catch anything down out there?"

Bonnie shrugged, "I don't know, don't tell me you're the rugged outdoors type."

He laughed and shook his head, "No, no…Along with everything fur dad was allergic to everything outdoors."

They drove a little further into town, "Liberty square, this area is pretty fun, I'm going to find a place to park."

Ron looked at the different restaurants, "There are a lot of French restaurants around here."

Bonnie nodded and wrinkled her brow, "There are lots of French people here, I am not sure why….Never really thought about it."

He nodded and thought of Babbette from the party and what she had said about the number of French people making their aliyah to Israel.

They got out of the car and headed towards one of the many shops that were on Herzel Street, Bonnie turned towards him, "I like the shops here."

Ron smiled and shook his head, _"Now why doesn't that surprise me."_

"Can we find a place to eat next…I kind of was in a hurry this morning and forgot to eat."

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow, "No wonder you are so skinny, you keep forgetting to eat…I know a good place…Just let me pick through this shop first."

Ron nodded and watched Bonnie take off down the isle to look at different clothes; he spotted a jewelry counter and made his way over, _"I wonder if they have anything worth looking at?"_

He knelt in front of the display case and looked over the different rings and necklaces; nothing really caught his attention until he spotted it, "Oh my"

Ron motioned for the elderly man behind the counter, "I would like to look at the engagement ring in the back of the case."

The elderly man retrieved, "I have had this ring quite a while, it is very nice. I used to do a lot of jewelry business before my eyesight went bad."

"Can I borrow your jeweler's glass?" he asked as took the ring from the box.

The man handed him his glass and Ron held it to the light and whistled, "This is a nice ring, I was thinking it was glass when I saw how big it was."

"You know something of diamonds?" The elderly man was intrigued and wanted to find out just how much Ron really knew.

Ron turned the ring as he looked at it through the light, "A little, I worked for one of the largest diamond importers in the United States before I made my aliyah."

"So tell me what you see." The elderly man prodded.

Ron smiled, "I am guessing the weight to be about 6 karats, nearly flawless, cut is good, platinum setting, very, very little yellow to speak of, no trace carbon…I'd say this ring is about…ummmmmmmm…Nine thousand shekels?"

The elderly man smiled, "You do have an eye for this, the ring is exactly as you say but it is 8,000 shekels, I discounted the ring about a year ago."

He nodded and put the ring back in the box and handed it back to the man., "It is a nice ring, someone would have to really impress a girl with that ring."

The elderly man placed the ring back in the display case, "See any other rings that interest you?"

"No…I am pretty sure most of the others are glass, no sense looking at them." Ron told the elderly man.

The elderly man bristled, "You can tell all this without looking thru a glass."

Ron chuckled, "No I am guessing, the prices are all very low, it is probably nice glass but certainly not diamonds."

The elderly man laughed, "You do know this business."

He looked over the necklaces, "Let me see that purple amethyst necklace there…I think I will buy that for my friend."

The man brought the necklace out and Ron bought it, and started to walk away from the counter before the man stopped him, "Hold on a moment. Let me give you my card, when you get a leave from Tulkharm…Come and see me."

Ron smiled, "How do you know I'm at Tulkharm?"

The elderly man smiled, "Your hair is so short, it's an IDF cut and if you are in the IDF and around here you would be stationed at Tulkharm."

He looked at the faded business card, _"Ira Seitzman fine Jewelry since 1973."_

"All right Mr. Seitzman, I will look you up next time I'm on leave."

He found Bonnie in another corner of the store looking at perfumes; she sprayed as sample on her wrist and held it under Ron's nose "Do you like this fragrance?"

Ron took a whiff of the fragrance and his nostrils flared and his six month of lusting urges returned in full force, no longer just a simple high school student Ron was now a sex starved highly trained soldier in the IDF that knew what he wanted, "He, he, he, Yes you smell so goooooooood."

Bonnie blushed and looked around the store to see if anyone noticed Ron's change in behavior, "Ron I meant the fragrance."

"I like the scent…I like your scent…So fresh…and clean, he, he, he." Ron said with a maniacal smile on his face.

She lifted an eyebrow, _"Somehow I don't see seducing Ron as being much of a problem."_

"Ron, stop looking at me like I am a piece of meat…There will be plenty of time for that later."

This last statement caught Ron's attention, _"Did she just…Noooooooo…Calm down, she didn't mean it like that."_

"Sorry Bonnie…I have just been so…lonely."

* * *

Kim was getting ready for bed, it had been a long day with all the Christmas shopping that had to be done and making sure that the presents were well hid from the twins, and the nagging "I wonder if Ron's responded to my email yet?" 

Kim sat at the computer waiting for it to boot up, "I hope he's doing ok? I'm surprised he hasn't emailed me yet."

Once the computer was running she signed onto her internet account and went to check the mail, "Ahhhhhhh a message from Ron."

She opened it up and started to read it, then her eyes were wide open, "NOOOOOOOO"

Kim covered her face and spun around in her chair and then turned and read the message again, "Aghhhhhhhhh Bonnie, I'm going to kill you for this."

The cell phone rang breaking Kim's concentration, she reached over the table and answered angrily, "HELLO"

"I see you got an email message too." Monique said on the other end of the phone.

She sat on the bed with a face flushed with anger, "Bonnie is sooooooo dead Monique…She's filling Ron's head full of junk…She's trying to take Ron away from me."

Monique was silent on the other end of the phone for a long moment, "Kim, I'll be over in the morning…We have got to find a way to fix Bonnie."

Kim talked a little while longer and then hung up the phone. Then she found the Kimmunicator and tried to call Ron, "No signal."

She punched another button, "WADE!"

"Hey Kim, what's the sitch?" Wade responded as he leaned back in his computer chair and drank a sip of his soda from his 64oz. bladder buster mug.

Kim was desperate and angry, "Wade I need to get a hold of Ron, right now."

Wade sat up in his chair and began to type on the keyboard, "Ummmm…OK, try it now."

She hit the button and then hit it again frantically, "NO CONNECTION…"

"Uhhhhhhhh…hang on a minute Kim…Okay try again." Wade said becoming flustered because of Kim's yelling at him.

"NO SIGNAL…WADE…I NEED TO TALK TO RON…NOWWWWWWWWW!" Kim screamed in frustration at the boy that was on the view screen.

Wade was stammering excuses and techno babble as fast as he could and then finally, "Kim, I'm going to have to get back with you….I just can't think under this pressure."

Kim growled and tried crushing the Kimmunicator in her hand, and then gave up in frustration, her hands were shaking and tears were starting to roll down her cheeks as she curled up in bed, _"I'm going to kill Bonnie...I...I didn't...I want to see Ron…I need to see Ron…Dr. Wong says no more chair until they can see if the link between me and Ron was natural or induced in the chair…I need the chair."_

* * *

Bonnie bought the perfume and once they were outside Ron gave her the necklace that he had bought earlier, she smiled as she opened the little box, "Ron it is gorgeous, and I know just the outfit I will wear it with." 

Ron smiled, "I know it is not as nice as the stuff I bought you when I had that 99 million…At least I can still buy my Bonnie some bling bling."

Bonnie chuckled, _"He called me his Bonnie, he is soooooooooo sucked in right now."_

"You are still way to skinny; I know this great pizza place just down the street."

He perked up at the mention of pizza, "Pizza…real pizza?"

They walked to the beginning of Hertzel Street, they passed other restaurants and Ron made quick note of the Pizza Hut, and Burger King, and then he spotted it.

It was like a bright shining beacon of hope and Ron stopped dead in his tracks. Bonnie stopped to see what had mesmerized him so and then she understood. Bueno Nacho, Ron's favorite Tex-Mex place in the whole universe was just across the street.

Bonnie smiled and shook her head, "We can do pizza another night."

He was still mesmerized by the giant taco sign and the writing in Hebrew, "Thank you Bonnie, I need to go there…I…have missed it sooooo much."

She nodded, "Sure Ron, I understand completely."

He grabbed her arm and ran with her across the street, they went inside the doors and he froze in his tracks and a voice cracking with emotion, "It…It is sooooooooo beautiful."

Bonnie pulled him to the counter, "Ron it is time to order people are staring."

"Yes Bonnie, it is time to order…and it's all kosher…I am in heaven." Ron said quietly as he stumbled towards the counter.

Bonnie placed her order and then Ron looked at the young girl behind the counter, "I would like a chicken chimerito combo Grande sized and a naco with a coke."

They took the order back to a table, Ron grabbed several packets of diablo sauce and rushed back to the table, he fixed his naco

Ron picked up the naco and smelled it, he started to drool and then he took a bite and he chewed it twice and then Bonnie saw one of the most gruesome faces that could ever be made by Ron and then his mouth opened and his tongue pushed the offensive item out of his mouth.

Bonnie was alarmed, "RON, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Ron grimaced and started to become upset, "NO…How could they do it…AAAAAGGGGHHHHH, Luff….Nacos are not made out of luff."

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow and shook her head, _"Well…He is still Ron."_

He stared sadly at the offensive naco and then shook his head, "Sorry for losing it Bonnie, I just wanted…I don't know for it to be just like home."

Ron ate the rest of his meal in silence with Bonnie trying to cheer him up, "Come on Ron, the rest of the food tastes good, cheer up."

He smiled and nodded, "I…Everything is just weighing me down, I wanted the naco to be like it is back home, I wanted it to be the same as when me and Kim used to eat them…I will never eat nacos with her again and now they taste gross to me...Funny how the mind works."

Bonnie squeezed his hand, "Ron…It will be okay…Kim's moved on now and I am here for you."

"I wish it were that easy Bonnie…I spent so many years with Kim….14 years, When you told me that she was marrying Danny Baldwin it was almost like hearing she died…I will never be able to laugh with her again or eat nacos…Or have her call me a baby for being afraid to do stupid and dangerous things…I am not making any sense." Ron chuckled sadly as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"I do not mind Ron…I want to hit a few more shops and then I will show you my place." Bonnie told him as she slid out of the both and turned and offered him a hand.

Ron smiled and took the hand and slid out of the booth, "So where do we go next?"

Bonnie smiled, _"Away from here that's for sure."_

"You'll see."

They left the restaurant and headed down the street; Ron spotted a music store and remembered the angry hip hop guys on the radio a few nights back, "Bonnie I need to stop here just for a second."

He quickly found what he was looking for, Subliminal and the Shadow CD and he found it, _"The Light and the Shadow…Booyah…Cool."_

"This is what I was looking for, where are we off to now?" Ron asked as he paid for the CD.

She watched him buy the CD, "I think that is the first thing I have ever seen you buy for yourself."

Ron turned and looked at her, "What? I guess I never really did buy that much for myself…I never thought about it before."

"You were always buying stuff for Kim or other girlfriends; I think the last thing I remember you buying for yourself were that car and the jacket that Monique used to wear when you two were dating." Bonnie reminded him.

Ron smiled, "Now that is not true when I had that 99 million I bought a lot of stuff."

She smiled and nodded, "That is true…Sorry about having you carry that much cash around…I still sort of feel bad about that."

Ron pulled back, "SORT OF."

Bonnie laughed and hugged him, "You were kind of a jerk when you had that money, and I like my Ron just the way he is."

Then she lifted herself by the toes and softly kissed Ron on the lips, "It's getting late, let me show you my apartment."

Ron was grinning happily, "_Boo…boo…booyah…Wow Bonnie really does like me."_

"S…Sure, lead the way Bonnie."

Bonnie took him by the hand and led him back to the car and then she drove them to the apartment complex that was by the college campus. Ron looked out the window at the campus and nodded his head.

"Looks like a nice school." He said appreciatively.

She nodded, "I didn't like it when I first got here but the place has grown on me."

They reached the apartment complex and Bonnie showed him to her apartment, "Daddy did something right when he rented this place."

She opened the door and Ron nodded, "This is nice, you can see the Med from your balcony too…This place is badical Bonnie."

Bonnie nodded, "I'll be just a bit, I want to change into something a little more comfortable."

Ron nodded absently as he poked around in Bonnie's kitchen, "I will be right here when you come back."

She smiled as she headed back into her bedroom, _"Now to seal the deal."_

Ron walked into the living room and took off his shoes and put them under the coffee table, _"I'll probably be sleeping in her tonight, this is such a great place…One bedroom or two…I think it's a one bedroom…I bet the rent here is astronomical."_

Bonnie reappeared with her raven colored hair pulled back with a scrunchie and wearing a bathrobe. She sat next to Ron on the couch and pulled her feet up beside her on the couch and cuddled with him.

"What time is it?" She asked as she was getting comfortable on the couch with him.

Ron pulled at his collar nervously, "Ummmm…he, he, he, ummmmm I think it's around seven."

She reached over and picked up the remote and turned on the television, "You are going to love this then."

He sat there for a few seconds trying to digest what he was seeing, "It is Agony County in Hebrew….Booyahhh."

The show wasn't that impressive, it was from the first season but Ron watched fascinated because it was something that he enjoyed from back home. During commercials Bonnie would kiss his ears and he would turn and give her little kisses.

"_Booyahhhhhh, Agony County and Bonnie on a couch…This is too cool."_ Ron thought happily as he felt the familiar stirring in his loins.

Near the end of the show Ron caught the scent of Bonnie's perfume and he began to drool as an evil grin came over his face and his eyes narrowed, _"Ohhhhhhhhhh Bonnie Smellsssssss Gooooooooodddd!"_

Kim Possible awoke near 4:00AM on the other side of the world, an evil grin came over her face and her eyes narrowed, "Ohhhhhhhhhh Bonnie Smellsssssss Gooooooooodddd!"

She quickly covered her mouth, _"Oh My God, Ron…Nooooooooooooo."_

Ron started to shiver as Bonnie lost interest in the TV show and stuck a tongue in his ear, "Ron, I get soooooo…lonely here by myself…I've tried to make friends…Are you my friend Ron?"

She had stopped speaking in Hebrew so there would be no mistake as to what her intentions were and Ron started to become sucked in to her scheme as he replied softly between kisses, "You know…I've always been…your friend Bonnie…You know that."

Bonnie stood before Ron and gave him a sultry look and then undid her bathrobe and slipped it off her shoulders, underneath she wore a frilly red and white heart shaped teddy that barely covered her privates.

"Boo…Booyah" Ron swallowed hard, then his head tilted and his eyes went wide.

She sat on Ron's lap and put her hands to his face and kissed him softly and in a voice just louder than a whisper informed him that, "I feel so much safer with a soldier in the house to protect me."

Ron grinned and bobbed his head, "Ummm…Bonnie…ummm…It's been a while for me…I don't know if I'd feel that safe."

Bonnie giggled, "You don't have to pretend to be all experienced with me Ron, I'm pretty sure you and Kim never did much more than hold hands and kiss."

Ron grinned evilly and looked at the ceiling, "No Bonnie you…you don't understand…I…I…heh, heh, heh…mmmm…BOOYAHAHAHAHAHA."

Kim's eyes flew open, "BOOYAHAHAHAHAHA"

"_Ron you are so dead."_

Bonnie never knew what hit her, one minute she was in Ron's lap offering herself to him and the next she was on the floor on her back holding on to Ron for dear life, _"Maybe Ron's been around a little more than I thought…Ohhhh that feels soooooooo good."_

"NO HICKIES RON, NO HICKIES…Ohhhhh…ooooh never mind."

For the next six hours Bonnie Rockwaller was on the receiving end of every carnal act that Ron could come up with and she was enjoying every minute of it. Kim however was 3,000 miles away receiving all of Ron's most lurid thoughts and she was not enjoying it one minute.

* * *

Finally it appeared that Ron had run out of steam, it was 10:00 AM in Middleton and Monique had just arrived, she was greeted at the door by the twins who told her that Kim hadn't been out of her room all morning. 

Monique gently tapped on the door, "Kim its Monique..."

Before Monique could finish her sentence there was an urgent reply from behind the door, "GET IN HERE"

Monique jumped at the suddenness of the reply and she walked into the bedroom, she then opened the very large purse she was carrying and pulled out Kim's Christmas present, "Merry Christmas, here you go." She tossed the carton of cigarettes to Kim as she was still sitting on the bed, "A carton of cigarettes just like you asked for."

"Thanks Monique…I'll give you my gift later…Ron's been having sex over and over again with Bonnie for the last six hours." Kim told her friend as she sat in the center of her bed.

Monique chuckled, "No way girl, you are just sooooo stressed by that email."

Kim shook her head, NO…Monique you don't understand…" Kim's eyes narrowed and then a big grin came over her face, "Heh, heh, heh…ohhhhhhh…Slap that ass."

Kim covered her mouth and looked up at Monique in shock, "SEE WHAT I MEAN!"

Monique nodded and started to slide towards the door of Kim's room, "Kim you are letting this girl play you and get inside your head."

"Monique I'm serious…Let me contact Wade to see if he has the Kimmunicators working yet….WADE!" Kim screamed into the Kimmunicator.

The image of a very nervous looking boy appeared on the screen, "I think they'll work now Kim…Try it."

Kim's eyes were wild as she ended the call with Wade without even saying goodbye or thank you and tried Ron's Ronunicaotor. The signal was going through and she smiled in relief, She looked over at Monique, "Maybe your right…I'll talk to Ron and get this all straightened out."

Ron had walked into the bathroom to take a shower and Bonnie was still lying dazed and very satisfied on the floor when she heard the little chirps of the Ronnunicator coming from Ron's duffle bag.

She crawled over to the bag and opened it and found the device and hit the answer key, "How does this thing work?"

Kim image flashed onto the little screen and the two women stared at one another. Kim's mouth fell open; Bonnie was on the screen covered in hickies, lips swollen and bleeding, hair a mess and a thoroughly contented look on her face.

"Hi Kim…Ron's in the shower now so he can't talk to you…I always thought you and Ron were so sweet and innocent…not anymore. The man is insatiable…I know why you lost interest in cheerleading, hell if Brick were half the man…I'd of lost interest too….Ouch…I've got rug burns on my back" Bonnie said breathlessly as she stared at Kim in the view screen.

Kim head moved back and forth very slowly and her mouth tried form words but she was so totally shocked to see Bonnie. Monique snuck across the room and peered over her shoulder.

Monique let out a small gasp as she saw how ravaged Bonnie looked. Bonnie smiled and touched her fingers to her lips, "My lips haven't stopped bleeding yet…Kim this was all about making you miserable and rubbing your nose in it…Now the plan has changed…I am so about Ron now…Ron's wants, his needs…his…desires."

Bonnie struggled to get up to her knees, "Kim…He did things to me…wild, unspeakable things…and I loved it….except for when he came back from the kitchen with a stick of butter…That just hurt…I probably won't be able to walk right for a week."

Kim lips contorted into a sneer and she was just getting ready to unleash a barrage of not very lady like words at her old high school rival, when she saw her turn her head and smile, "I have to go now, I hear the shower water go off, I have to towel dry my man…Don't worry Kim, I'll take good care of Ron for you."

The screen went blank and Kim sat on the bed, then she turned and shook her head at Monique. The two stared at each other in silence when Kim finally was able to talk, all she could say was, "I'd rather Ron slept with a prostitute."

Monique nodded her head, "Bonnie dies"

Kim looked at her and nodded, "Oh yea…Bonnie dies."

She punched the button on the Kimmunicator, "WADE!"

A startled voice came out from the other end, "I wasn't listening to you and Bonnie…Honest."

Kim narrowed her eyes at Wade, "We'll talk about that later…I need a ride to Israel…Like yesterday Wade."

"No Kim" Monique said suddenly.

She spun around and glared at Monique, "Why not?"

Monique shook her head, "Because by the time we get there, Ron will be on his post for the next three weeks and Bonnie will be hard to find…If we are going over there…We will need a plan."

"We're going…Since when has this become a 'We' mission?" Kim asked suspiciously.

Monique stiffened, "Look Kim, I owe Bonnie bad for what she pulled to keep Brick from dating me."

Kim looked at her friend with concern, "What did she do?"

Monique narrowed her eyes and then her voice became cold as ice, "After the Junior Prom, Brick asked me out…I said okay…So we're all set to go out and Bonnie pulls this drama crap" Monique put her hands up to her face, "Ohhhhhh Brick…I'm pregnant with your child…So Brick goes back to Bonnie…How low can some girls go, using pregnancy to keep their boyfriends around."

Kim chuckled nervously, remembering how she had tried to become pregnant in order to keep Ron from going to Israel, "Heh, heh, heh… yea…really."

* * *

Ron stepped out of the shower and was starting to dry himself off, he looked at all the scratches that Bonnie had put on his back and shook his head, _"Who would have figured Bonnie would enjoy rough sex…Where did she come up with that stick of butter thing…that was just sick and wrong." _Ron stopped drying to think about it and then he smiled,_ "but, hey it was fun…I bet she doesn't walk right for a week."_

The bathroom door cracked open a few inches, and he saw Bonnie peak around the corner, she waived shyly, "Can I come in."

He nodded, "Sure"

Bonnie was still naked and she walked up to Ron and hugged him, _"He is sooooo cute standing there naked with the water glistening off his shoulders….Ohhhh Nooo he's looking at me that way again…I don't think I can do it anymore."_

Ron smiled and lifted his eyebrows and then he reached down and swept Bonnie into his arms and carried her back towards her bedroom.

Bonnie smiled, _"Ohhhhhhhhh well…Maybe just one more time."_

Ron carried Bonnie into the bedroom, _"Bonnie sure is durable."_

"So we know Ron is someplace called Tulkharm and it's close to Bonnie in Netanya…How do we find them?" Monique asked as she worked on Kim's computer trying to find any information she could on Israel.

Kim took drag from her cigarette, "I think we need to worry about getting over there and then…Bonnie sure is durable." Kim rolled her eyes, "RON enough already."

Monique started laughing, "Ron get his second wind?"

Kim glared at her friend, "Must have…New plan, Ron dies and then Bonnie."

Monique chuckled, "Kim it's not really Ron's fault…He didn't know that this was all a plan by Bonnie to get at you."

Kim flicked some ashes into an ashtray and then crossed her arms, "Monique…I hate to say it but…I think Ron is a bit promiscuous.'

Monique started laughing, "Oh….just a bit."

She looked at Monique sternly, "I'm trying to give Ron the benefit of the doubt here."

Monique nodded, "Sorry, back to the plan, we find out where everything is on the maps, we find out where Bonnie is living and get her."

Kim rubbed her chin and took another drag from the cigarette, "Here's what we do, you concentrate on finding Bonnie and Ron, and I'll focus on getting us over there…We'll also need disguises."

She looked strangely at Kim, "Disguises?"

"Well…yea…Bonnie might see us and go underground…Besides there's that little misunderstanding with Mall Security and until the assault and battery charge is taken care of…I'm sort of not supposed to leave the state." Kim told her friend nervously.

Monique nodded, "Bobby Troupe filed charges did he?"

Kim looked around the room nervously and then stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray, "YES…Daddies lawyer says that we might be able to getthe assault and battery chargesthrown out as self defense…Then there's all those civil suites…I never dreamed defending the mall could be so complicated."

"Kim…" Monique looked around the room and then she lowered her voice, "Your starting to go nutty again…I think it's time you sat in your chair again."

Her shoulders slumped, "That obvious?"

Monique nodded, "Oh Yea."

* * *

The place the Negeve Desert: 

The time Present Day:

The silver saucer shapped craft sat down and two small grey aliens descended from the craft.

A lone blond IDF soldier comes forward to greet them, "Dude…You can't park that there."

The grey aliens look to one another and then one of the aliens contacts the soldier using mental telepathy, "Greetings Earth Person, we bring you piece and good will from far away….We offer to you today, world peace and fellowship amongst the galactic council."

The blonde soldier shook his head, "NO, this does not interest me…I'm a soldier, you bring about world peace…What am I supposed to do for a living?"

The aliens quickly conferred with each other, "Well Ron you could become an actuary like your father."

The soldier backed up, "How…how do you know this."

The alien turned towards the soldier again, "Ron are you paying attention to me?"

He opened his eyes and looked around the darkened bedroom, "Yes Bonnie…I always pay attention to you."

Bonnie shook her head, "I thought I heard snoring…Like I was saying maybe after you get out of the army, daddy can get you a good job back in Middleton working with the school district or you could become an actuary like your dad."

Ron chuckled, "Why so concerned about what I'm going to do after the army, I've got three years left."

Bonnie pouted, "That's true."

She cuddled up with Ron and stroked his chest, "Ronnnnieeeeeeee…I'm in the mood again."

Ron smiled and kissed her forehead, "Heh, heh, heh, mmmmmmmm...Oh why not."

Kim looked up from across the planet, _"Ohhhh Ron you are so going to be neutered."_


	28. Chapter 28

"RON…would it kill you to put the toilet seat down once?"

Ron cringed and then let out a soft chuckle, "Sorry...You didn't fall in did you?"

"YES" was the aggravated voice from the bathroom.

Ron smiled and then muttered under his breath as he dozed back off to sleep, "Good thing I flushed."

A short time later, Bonnie walked into the bedroom from taking a shower, "Do you really have to go?"

"I was only supposed to be here overnight." Ron crawled out of bed and wrapped his arms around Bonnie, "I didn't think I was going to be here all week."

She smiled and folded herself into Ron's embrace, "So I have to drive you back to the Oster's…Then I will take you to your post."

He smiled, "Yea, I have to admit leaving here will be tough, you've really looked out for me Bonnie."

Bonnie pouted and looked down at the floor, "Yes and now you will let me be lonely for the next three weeks."

Ron smiled and cupped her chin so he could look her in the eyes, "I'll be on post for the next three weeks and then I should be able to get leave and live off base for a week…Then I can take care of your loneliness."

Bonnie frowned, "We could run away together Ron…You wouldn't have to go."

He shook his head, "Bon Bon, I did not spend all that time in the desert, eating crappy food to have to spend the rest of my life worrying about going to a military jail."

"I guess we have to get dressed?" Bonnie said reluctantly as she broke from Ron's embrace.

He nodded, "Yes Bon Bon…It is time to get dressed"

The couple got dressed, Ron made them breakfast, "Eggs and toast, not much but it's quick."

Bonnie smiled and ate the food, "You know Ron, you need to really start looking at finding that right girl to settle down with."

He nodded as the two began to washed dishes Bonnie began dropping more hints about marriage. Ron picked up on the hints and promptly ignored them.

After the dishes were done, Ron packed his things back into his duffle bag, all except for the Ronnunicator that Bonnie had hidden beneath her couch to keep Kim from contacting him.

Bonnie then drove Ron back to Tel Aviv and they made small talk, "So will they let you off for Chanukah?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't think so, I wish they would but I think I will be doing whatever it is I'll be doing during Chanukah."

They pulled up in front of the Oster residence and Ron got out of the car and walked up to the front door and knocked.

Sima opened the door and then crossed her arms and glared at him, "I thought you was only be gone over night…You left and didn't even say goodbye."

Ron chuckled and patted her on the head, "What could I do, she wouldn't bring me back."

Sima followed him back up the stairs, "So you are getting ready to go again?"

"Yes, I have to report tonight, get new gear, and find out what they want me to do…IDF stuff."

Ron packed quickly and looked around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything and then looked over at Sima, "What?"

Sima smiled, "You look much happier now, so is Bonnie your new girlfriend or just a pillow friend."

"Like it is any of your business." He told her as he moved past her to go back down the stairs.

She followed him back down the stairs and gave him a hug before he left with Bonnie for Tulkharm.

* * *

"Kim, we can't be certain, that it's not the chair that's causing you these problems." Dr. Wong explained to Kim once again why she can't be exposed to the mental focusing device. 

Kim shook her head, "I think it's natural, I haven't sat in the chair in close to two weeks…and I'm only experiencing strong emotions….I don't think it will get any worse."

Dr. Wong was looking over her data, "Kim what sort of emotions have you experienced from Ron?"

Kim laughed bitterly, "Well I have experienced Ron's…sexual urges, sadness…That's about it for right now."

Dr. Wong rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I think we need to keep you out of the chair…I'm not real comfortable with the whole situation."

Kim turned away from the doctor, "I really need to do this Dr. Wong…My nerves are shot and I've got the shakes and…I've smoked all my cigarettes."

Dr. Wong was observing how she was reacting, "Kim would you say this is a psychological need or a physical need?"

She let out a deep breath and rolled her eyes, "I…I'm not sure."

"Let's head upstairs to my office." Dr. Wong motioned for the elevator.

Kim backed up and shook her head, _"NOOOOOOO DON"T DO THIS NOT HERE…NOT NOW!"_

Dr. Wong was becoming concerned about Kim's reactions, "Kim…are you feeling alright?"

"N…N…No…I…NEED to see Ron…I…need…to…see…Ron." She said desperately as she began to shake.

"Kim sit in the chair, I need to look at you." Dr. Won quickly took Kim's temperature and checked her blood pressure and then looked at her eyes.

Kim was sweating heavily, "What's wrong?"

Dr. Wong sat in a chair across from her, "I think you're going through some kind of withdrawals, which is good that means the effects of the chair are most likely temporary."

"So I can use it again?" Kim asked hopefully.

Dr. Wong sighed, "I have an egg timer, only one hour…I think it'll be safe for that short of an exposure, wean you off the chair without having you stop cold turkey."

"YES" Kim said excitedly as she lay back in the seat and put on the head gear.

Dr. Wong started up the three workstations and turned down the lights and then she set the egg timer for one hour, "Ready back here Kim."

Kim smiled and started to focus her mind and then she could see Ron and Bonnie pulling up in front of his new post.

Ron pointed towards the building, "I think that's the administration building…I need to report there."

Bonnie parked the car and they got out to say their goodbyes. Kim sat with her arms crossed in the chair, "Don't get mad…Just focus on obtaining information that will be useful for the kick Bonnie's ass mission."

She could see Bonnie's face in the early evening darkness, she could see that she was starting to cry and turned her face from Ron.

He reached over and brought her head to where he could look into her eyes, "It will be alright Bonnie, I will see you again in three weeks…Then we can be together a few days and then it will be just like going to work for a week…I will be with all week until you are sick of seeing me."

Bonnie looked up at him and smiled, "Call me during the week…Think about what we talked about on the way down."

Ron smiled, "I will Bon Bon, I promise."

He gave her a big hug and then a deep kiss that made Kim cringe, _"I will get you for this Bonnie…You will pay for this."_

Ron took a look around real quick while Bonnie got back in her car, _"So this is the border of the West Bank."_

Ron gathered up his gear and walked into the administration building, _"Bonnie keeps throwing around the "M" word…It's just too soon after Kim for me to really think about that…Still Bonnie is right everyone is partnering up…Ned and Tina, Kim and Danny, Yori and whoever…Would life with Bonnie really be all that bad…Mom would be happy."_

Kim twisted in the chair, _"YES life with Bonnie would be that bad."_

"Kim is everything alright; you don't seem to be talking much?" Dr. Wong asked as she walked in front of Kim to make sure she was OK.

She smiled and nodded her head, "Everything's fine…Just not a lot going on with him right now."

Ron saw Sergei as he walked in the entrance, "Shalom, it is good to see you."

Sergei smiled, "It is Big Time Ronnieeeeeee reporting for duty, I see."

He smiled as he saw his friend and the two hugged, "Shalom Sergei…Where do I need to go?"

"Follow me." Sergei took him to the base commander's office and Ron presented his orders, from there he went to the base officer that was in charge of the "Lone Soldiers" and then it was time to head to the quartermaster to requisition his gear.

Sergei smiled, "Now we get new stuff."

Ron received his new helmet which had a brown stripe around it and a brown spot on top to signify the Golani Brigade, he also received a unit Kippah or Yarmulke which was white with a brown circle in the center, body armor, and then he received all of the same gear he had left at Bezeq, packs, sleeping bags, mess kits, etc.

Then it was time to be issued their weapons, Sergei drew the M4 machine gun. A highly customized M16 that is built special for the Israeli military, the man was ready to issue Ron the same gun until he pointed at a different one.

"Excuse me…What is that small belt fed gun in the corner?" Ron asked pointing towards the gun.

The Quarter Master turned and with a bored expression shook his head, "That is the Negev Machine Gun, belt fed 5.56mm…You want that one?"

Ron nodded and was promptly handed the weapon, extra barrel, 1,000 rounds of belt fed ammunition in 250 round nylon bag magazines and a manual on how to maintain the gun.

"_Booyahhhhhhh This gun is going to rock!"_ Ron thought as he waddled off with Sergei dragging all of his gear with him.

Kim lifted an eyebrow, _"Well Ron sure does seem to enjoy guns now."_

They went to the barracks and were shown where they would be living while on post, _"Little more room than at Bezeq…We have foot lockers now."_

They started to stow their gear and Sergei was in a talking mood, "So I hear you are over your lusting problem."

Ron smiled, "Yes…I was only supposed to be with her a day and I spent the week with her…I did not see this coming."

Sergei laughed, "You did not see it coming because you did not look for it…I heard about Kim too from Sima…I am very sorry."

"Yes…well…it was going to happen, I just hoped me and Kim could beat the odds and stay a couple…It just was not meant to be." Ron said sadly as he looked over the pictures and letters from Kim and then put them in the bottom of his footlocker.

Sergei watched him going through his photos, "I left someone behind in Lithuania too, I did not try to hold on to her…She is married to a man that works in a tractor factory…Probably has a fat baby by now…I hope she is happy…That is what you must do…Wish her the best and move on."

Ron nodded, "I understand, it is so hard though…I spent so much time with her and then to have it end in silence…is very frustrating."

Kim shed a tear as she watched the letters and pictures being buried beneath all of Ron's gear, _"He's trying to bury my memory."_

He stared at the foot locker, "Kim is gone…Bonnie is here and wants to have a relationship, and the way she was hinting she wants more…I…I wish Kim wasn't getting married."

"Forget her Ronnie, she loves another and not you now…This Bonnie sounds nice…Get to know her, marry her and then have fat babies."

Kim pressed her lips hard together, _"I do not love anyone else, you will not marry her, you will not have fat babies with her…Bonnie is so dead."_

Ron nodded, "Yes…I will…have to do that…Bonnie's really been good to me since I found out about Kim…Maybe she always cared for me and was afraid of Kim?"

Kim's eyes shot open, "THE HELL SHE DID."

Dr. Wong looked up, "Times up Kim…How are you feeling?"

"I feel a little tired, not as bad as before…It was good to see Ron…I feel much better." Kim said as she took off the head gear.

Kim lay back in the chair and closed her eyes, _"He's okay…He still misses me…I need to find out how to write him…Bonnie has probably found a way into his email or he would know what is going on."_

Dr. Wong came and sat down with her again and checked her vital signs, "So how do you feel emotionally?"

She smiled, "I feel much more relaxed, I don't want a cigarette…Even though there is some stuff going on that I don't want to talk about…I still feel at peace…very calm."

"So you would say that your hour was a positive experience?" Dr. Wong asked as she was scribbling notes.

She thought about it for a long moment and then smiled, "Yea…Being with Ron was…wonderful."

Ron finally had his gear put away and was looking over the manual for his new machine gun, _"It's the commando version, collapsible stock, short barrel, 250 round nylon pouch...LASER SITE…Cool…bipod…selective fire...Oh this gun is going to kick ass."_

Sergei was looking over Ron's rifle, "They are replacing all the MAG's with that gun now, I think you need to switch with me…Small man like you needs to carry the M4."

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Pissoff, this is my gun…This gun is great...I can not wait to run some rounds through it."

Sergei laughed, "The minute we have to go on patrol and you have to pull point, you will come begging me to take that gun away."

Ron wore a tight smile and his eyes grew big, "Oh No…This gun has Ron Stoppable written all over it."

Ron kept reading the manual and then looked up at Sergei, "What?"

"I want the shiny new gun." He said as he started to pout.

Ron looked around the barracks to make sure no one was paying attention to them, "Look Sergei, if you are really nice to me…I will let you touch the manual."

Sergei starting laughing, "You are a bastard Ronnie."

He smiled and nodded, "Maybe…but I have the cool gun."

A group of men entered and the Sergeant called the company to attention, "I am Sergeant Mohammad Shubaki, as you can tell I am an Arab…I have also been in the IDF for ten years, so get used to being screamed at by an Arab."

Ron looked over a Sergei and he lifted an eyebrow, "Corporal Pelzner will read out your duty assignments for the week so listen up and do as you are told. If you behave as men I will treat you as men…If you don't…well it will be ugly for you."

Corporal Pelzner read out the duty sheet, Ron was on morning KP and Sergei was assigned to toilet duty, "Ronnie…I will trade you…"

He smiled, "No…No gun…no toilet duty...I'll stick with the kitchen."

* * *

Kim got off work and headed to the nearest hair salon, _"Rita's, the place looks kind of rough but Ron always gave her credit for the great haircut…and for not wearing a bra…Ron, Ron , Ron…we are just going to have to do something about you."_

Kim walked into the run down store front in the old part of Middleton, Rita was giving a haircut and nodded at a book by the cash register, "Sign in, I'll be just a few minutes."

She sat in an old red plastic chair and thumbed through a magazine that was three years old, _"I don't know about this, it's so close to Christmas, what happens if the hair cut is a disaster."_

Rita finished with the person she was working on and rang him up on the cash register then when she cleaned up the hair from the floor she looked at the appointment book, "Hey…new customer named Kim, follow me."

She led Kim over to a barber chair and sat her in it, "So what do you want me to do today?"

Kim nervously squirmed in the chair, "uhhhh…ummm…I'm…bored with my look, I've had this look forever and I want to look different."

Rita looked her over, "We could thin out the hair, straighten it…You want to change the color?"

She nodded, "I was thinking…blonde?"

Rita shook her head, "No…black, long thin straight black hair…Those green eyes would just pop…You would look sooooooo Goth."

Kim smiled, _"That sounds sooooo cool."_

"What's Goth?"

Rita brought out a magazine and flipped through it and showed Kim a photo of one of the models. She smiled and nodded, "You would look great…with black hair."

She took the magazine and looked closely at the picture, "Ohhhhhhhh I like this…dark, mysterious…pissed off…it's a look that says look bitch get your hands off my man look." Kim looked around quickly, "Did I just say that out loud?"

Rita giggled, "Yes you did, let's go back and wash your hair...Then get ready to go Goth."

Two hours later Kim was staring at a different person in the mirror; her hair was now shoulder length, thin and straight, "Booyahhhhhhhhhh…I look so different…Ron was right…You are good."

Rita smiled, "Ron MacIntyre?"

Kim shook her head, "No Ron Stoppable."

Rita rolled her eyes, "That boy has serious issues, last time I cut his hair; he kept looking down my shirt and making smacking noises."

Kim nodded and said dryly, "Yep…that's my Ron."

Rita rang Kim up at the register and sold her some hair care products to help keep the look, told her to start wearing black and black lipstick, eye shadow and she would look tough.

Kim thanked Rita and left the hair salon smiling, _"Yeaaaaa tough…heh, heh, heh, time to go surprise Monique at the mall and see if anyone recognizes me."_

She drove over to Middleton Mall and parked her car near the entrance where Club Banana was located; she zipped her winter coat up to cover the white mid rift shirt with the red star in the middle.

Then she walked into a mall that was packed with Christmas Shoppers, and she walked in the entrance to Club Banana and right past Monique.

"_Ha…She didn't notice me."_ Kim thought happily to herself.

Kim looked thru the racks of clothes, _"So many new fashions…So little time."_

She was beginning to enjoy the new found freedom of being able to shop in her favorite store again, and then a voice broke her tranquility, "Anything I can help you find?"

Kim shook her head, and looked at the tag on a black mid rift shirt, "No, just looking."

Monique turned away, "If you need any help just let me know."

Kim was privately ecstatic, _"She didn't recognize me…Booyah."_

Kim picked out several items and took them up to Monique at the cash register, Monique rang up the sale and read Kim the total, "That will be $43.20."

Kim handed Monique her bank card and Monique looked at the back of the card to make sure it was signed and then did a double take and looked up at Kim, her mouth fell open and in a hushed voice said, "NO WAY"

Kim smiled, "Told you we were going to have to have disguises to go…You know where."

Monique completed the sale, "I'll call you later, now get out of here before someone recognizes you."

Kim walked out of Middleton Mall, pumped a fist in the air, "BOOYAHHH"

* * *

Ron crawled out of bed at 04:00 hours, took his shower and got himself ready for the day, he made his bed and made everything ready for morning inspection and then made his way to the kitchen to report in. 

The Sergeant Major in charge of the cafeteria put Ron on the serving line serving luff and eggs, after serving hours Ron was given the job of pulling the trash taking it out in back of the building and slinging the bags into the bed of a smelly old white Toyota pickup truck.

Once it was loaded up with trash the Sergeant Major let him know where to take it, "Now you will drive this about 8 kilometers up the road till you find the garbage dump throw it out and bring the truck back and go report in to Sergeant Shubaki…You do have a driver's license, correct?"

"Yes Sergeant Major" Ron was then dismissed and Ron crawled behind the wheel and discovered there was no key to start the truck it was a push button.

He got the old truck started and it lurched forward, _"One thing for sure, I'll know how to drive a stick shift by the time this is all over."_

Ron ground his way through the gears as he headed out towards the land fill, _"I wonder how I'll spot the dump?"_

Then he spotted it, there was trash and refuse lying around all over the ground and there was two men chasing Arabs out of the dump, _"I wonder what that's all about."_

Ron shook his head and turned into the entrance, _"I wonder what that is all about?"_

He drove until he could proceed no further and began slinging the bags out onto the ground with the other trash, suddenly the two men chasing the Arabs came charging forward, "Stop, Stop, You are disposing of secret documents."

"What are you talking about, this is kitchen trash." Ron told them with a sick grin as he watched the men in suits pick their way through the garbage on the ground.

They were both taller than Ron and slender, with service haircuts; their suits looked to be about two sizes too big and they were moving in a hurry, "You are throwing away top secret documents and then the Arabs come out here and pick through the trash and take the documents back into the West Bank for examination."

Ron shook his head, "So what are you guys, Mossad or what?"

The man with the thin moustache laughed, "He asks us if we are Mossad…No we are not Mossad if we were Mossad we would be digging through trash in some other country."

The other man quickly chimed in, "No we are Shabak internal security, I am Raffi Levine and he is Georgie Burger…Now that we have that established, who are you?"

He stared at the two for a long moment, _"Great Shin Bet…These guys are like stupid or something no wonder they're out picking through trash."_

"Private Ronald Stoppable…currently stationed at Tulkharm."

Raffi walked up to Ron and sniffed him, "He smells of over ripened fruit…He is a pink sloth."

Ron recoiled at his observation and blurted out in English, "DUDE…I am not a pink sloth."

"…and you are an American or Canadian…See we really know our business about these things." Raffi walked over to the truck and started looking at the trash in the back, "It is food trash, and very smelly food trash at that."

Georgie nodded, "Throw the trash out over there and return to your base."

He nodded and started to throw the trash where he was directed, and then Georgie became curious, "What is it like?"

"What's what like?" Ron asked as he slammed the tailgate shut.

Georgie came closer, "You know…to be a pink sloth."

Ron shook his head, "I am going back to base."

He returned to base and parked the truck, ran back to the barracks and put on his body armor and grabbed his pack and gun and then he found Sergeant Shubaki, "You are late what took you so long? You were goofing off."

"No sergeant there was these two men at the dump that were accusing me of dumping secret documents." Ron said in his defense.

Sergeant Shubaki rolled his eyes, "Georgie and Raffi….Ignore them they are idiots, that is why they pick through trash and they are too stupid to figure it out."

Ron nodded his understanding, _"I knew it…"_

Sergeant Shubaki looked around, "Everyone is paired off now, you will work with me…I will teach you how to look for bombs on buses and check documents of people as they come thru the check point from the West Bank."

A large bus pulled up to the check point and Sergeant Shubaki looked at Ron, "Load your weapon and follow me."

Ron pulled out one of the nylon bags that held the ammo belt for the rifle and loaded the gun. Then he and the sergeant boarded the bus, "Everyone hands in the air and clap."

Then the two walked down the isles doing a visual examination of belongings, if anything looked suspicious the sergeant would pull it out and look at it, "Ok enough of the clapping, present your papers."

He showed Ron what to look for with the documentation that the passengers were supposed to be carrying, and then they exited the bus and waived it through.

"So do you think that you can do the next bus by yourself?" The sergeant asked.

Ron looked at him uneasily and shrugged, "I will try"

The next bus pulled up the sergeant looked at him, "Your turn."

They entered the bus and the sergeant walked to the back, Ron stood up front unsure of what to do first, _"Oh Boy"_

The bus was full of Arab women on holiday and they were all looking at him, he cheared his throat, "Yo', listen up, have a howler from Ron." Ron then raised his hands and started clapping, "Everyone hands in the air and clap, clap, clap, clap."

Ron and the sergeant began looking between the seats and at packages while the women clapped, once they were satisfied that there was no bombs on board, Ron raised his hand in the air, "PAPERS"

They checked the papers and then exited the bus, the sergeant shook his head, "English and Hebrew, It is a wonder we were not there all day with those women…You are going to have to learn Arabic or at least some Arabic."

Ron grimaced and nodded, _"Word to your mother."_

After his duty shift was over Ron finally caught up with Sergei, "Your day as bad as mine?"

Sergei sat on his bunk, "Bad…I do not know…dull…yes."

Ron unloaded his rifle and sat it by his foot locker, "Dull probably is a better word…I was on buses today….Think we can get some range time? I want to see what this gun can do."

"I have to site my gun in too; we have to find Corporal Pelzner." Sergei said as he got up off his bunk and grabbed his gun; Ron followed him after he retrieved his rifle.

* * *

Once off work Monique headed straight for Kim's house, she rang the door bell and Kim answered the door, "GIRL what did you do?" 

Kim smiled, "Like the new look?"

Monique nodded, "Yea it, I didn't recognize you…You have that whole, dark, mysterious, pissed off look down."

She chuckled and bobbed her head from side to side, "Yeaaaaaaaaa"

"I want to be a blonde, I want to be a blonde, tell me where you got your hair cut done." Monique danced around excitedly.

Kim shook her head back and forth, "Girl named Rita opened a place in old town, she did Ron's haircut."

"She did a good job on Ron…I'll never forget that first time we seen him at the Odyssey he looked soooooooo good." Monique smiled at the memory.

"I remember he helped me out with that drunk guy…I wanted to slap Lacey…Sad about Lacey." Kim said quietly remembering the night.

Monique nodded, "Yea…It just devastated Ron."

Kim nodded, "Yea" Then it was time to get down to business, "So what have you learned?"

"Oh yea, Tulkharm is refugee camp and village in the West Bank...Ron is stationed at a border crossing about 25 or 30 miles from Netanya, I think it would be best to let Ron meet up with Bonnie and then spring the trap." Monique said with an evil grin.

"Hmmmm…Not a bad plan, I think we'll have to probably develop a good plan once we're on the ground and know what we're facing." Kim said as she was trying to work out what to do in her head.

She pulled out the Kimmunicator and pressed the connect button, "Wade, anything on a ride to Israel yet?"

Wade's image took form on the screen and he jumped in surprise at Kim's new look and then he shook his head, "Whoa…Great new look there…Sorry Kim…We've never really done much in that region of the world…I think you guys will have to fly commercial over there."

Kim blinked, "Commercial…as in airplane?"

Wade nodded, "Sorry Kim."

Monique held up a hand, "Hold on…How can we afford to pay for this?"

Wade's voice was low and conspiratorial, "Wellllll…I've kind of created a…false Master Card account that you guys could use to get the tickets and use for your expenses while your over there."

Kim and Monique looked at each other before Kim voiced an objection, "Wade…that's credit card fraud."

"Shhhhhhhh Not so loud." Wade told them as he looked around to make sure his mother hadn't heard them.

Monique looked at Kim and shrugged, Kim nodded, "Wade it's a lucky thing for you that I've learned to become morally flexible about some thing."

Wade looked around cautiously, "Kim…It's a victimless crime."

Kim smiled, "Wade, can you come up with passports for us…Say with different names and our new looks?"

"Different names…Why different names?" Wade asked more than a little confused.

There was an uncomfortable silence and then Kim smiled sheepishly, "I'm kind of…sort of…not supposed to leave the state."

Wade heaved a sigh and shook his head, "I'll see what I can do Kim."

The screen went blank and Kim smiled, "I think its best we have a few weeks to work on this."

Monique looked at herself in the mirror, "Maybe I should just do a blonde wig?"

* * *

**C**hanukah, the Festival of Lights, is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days 

The last day of Chanukah arrived and Ron had fallen into the daily routine of Tulkharm, his KP duty had ended, so he was a free man for a week or so until he was assigned to toilet duty or unloading trucks or KP again.

He was picking up a few words of Arabic, so he could ask for papers, tell people to clap or ask very basic questions. Ron was working the pedestrian gate where Palestinians would come thru on their way to bus stops to take them into Netanya or one of the villages along the way.

Once he was relieved he went to find Sergei, "Shalom Sergei…Any word on when Tirza reports?"

Sergei smiled, "Oh so you are not concerned about what kind of day I had?"

Ron shook his head and smiled, "You are as bad as the old Arab women…Sergei, What kind of day did you have?"

Sergei chuckled and pulled the front of Ron's field hat over his eyes, "Boring and Tirza reports in a few weeks, once he finishes the advanced medic course."

"I was wondering what happened to him, I didn't think he would go AWOL…So what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" Ron asked as they walked into the barracks and began stowing their gear.

Sergei shrugged and started to remove his body armor, "Same thing we do every day….Go play soccer with the Arab kids."

Ron stopped him, "We are on alert again, best to leave it on."

Sergei tightened up the body armor, ;"We are always on alert for something, when we get our next leave we could go to Yad Hannah and look for an apartment."

"I am supposed to go visit Bonnie." Ron told him as they left the barracks.

They walked out to a large empty parking lot that was next the PX, Palestinian kids hung out, they would goof off with the off duty IDF soldiers.

Sometimes they would be in a good mood, curious of the soldiers that they were raised to believe were monsters. Sometimes the mood was darker and they would taunt the soldiers telling them they would be coming back to blow them up. These moods made Ron nervous.

The kids roamed around the border crossing, they came from large families in Tulkharm refugee camps. The kids weren't very well fed so today being a Jewish holiday they knew that there would be lots of food around.

Ron remembered how they went thru a box of donuts that were dropped off for the soldiers from the citizens of the nearby villages. The kids devoured the donuts as though they hadn't eaten in weeks.

There was food from many different organizations to feed the soldiers that were away from their homes. It was more than they could eat so they gave the donuts away to the Palestinians as they came through the crossing and of course to the kids

It was also the first time Ron had been confronted by extreme poverty, he had noticed that many of the children wore the same clothes day after day, and it wasn't only the children it was their mothers and fathers as well.

Ron's thoughts were broken by Efi Shapiro, "Ronnie we need another player."

"You know I am not a good soccer player." Ron reminded him as he walked further out into the parking lot.

Efi laughed, "Americans, football not soccer."

Ron met Efi shortly after arriving at Tulkharm, Efi's family owned a clothing store in Haifa, just north of Tel Aviv. He was tall, good natured and always gave Ron trouble for being an American.

"You Americans don't do well at football because you are obsessed with your upper bodies, hitting small white balls with sticks, throwing American footballs and nonsense like that."

Ron smiled, _"I'm not a sports guy…I did that once and it wasn't fun."_

"I think it is because I quit playing keep away when I was a small child…That is all your football is the world's largest game of keep away."

Efi laughed, "You don't understand football at all."

They played soccer for a while, the game abruptly ended when Sergei kicked the ball into one the concrete road barricades that lined the parking lot and popped the ball.

The kids were upset wanting to know who was going to pay for the ball. The soldiers took up a quick collection; Ron pitched in a couple of shekels and the kids ran off giggling.

Ron looked over at Sergei, "I think we paid too much for that ball."

Sergei nodded, "Probably, I am hungry, and when I am hungry it is time to go eat."

Efi walked over smiling, "He only wants to go there because Bina is pulling evening KP."

Sergei stiffened, "That is not true…I am hungry."

Ron chuckled, "A big guy like you is always hungry."

They started to walk towards the cafeteria, "I do not like Bina…She is hateful woman."

Efi laughed and jogged ahead of the others and turned and pointed at Sergei, "That is why you always walk with her in the morning to the check point?"

Sergei gave Efi a dirty look, "Look we are going to the same place nothing more."

Ron chuckled, "Sergei the building where they do the strip searches is barely in the same direction"

The entered the cafeteria and the line was small, it was always small when Bina worked because she had the nasty habit of slinging the food at the person holding the tray rather than into the tray where the food was supposed to go.

Sergei grabbed his tray and quickly got in line, "Bina how are you today."

Bina looked at Sergei and grinned picked up her spoon and then "Splat" slung a large portion of mashed potatoes right onto Sergei's chest, "I am not interested you, I am going to marry a rich doctor and he will take me away from this and I will never have to look at another naked Arab women again."

Ron looked at Efi and they quickly vacated the line, choosing instead to pick over the left over food that was brought in for Chanukah.

Efi looked back towards the line and chuckled as Bina and Sergei kept arguing back and forth, "I don't think she likes him very much."

Ron who was busy picking a couple of the less stale looking donuts looked over, "She likes, she likes him so much she feeds his clothes."

They sat at a table where they could watch the show in the serving line, finally Sergei walked away and over to the table where they were sitting. Ron smiled at the large round stain in the center of Sergei's uniform, "I am not sure Efi do you think the potatoes are less watery here or at Bezeq?"

Efi just about spit his donut out, "I am not sure either, What do you think Sergei? Are the potatoes here…"

"Shut up." Sergei said sternly as he began to eat the food that actually made it to the tray.

* * *

After the Christmas Holiday, Kim paid a visit to Rabbi Katz to gain information on where to find Bonnie and to ask a few questions that had been troubling her, "Hi Rabbi Katz…Do you have a few minutes?" 

Rabbi Katz stared at Kim as he was trying to reorganize her, "The face looks familiar to me, I'm afraid I don't remember your name."

Kim looked around to make sure they were alone, "I'm Kim Possible…Ron's friend."

The Rabbi nodded, "Ahhhh yes, Kimberly…I thought you had red hair?"

Kim looked at the ceiling, "Ohhhhh well, you know us girls, I was just looking for a new look.

"Of course, it's a very nice look…Let's go into my office and see if I can help you." Rabbi Katz said as he turned and began to walk back to his office.

She had never been in the Rabbi's office before, she looked all the different books and scrolls, "I've got some questions…I'm not sure, what to ask first."

The Rabbi crossed his hands on his desk, "This wouldn't happen to do with Ronald and you knew look would it?"

"Well, yes…sort of…How does one go about converting to Judaism?" Kim asked in a very meek voice, she unsure if this was the right thing to start off her conversation with.

He was silent for a long moment, "Are you converting because you want to or are you wanting to convert because you have feelings for Ronald?"

Kim looked down at her feet as she struggled to find the right words, "Because of Ron…We…became very close before he left…We had talked of taking our relationship further…but…He was afraid I wouldn't let him raise the children as Jewish…I…I…want to…make him feel more comfortable."

Rabbi Katz smiled, "I think he would feel better about moving towards a commitment with you with that obstacle out of the way...I seem to remember having that conversation with him last year, when he broke his hand."

Her eyes shot open, "He talked to you about this last year…After the junior prom?"

He shook his head, "Not about children, no, he was concerned why his mother didn't like you, and about Bonnie calling him a stupid Jew."

Kim slumped in her chair feeling very foolish, "Oh…Ron's mom really doesn't like me does she."

The Rabbi shook his head, "Not you personally, she just wants Ron to marry a nice Jewish girl.

There was a long silence as Kim thought the answer over.

"Kimberly…Do you believe in God?" Rabbi Katz inquired.

Kim sat up straight in her chair and began to stammer, "I…Yes…I…believe there is something or someone watching over us…I…mean I don't go to church regularly or anything…But I do believe in God…"

Rabbi Katz nodded, "Now the next question I have for you is…How do you, feel about converting…Judaism is not just a religion, it's a culture, a way of life."

"I just want to make Ron happy…I don't know what to think of one religion or another…I just want to go to Israel and be with Ron." Kim said as she was trying to fight back her tears.

Rabbi Katz held up his hand, "Kimberly, I'm going to give you a few books to read to make you familiar with Judaism, these are the same books that I gave to Bonnie to educate her when she finally discovered she was Jewish."

Her mood brightened, "Bonnie is over there maybe…If I wrote her a letter…she could help me answer these questions."

"That is a wonderful idea Kimberly, I'm sure Bonnie would be happy to help you." Rabbi Katz said happily as he started going through his rolodex to find Bonnie's address.

"Ahhhhhh here it is." He then scribbled the address on a yellow pad and handed it to Kim.

Kim smiled and nodded, "Please and thank you...So this is the address to her apartment in Netanya?"

Rabbi Katz nodded, "Yes, I'm sure she'll help you with whatever questions you have."

She smiled and looked at the note, _"Bonnie you are sooooo dead….I know where you are now."_

Kim rose and followed the Rabbi to his bookshelf and took the three soft cover books the Rabbi gave her, "Thanks Rabbi Katz…You don't know how much this means to me."

Rabbi Katz smiled and showed her to the door, "I'm always happy to help, read those books over and bring them back and we'll talk further…Alright Kimberly."

She smiled happily having received what she had come for, "Thank you Rabbi Katz, I'll get the books back to you soon, I promise."

Rabbi Katz shouted after Kim who made her way to the exit as quickly as possible, "Take your time Kim, there is no hurry on a decision this important."

Kim hurried out to her car and slid behind the steering wheel, _"I'll look over these books, I know how important this is to Ron now, I have to let him know that I have no problems with Judaism."_

Kim let out a deep 'sigh' and nodded her head, _"First things first…Get to Bonnie and get things straightened out with Ron…Then kick his ass for sleeping with Bonnie."_


	29. Chapter 29

Sergeant Shubaki gave Company C a quick inspection, today would be their first patrol since they were assigned to the base, "We will be marching most of the day, make sure you have plenty of water…The mission is simple look for breaks in the security fence and to be seen by the good terrorists in Tulkharm so that they know we still patrol the area."

Ron had his body armor on a light pack with things he would need in the field for an afternoon and two canteens of water, 2 fragmentation grenades and 2 concussion grenades, 2 aviation flares were issued to each man in the company, _"Never had to carry these before, hope I don't have to use them…I'm still afraid I'll end up blowing myself up."_

"Sergeant Shubaki, do you think we will see any action?" Sergei asked, and Ron was glad he did because it was at the back of his mind too.

"There is always that possibility, so keep your eyes open and if you see anyone trying to get through the fence or the razor wire…Shoot them because if you do not, they will get a ride into Netanya and kill as many innocent people as they can." The Sergeant told them in a loud clear voice so that everyone could hear and understand what he was telling them.

Ron double checked all his gear and made sure he had his helmet on tight, then came the command, "Machine gunner to the front."

He walked out about thirty feet in front of the rest of the company and began to march towards the green line and the road that ran the length of it; he could see the corrugated tin shanties and stone buildings of Tulkharm coming closer and closer.

This was as close as Ron had ever been to the refugee camps, he could see up the hill that there were young men gathering in the distance and they were shouting and cursing and throwing rocks at the company.

The company was still about a kilometer and a half away and then they crossed the road to walk along the fence, Ron could hear the chanting now, _"What the hell does aloha snack bar mean?"_

They reached the road and turned south, _"This is a security wall? It looks like those walls they put up along side the highway in Middleton to cut down on the noise from the highway."_

The wall was of varying height; the wall only had to be high enough that terrorists would have trouble scaling it, and tall enough that the terrorists couldn't get a good shot at the cars on the road from the rooftops of Tulkharm.

They had been on patrol for about an hour before the wall turned into a fence of razor wire loops strung out along the ground to discourage people from trying to cross it.

Ron heard the sergeant yell at the company to be alert, because this area was the week spot of the security fence, "Stay alert and look for holes, or breaches in the razor wire."

They continued along the both sides of the road, Ron was in front of the company when he spotted a whole in the razor wire and held up a hand and began to look around, _"Whoever cut the fence is probably long gone by now."_

Sergeant Shubaki jogged to where Ron was standing, "It has been cut, weapon ready, keep your eyes open, no telling what we might find up ahead."

Then the sergeant ran back to tell the others, Ron watched until he was given a hand signal to move out, _"OK…Here we go…How'd that Subliminal song go…If they want to kill you….Kill them first."_

He continued to lead the company up the road, his senses were operating at peak efficiency, he come to a stop when a car was on the road till it passed and then he would continue on again.

They had been moving for the better part of an hour when Ron spotted something. His hand shot up to signal a halt and he took a quick knee, _"I don't think we've been spotted…good."_

Sergeant Shubaki jogged up next to Ron, "What do you see?"

Ron pointed across the highway, "Up the side of that hill about 50 meters, it looks like a person trying to hide."

The sergeant looked until he spotted the place that Ron was pointing at, and then he turned and motioned for the company to follow him back across the road, "This could be fun Stoppable."

The company quickly ran across the road to rejoin the rest of the company, and then they slowly made their way towards the area that Ron pointed out, when they were within about 20 meters the sergeant held up a hand, stood up and walked over to the area and then he laughed and called to Ron, "Stoppable come look what you found."

Ron approached the area with his gun at his shoulder and the sergeant laughed even harder, "Stoppable, it's the living ones you have to worry about not the dead ones."

He looked down and suddenly realized that he was looking at half a torso and there were bits and pieces of the man all around him and a small crater in the ground just in front of the torso. Ron looked at the sergeant and was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Splodydope…He cut the wire back there and was making his way to Netanya, tripped going up the hill and blew himself up." Sergeant Shubaki explained to Ron.

Sergei crept forward and had a look, "Not much left of him."

Sergeant Shubaki slapped Ron on the back, "Good eyes spotting him from way over there…Ha, no virgins for him."

Ron looked towards Sergei for an explanation, and Sergei filled him in, "The crazy Muslims think that if they commit suicide and kill lots of innocent people that when they go to heaven they will be given a thousand virgins or something like that…He failed so he gets no virgins."

Ron nodded that he understood and then a twisted smile came over his face, "No virgins for him."

* * *

Kim was in the campus bookstore buying text books for the next semester with Monique and she was telling her about her talk with Rabbi Katz when a twisted smile came over her face, "No virgins for him."

She looked at Monique as then quickly covered her mouth, _"What is Ron doing now?"_

"I think something is going on with Ron."

Monique nodded, "Gee do you think!"

Kim closed her eyes and put down the textbook she was looking at, "Look…Never mind."

"What?" Monique asked defensively.

There was a long silence as Kim debated on if she should say anything to Monique or to just keep the thought to herself, _"I'm think I'm starting to find out how Ron felt when everyone thought that he was stupid."_

"I'm just really tired, I think I'll just head on home."

Monique winced realizing that she had hurt Kim's feelings, she took Kim by the arm before she could walk away, "Sorry about being a smartass, I know you have a lot on your mind, but at least stay long enough to get your books."

Kim nodded, "OK"

"You okay?" Monique asked still puzzled at Kim's behavior.

Kim took a deep sigh, "No…I'm going to talk to mom and dad tonight about converting to Judaism."

Monique closed her eyes and nodded her head finally understanding what was really bothering Kim, "How do you think they'll take it?"

Kim was silent for a long moment, she wasn't really sure how her parents would react, she had never had this kind of a conversation with her parents before, "I…I don't know…Mom's still upset about the haircut and thinking it's all a part of my drinking and smoking problem."

"I've got all my books, what do you have left to find?" Monique asked her quietly.

Monique watched her as she looked at her course schedule in her shaking hands, "I need intro to Hebrew…Theory and Function…Monique I'm scared to death Ron's going to fall in love with Bonnie."

"Kim, that's not going to happen, we'll get there in time to tell Ron what happened and then you two will just have to work it all out…You know Ron still loves you." Monique reminded her.

Kim took a deep breath, "Yea…I think I need some chair time, I can feel my control starting to slip away and I want a cigarette so bad it's not even funny."

They purchased their books and said their goodbyes; Kim drove back home and parked in the driveway. She stared at the house, she was worried about how her mom would react to her decision and she was kicking herself for not going away with Ron.

She took a deep breath as she got out of the car and then she climbed the three steps to the front door, hesitated and then turned the knob and walked inside. She walked to the back of the house and found her parents in the kitchen.

"Mom, Dad, I need to talk to you."

Mr. Dr. P. looked up from his news paper, "Whoa, still not used to the hair cut Kimmiecub."

Mrs. Dr. P. came and sat at the kitchen table with her husband, "Are you ready to face your alcohol dependency issues?"

Kim rolled her eyes, "Mom, I'm not an alcoholic."

"Of course you are that's the only explanation for you butchering your hair." Mrs. Dr. P. was still angry about Kim's new hair cut.

"MOM this isn't about alcohol or drugs, I want to convert to Judaism." Kim quickly explained

Her parents sat at the kitchen table in stunned silence, finally her dad was able to respond, "Kim…Does this have anything to do with Ronald?"

Kim nodded, "I love Ron…In his mind, his religion is the only thing that keeps us apart and I want to take that obstacle out of the way."

Mrs. Dr. P. was still fuming, "So you're doing this for Ron and not because you believe in his faith."

She nodded her head, "He was always worried that if we ever did have kids that I wouldn't let them be raised as Jewish."

Mrs. Dr. P. was becoming very angry, her face was flushed and she was getting ready to let Kim have when she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder, "Doctor…You are about to become out of line."

Kim's mom let out a deep breath and squeezed the hand on her shoulder, "You talk to her…I have a headache."

They both watched nervously as Mrs. Dr. P. got up from the table and left the room, Mr. Dr. P. stood and walked over to Kim and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Kim…I am not the most religious of people…What little I know of is what I was raised with as a child."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Dad…"

Mr. Dr. P. cut her off, "I know you miss Ron, your mother and I can see the difference in you since he left…Your mother and I will be fine with whatever decision you make as long as you are happy." Mr. Dr. P. then gave a half smile, "I know your mother will be fine because I'm going to go have a talk with her."

Kim's eyes welled up with tears and she bit her lower lip and hugged her father, "Thank you daddy."

Kim left the kitchen and headed to her room, Mr. Dr. P. watched her leave the room and then he heaved a sigh, _"Converting to Judaism, glad that's all it was, I was afraid she was going to run of to Israel or something."_

Mrs. Dr. P. came back into the kitchen, she was still visibly upset, "Well what did you tell her?"

"I told her that we were fine with whatever would make her happy." Mr. Dr. P. told her.

Mrs. Dr. P. looked away from her husband and tapped her foot on the ground, "I am so…angry with her…first she won't confront her substance abuse problems and now that haircut."

Mr. Dr. P. nodded his head, "Have you talked to her lately?"

She shook her head and looked at the floor, _"I haven't really talked to her since…She tried to have Ron get her pregnant."_

"No not recently."

Mr. Dr. P. rubbed his chin, "I think maybe it's time to have a talk to her."

"No…Not right now, I'm still fuming." Mrs. Dr. P. crossed her arms and shook her head.

Mr. Dr. P. came over and hugged his wife, "Now tell me what is really bothering you."

Mrs. Dr. P. resisted the embrace at first and then relented, "I don't know…I always thought that Kim and I were close, then she gets a car and that whole 'Bitch Slap" thing on the trunk, she starts working and going to college and now that haircut…I'm starting to feel like I don't…know her anymore."

Mr. Dr. P. kissed her forehead, "Maybe you had better talk to her."

"I...I'll go talk to her." Mrs. Dr. P. said as she released the embrace and made the walk from the kitchen to the stairs and then up to Kim's room. She stood outside the door and took a deep breath and then she knocked on the door.

She heard Kim from the other side say, "Come in."

Mrs. Dr. P. stuck her head in the door, "Can we talk."

Kim nodded, "As long as you don't accuse me of drinking or doing drugs…sure."

Mrs. Dr. P. winced and entered the room, "We…haven't really talked in a while…So…Why the haircut?"

Kim laughed, "It's a disguise mom, Monique and I are heading to Israel in a few weeks to kick Bonnie's ass…and we didn't want her recognizing us before we got to her"

"So…Why are you going all the way across the planet to kick Bonnie Rockwaller's ass?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked not quite sure if she really wanted an answer.

Kim giggled and rubbed the back of her neck, "I guess I'm starting at the end of the story or the middle or whatever…I'm trying to think of how to start."

"The beginning is usually a good place." Mrs. Dr. P. reminded her.

"Right…OK…Three years ago Ron and I were exposed to the truth ray…I think you remember what happened around here that night." Kim reminded her mother.

Mrs. Dr. P. rolled her eyes, "Ohhhhhh boy do I."

Kim smiled and tilted her head, "I was behaving a little erratically that night…Well it turns out that Ron and I are the only humans ever exposed to the truth ray and that it can make us…act a little strangely from time to time."

Mrs. Dr. P. lifted an eyebrow, "A little strangely?"

"YES…That's why I've been acting so random and weird, well the only time I break into high strangeness is because Ron isn't around…Ron suffers from it too, but I haven't told him yet." Kim explained.

"Kim this is a little far fetched." Mrs. Dr. P. told her daughter as she sat down on the bed with her.

Kim nodded, "I always knew something was wrong…I just didn't know what…I was having one of my bad spells when Danny Baldwin asked me out…I said yes and we went out…I saw Bonnie and Bonnie left for Israel."

She stopped to take a breath, "Well I kind of quit writing to Ron during this time and Bonnie found out where Ron was and told him that I was engaged to Danny Baldwin and that's why I stopped writing to him."

Mrs. Dr. P. was shocked that Kim had stopped writing to Ron"Why did you stop writing…Did you lose interest in Ron?"

She shook her head, "I don't know…It was hard writing to him and not having him here…He's been gone over six months now…There are times I still can't believe it."

Mrs. Dr. P. shrugged her shoulders, "So why not just give Ron a call or send him a letter or email and let him know the truth."

Kim frowned and shook her head, "I sent emails and Ron never got them, probably because of Bonnie, Bonnie has the Ronnunicator…and I don't know where he is to write."

Kim's mom still didn't understand fully but figured it would come out soon, "So the truth ray makes you behave abnormally unless you two are around each other?"

"Yea…When Ron's not around…I can feel myself loosing control…That's why I started smoking…I'm not that bad now because of my job at the space center." Kim continued to explain.

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "So what exactly do you do at the space center."

Kim smiled, "I clean up the rat cages and help with experiments, Ron and I have a partial telepathic link…When he's feeling a strong emotion…I feel it too."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "Kim…this…is a little beyond me…How did working with rats give you and Ron partial telepathic link?"

Kim laughed, "Not the rats, the rats were exposed to the truth ray and they began to exhibit telepathic abilities so…Dr. Wong hired me and to see if I had any, I didn't so they hooked me up to a machine called the mental focusing device….With the machine…I could see what Ron was doing and thinking in real time."

Mrs. Dr. P. was becoming uncomfortable with all this information she was getting, "Ron doesn't know about any of this?"

Kim shook her head, "I…I saw Ron shoot two people over there that were trying to shoot him."

"Oh honey that's terrible. So you can tell that Ron is doing okay with this machine?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked.

Kim nodded and continued telling bringing her mother up to speed, "I…I also saw one of his fantasies…before Bonnie got there…He was fantasizing that we were married and had a little girl…Then he shook it off…He thought that it could never be…For whatever reason and he was also afraid that I wouldn't let him raise our children as Jewish."

Mrs. Dr. P. finally understood things, "So that's why you're thinking about becoming Jewish."

"Yea…Mom, the fantasy was so…warm and loving…I could feel his love for me…and I could feel his pain when he shook it away…Then Bonnie shows up and now she's trying to lean on Ron to marry her." Kim said sadly.

"Well Kim, I hope you can get to Ron and make things better with him…His fantasy is pretty consistent with how he reacted when he got angry at me before he left….He wants a family so badly." Mrs. Dr. P. said sadly.

Kim nodded, "Mom…Am I doing the right thing?"

Mrs. Dr. P. was silent for a moment while she thought about the situation, "I'm not sure, you're not trying to deceive Ron…So I guess it may be the right thing."

Kim shook her head, "I want to get to work tomorrow and check on Ron…I'm so scared I'll be too late."

Mrs. Dr. P. embraced Kim, "You'll get there in time…How are you getting there?"

Kim chuckled nervously, "Ummmmm Wade is hooking us up with a ride."

"No substance abuse problems then?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked with a smile.

Kim chuckled, "No substance abuse problems."

* * *

The company held its position by the dead would be suicide bomber until the Red Crescent could be notified and an ambulance was dispatched from the base to collect the remains.

Once that was accomplished they marched back to the base near Tulkharm, it was late evening when the company arrived back at base. Ron took a shower and then was given the third watch by the armory so he went to bed early.

Sergei was pulling second watch but he wasn't ready to sleep just yet and was determined that Ron shouldn't be either, "Ronnie….You asleep?"

"Yes" Ron said as he rolled over onto his back.

"You talk to Bonnie lately?" Sergei asked.

Ron looked over to him, "I talked to her on the phone a few days ago…Why?"

Sergei was lying on his back and shook his head from side to side, "No reason…So when we get our leave you don't want to go to Yad Hannah and look for a place?"

Ron chuckled, "Well Bonnie has a nice place….I was kind of thinking that she might let me keep my boots under her bed for a while."

Sergei looked over at Ron, "Ahhhhhhhhh see you are starting to get over Kim."

Ron laughed, "Yea…I guess….Now leave me alone so I can get some sleep."

* * *

Kim awoke early in the morning, it was the first day of the new semester and she wanted to get into work early so she could see Ron and then head to her classes. She was nervous she hadn't sat in the chair for a while and the stress was starting to get to her.

She showered and dressed and then raced to her car and popped the glove compartment and then closed it again, _"No…no cigarettes."_

Kim drove to the space center all the while glancing at the glove compartment, it was as though she could hear the Marlboro's calling her name from inside it, "Kimmieeeeeee come smoke meeeeeeee."

She quickly shook the image out of her head, _"Stop it, we'll see Ron soon and then those cigarettes will shut up…Oh my God…The cigarettes are not talking to me…I am not crazy"_

She arrived at work and quickly ran inside and cleaned all the rat cages out, she said hello to Candi and Mortimer, then she quickly looked at them again as she realized that they were mating, _"Lucky Candi."_

Kim chuckled and headed into the lab and found Dr. Wong, "I need the chair today…I've got the shakes and the cigarettes are calling my name."

Dr. Wong laughed, "Well it's been a week and you're doing much better since we started to wean you off the machine….Have a seat."

Kim quickly jumped in the chair and put the head gear on, "Ready up here."

"Computers are up and….the programs are running." Dr. Wong told her.

Kim closed her eyes and could see Ron taking a shower and complaining about the lack of hot water, _"Bad enough that I have to pull third watch, at least they could do is give us a little hot water."_

Kim watched Ron finish his shower and then he stepped out, it was early morning and Ron was by himself as he dried off in front of the mirror, Kim began to squirm in her seat, she had not seen him without clothes on since before he left for Israel, _"Oh my he looks good."_

Ron quickly dressed and grabbed his rifle from the corner and began to walk out into the early morning darkness, _"Time to relieve Sergei…Maybe I should go to Yad Hannah with him and find a place…It would be cheaper just move in with Bonnie."_

Kim lifted an eyebrow, _"You just move in with her and see what happens Ronnie."_

Ron was getting closer to where he was to stand guard; he spotted Sergei and waived, "Shalom Sergei, did you sleep well?"

Sergei laughed and shook his head, "I do not sleep on guard duty any more after what happened to Nimrod and Nohn were killed."

Ron nodded, "You're not the only one."

"So you want to Yad Hannah or you still going to try and move in with Bonnie?" Sergei asked.

Ron tilted his head to one side, "I do not know, I like Bonnie…I like Bonnie a lot now that Kim's moved on…I do not know if I like her that much."

Sergei laughed, "You like the sex but not sure if you like the girl."

Ron shook his head, "Something like that…I just wish I could talk to Kim."

"Why, she is getting married, she will not listen to you…Move in with Bonnie, marry Bonnie have fat babies and let Kim be a nice memory." Sergei told him.

Ron was quiet as he looked down at his boots, "Yes…I guess your right…I…I just wish…Kim would have at least told me…She probably has forgotten all about me by now."

"If you don't want to hook up with Bonnie, come with me to Yad Hannah, maybe find you a nice Russian Jewish girl for you there." Sergei said as he punched Ron in the arm.

Kim had her arms crossed, _"Sergei is on the list…Fat babies with Bonnie, all the fat would be in the head."_

Ron laughed at Sergei's suggestion, "We might have to do that, now go back to bed so I can stand guard in peace."

Sergei smiled and nodded, "At least I will get a few more hours of sleep…You stay awake and do not get your throat cut."

Ron nodded and waived at Sergei as he started to walk away, _"Awwwwww Kim, why didn't you at least say goodbye….Damn it, every time I think I'm over her…She creeps back into my head."_

Kim looked around the lab quickly, "I wonder if he knows…or maybe he's sensing me and doesn't know it."

Dr. Wong walked over, "Anything wrong?"

Kim shrugged, "I'm not sure, I think Ron might be sensing me."

Dr. Wong lifted an eyebrow and began writing notes, Kim closed her eyes and focused on Ron once again, _"Well at least he hasn't fallen in love with Bonnie."_

Ron walked from one corner of the building to the other to stay sharp, _"Maybe…When I go back home for Ned's wedding, maybe I should try and hook up with Monique again...I really like Monique, she's fun…I bet it would be a blast being married to her."_

Kim just about flew out of the chair, "This just became a solo mission."

Dr. Wong looked at Kim, "Everything alright?"

"No…I just have a few loose ends to clear up with a certain friend." Kim said as she reeled from the jealousy of Ron's feelings for Monique.

Kim closed her eyes again and could feel that Ron was in a happier mood, _"Maybe I could see Kim when I get home….Screw the shit out of her and send her waddling back to good Ol' Danny Baldwin with a big stupid grin on her face and he would never know how it got there."_

Kim opened up one eye, _"OK Ron that's enough of that kind of thinking."_

Ron was becoming angry and Kim could feel it, he was angry at her for not writing him, angry that she was getting married, and angry at Danny Baldwin, "Good Ol' Danny…That limp dicked mother…"

"RONNNNNNN…That is enough of that." Kim screamed as she jumped out of the seat.

Kim started pacing by the chair and Dr. Wong came rushing over, "Kim what's going on."

She had her hand over her mouth and she was starting to cry, "He is so angry with me…I didn't mean to hurt him…I'm killing Bonnie…Bonnie is dead."

Doctor Wong began shutting down the system, "Kim I'm shutting the computers down…OK…Now tell me what is going on?"

Ron's head jerked as if someone had grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him backwards, _"Whoaaaa…hmmmm…What was I thinking about again…Oh Yea, Yad Hannah…It's close to base, I could buy a bike and ride back and forth…"_

* * *

Kim finished composing herself, "Before I started working her, I went out on a date with a guy named Danny Baldwin, Bonnie Rockwaller saw us and then she started going to school in Israel…She told Ron that Danny and I are engaged."

Dr. Wong chuckled, "Well just write to him and explain it to him."

"I…I…kind of stopped writing to him…I…I was having one of my bad spells before I started working here." Kim said in a sad voice as she sat on the chair.

"So email him or call him on the phone." Dr. Wong told her.

Kim shook her head, "I tried, Bonnie has his email account and…his cell phone…and I don't know his current address."

Dr. Wong nodded, "Maybe we could use the chair to send him a message?"

Kim shook her head, "NO…Then I'd have to explain what was going on and he would really be mad at me then."

"Not communicate with him, just enough of a connection to implant the idea that you're not really getting married." Dr. Wong suggested as she looked over her paper work.

Kim sat back in the chair and put the head gear on once again, "OK…I'm ready to try it."

Dr. Wong nodded, "OK give it a try now."

Ron was still walking his post when his head jerked again, _"Damn it…What was I thinking about again…Oh Yea…I ought to go to Kim's wedding and just snap that little bastards neck in front of everyone…Taking Kim away from me…I ought to Kill him for that."_

Kim squirmed nervously, "RON…I'm not getting married."

Ron shook his head, _"You know…maybe Kim isn't really getting married…Oh yes she is…Why would Bonnie tell me that if she wasn't."_

Kim was starting to become flustered, "Because she's a bitch Ron."

Ron looked at the ground, _"Maybe Bonnie is just being a bitch?"_

She lay back in the seat, "Yes…It worked…Now maybe Ron will quit being so angry with me."

Ron smiled at the thought of Bonnie lying to him, _"Nooooo Bonnie wouldn't do that…Maybe I'll just head back to Middleton and marry Monique…She's got a nice ass and a pair of…"_

"RONNNNNNNN…Ok this isn't working out too well." Kim said as she hopped out of the chair.

Ron was standing in front of the door to the armory with a big smile on his face, _"Then I get Monique buck naked and…" _His head jerked again as the computers from the space center powered down,_ "What was I thinking about…Oh yea, Corporal School or Sniper school?"_

Ron began rubbing the back of his neck, _"If I go to take the Corporal training I could be finished with it before I go on leave for two months…Sniper school would take much longer…Being a Corporal would pay better than being a sniper…I think."_

Ron could see the sun starting to come up and the border crossing was starting to become alive with the morning workers coming from Tulkharm to go their jobs in Israel, _"If I became a Corporal…I'd probably be transferred…I don't want to go back to Bezeq…Maybe they'd send me to Jerusalem?"_

Ron sighed sadly, _"I better tell Sergei that I can't get a place with him until I'm a little more settled…Better tell Bonnie the same too."_

_"Maybe Kim isn't really getting married…Maybe Bonnie is just being a bitch and playing one of her games?"_ Ron pondered these new thoughts that entered his mind.

Ron shook his head, _"No…Bonnie isn't like that no more and you better get that Kim isn't getting married idea out of your head…If you go home thinking that and you see her out on the street with him…I know, I know…It would just kill me."_

Ron looked down at his feet and kicked a small rock, _"Maybe if I get sent to Jerusalem I can hook up with Babbette…O La, La."_

Ron chuckled at that thought, _"Who am I kidding, I still love Kim…I just lost out…Damn Mystical Monkey Powers…Danny will take good care of Kim…Make her happy…and if he don't or if he hurts her….I'll just snap his neck like a twig."_

* * *

Kim attended her classes for the day and met up with Monique in the student union, she was bothered by Ron's anger and about his feelings towards Monique. She saw Monique coming towards the table and she waived to her, "I just got here."

Monique sat down, "This Business Administration class is going to be ruff."

Kim nodded, "Hebrew is going to be rough…I didn't see you in class?"

"I'm taking Spanish." Monique told her as she fought to keep from grinning.

Kim narrowed her eyes at Monique, "The only reason I took the course was because I thought you'd be in class with me."

Monique began laughing, "No you took it to keep me from getting one up on you with Ron."

Kim grimaced, "Yea…I guess your right…So Business Administration is going to be tough….Maybe you'd better sit this mission to Israel out…I can handle it on my own."

"And miss my big chance at punching Bonnie…No Way, I'm going." Monique said as she pointed a finger in Kim's face.

"No your not, your staying here." Kim said in a slightly tweaked voice.

Monique sat back in her chair, "OK…What happened at work today?"

Kim looked around the room with a deep frown on her face, "I'm not telling you."

"Well then I'm going…You know what happens to you when you try and do this stuff by yourself…You get beat up or put in jail." Monique reminded her.

"Sha…I do not." Kim replied angrily.

Monique nodded, "I know something happened because you're starting to act like Ron."

"Am not" Kim replied.

"Are too…Did you have a quiz in Hebrew class today?" Monique asked.

Kim chuckled and rolled her eyes, "It was only an assessment test to see how much of the language we knew."

Monique nodded, "So what did you get?"

Kim rolled her eyes and started to rub the back of her neck as she slouched in her chair, "Well I'm not one to brag…but…you know Monique it wasn't my best effort…There were many reasons…many reasons…I scored a gentlemanly "C"."

Monique lifted an eyebrow and Kim sat up straight, "Ohhhhh My God….Oh my God…What am I doing?"

"I noticed it before Christmas when you kept saying Booyah…Still want to go it alone?" Monique asked.

Kim slumped in her chair in defeat, "Ron…was thinking about asking you to marry him."

Monique was drinking from a soda can and she spit the soda back out and some of the liquid came out her nose, "W…wh…WHAT?"

"Ron's really mad at me…and he thought…it would be fun to be married to you." Kim said sadly.

"Well it would be really fun to be married to me…Ron really thought that?" Monique asked excitedly.

Kim's green eyes narrowed, "Your not coming."

Monique nodded and smiled, "Ohhhhhh yeaaaaa baby…I wouldn't miss this for the world…You better not screw this up Kim because if he asks me to marry him…I'm not going to say no…or let's just be friends."

Kim winced at the memory of telling Ron that they should just be friends, _"This is becoming more complicated than I expected."_


	30. Chapter 30

Ron sat basking in the late afternoon sun of a warm January day; he was sitting against one of the concrete barricades that was well away from the crossing point. He was enjoying a bag of chocolate milk and reflecting on his day, _"I turned in my paper work for Corporal classes, I'll start those next week and be done in early May…Take leave for two months and go to Ned's wedding and see my sister…Should be a good time."_

Then his thoughts turned melancholy, _"I'd really like to see Rufus again, but he's at the Possible's and I don't dare go over there…What happens if I see Kim and Danny there…Man talk about awkweird."_

His attention was diverted by Uday a chubby Palestinian boy that attached himself to Ron at the checkpoint. The boy was overweight and the other kids made fun of him so he tended to shy away from them.

He was pleasant enough, short black hair, glasses and teeth that were in dire need of braces. Ron liked having him around when he was on breaks, because when Uday was there he didn't have time to think about Bonnie or Kim or any other little nagging problems that cluttered his mind.

Ron smiled and waived at Uday as he came over to have a seat next to Ron, "I broke my sandal Ronnie."

Ron laughed, "Uday that is what the third time this week?"

Uday smiled and shrugged and handed Ron the offending sandal, "It keeps coming untied."

He turned the sandal over in and looked at the bottom, it was the same old problem the sandal was wore out and the once sturdy sole would no longer hold the strap in place. So the sandal kept falling apart.

Ron fiddled with the sandal and put the tab back in the slot and anchored it as best he could, "If I had a piece of string, I could really fix this thing up right."

Uday reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of brown twine, "You said that last time so I found this."

"Ahhhhhh, finally someone that pays attention to me." Ron chuckled as he took the twine and went back to work on the sandal.

"Have you learned anymore words in Arabic?" Uday asked as he watched Ron work.

Ron smiled and narrowed his eyes as he tried to remember the words he knew, "I leanred a few…Stop, Go, papers, man, woman…Ummmm really nasty words that you should not be hearing."

Uday laughed at some of the ways Ron was pronouncing the words and Ron glared at him, "Hey now, I am still learning this."

Uday nodded, "I will teach you the chicken song that way you will know more words."

Ron smiled as he handed the sandal back, "Alright then teach me the chicken song."

Uday smiled and started to sing off key;

"_These chickens...How they are beautiful_

_  
They are walking around their mother happily_

_  
They drank water and said Wow Yum Yum_

_  
They raised their heads and thanked God happily"_

Ron listened intently, he recognized a few of the words, and then Uday told him to sing with him.

He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around, "I…I will try." Ron sheepishly began to sing with Uday;

"_These Chickens…How much they are peeing_

_They are stalking their mother happily_

_They drank water and said Wow time time_

_The raised their heads and thanked God happily."_

Ron finished the song and then began to blush as Uday started to laugh at him, "You said peeing."

Ron shook his head, "Oh sure laugh at me after I fix you shoe."

"You said 'how much they are peeing'" Uday told him as he continued to laugh.

He smiled and nodded, _"Great three thousand miles from home and I'm still a source of ridicule."_

"Well, I have to get to barracks for evening inspection, you going to be around tomorrow?"

Uday looked disappointed, "Yes…I do not have anything else to do at home, I should be around."

Ron stood and shouldered his machine gun and then he patted the boy on the back, "I will see you then, and try to take care of that sandal."

He waived goodbye to Uday and began the walk to the barracks, _"Good kid…messed up teeth, not a bad kid though."_

Sergei was already in the barracks working on his equipment and seen Ron walk in, "Ronnieeeeee, you missed it, I caught a terrorist coming thru the crossing."

Ron was stunned, "Did you shoot him?"

"No…He was a driver for the U.N. so we could do nothing with him…You should have seen his eyes Ronnie, he was looking over everything and counting us." Sergei said angrily.

Ron shook his head, "That is insane, he is a terrorist and we can do nothing about him because he drives a van for the U.N….The U.N. does not like us anyway…You should have shot all of them."

Sergei shrugged, "Then I would have to spend more than two weeks in jail…Remember Ronnie, no matter how badly they treat us we can not retaliate."

Ron was working on his bunk, "I know….There are just times that I would like to wipe the smug looks off those U.N. workers faces when they come through…So who was your terrorist?"

"Ummmmmm Ali Mohamed Saghir." Sergei told him.

"The bomb maker…You had Ali Mohamed Saghir and they made you let him go…That is insane." Ron said in disbelief.

Sergei nodded sadly, "I have the feeling that he will be sending a car bomb towards us very soon…Ronnie…He was counting us, looking at where we were stationed…and how things operated."

Ron let out a breath, "It is a shame we can not go looking for him…If he is working for the U.N. at least we would have a starting place to go looking for him."

They finished with their afternoon inspections and then it was time to go and eat in the mess hall, "Sergei do we have to eat with Bina again?"

"Yes" Was Sergei's short curt reply.

Ron rolled his eyes and stood in line for his food, _"I don't know if school food was as bad as this…I don't remember…The line looks pretty much the same."_

"So what kind of food are we planning on wearing today Sergei."

Sergei gave him a stern look and Ron nodded and held up his hands, "I will behave and let you two bicker."

They took their food from the serving line and walked into the large cavernous area, Sergei looked around until he spotted Bina and then they started to walk towards her.

Sergei smiled and waived, "Bina, you are looking especially friendly and nonviolent today."

Bina glared at the two as they sat down with her, "Sergei…This is not a good day for me…Do you know how many naked Arab women I had to look at today…Then I hear you capture a terrorist and then have to let him go…You should have at least shot him in the kneecaps."

Sergei chuckled nervously, "That…that was just what Ronnie was saying."

Ron shook his head, "No…I said you should have killed him."

Bina motioned towards Ron with a spoon, "See Big Ears gets it…You are only half as stupid as you look."

Ron let out a sigh, "I guess that is as close to a compliment that you are capable of."

She paid no notice to Ron and began jabbing her spoon in Sergei's direction again, "Stop coming over to my table and trying to eat with me…Unless you are a rich doctor…I am not interested in you."

Sergei sat at the table looking more than a little embarrassed, Ron got up from his seat, "I am finished eating, I think I will go call Bonnie."

"You see what you have done, you chased Ronnie away, he didn't even get a chance to finish his meal." Sergei told her as he pointed his spoon at Bima.

Bima growled, "Well at least he knows when to quit eating…unlike some at this table."

Ron could still hear the two fighting as he walked out of the mess hall, he shook his head, "Sergei is crazy…The woman wants to be left alone…Leave her alone."

He walked up the road to the area where the payphones were and then he looked through his wallet for his calling card, "See what Bon Bon is up to tonight."

The phone rang once, twice and then a third time, before it was picked up and a male voice on the other end of the phone answered, "Shalom?"

Ron blinked and shrugged, "Ummm is Bonnie there?"

"She is taking a shower…I will go and get her." The man said.

Ron held the receiver out and looked at it, _"Bonnie? Who is this guy? Well I guess I won't be moving in with her…I guess I'll be going to Yad Hannah this weekend."_

Suddenly he could hear Bonnie's voice on the phone, "Shalom?"

Ron smiled, "Hey Bon Bon, how are you tonight…I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"RON…No…no you didn't…ummm…The guy that answered is David a friend from school and he was helping me with some homework." Bonnie stopped talking and he could her giggling, and in a hushed whisper she chided David, "Not now…wait till I get him off the phone."

He winched and nodded, "Yea…well I'll call back…later…I was…ummm just wanting to see if we were still on for this weekend?"

"Oh…Yea…yea…So what time will you be over on Friday?" Bonnie asked nervously.

Ron gritted his teeth it was all he could do to not sound upset, _"Gee I don't know Bonnie, when is good ol' Dave going to be leaving?"_

"I don't know, it will probably be early evening around sevenish."

"That's great Ron…I'll be here then." Bonnie told him.

Ron nodded, "OK then…I'll see you on Friday …Bye" Ron said as he hung up the phone.

The receiver didn't catch on the box properly and Ron picked the receiver up again and heard a dial tone and then he hung it up again and it jumped off the phone again. Ron's temper went ballistic and he began to beat the phone with receiver, his lips curled back exposing his teeth in a fit of rage and then the eyes lit up with their blue light shinning as brightly as car headlights.

"DIRTY MOTHER F'N PHONE NOTHING WORKS RIGHT, BONNIE YOU F'N CHEATING BITCH, THERE WON'T BE NO STICK OF BUTTER FOR YOUR ASS THIS WEEKEND…DAVID'S DEAD, DANNY'S DEAD, ALL OF THEM DEAD BY DAWN!" Ron continued to swear and curse as he beat the phone with the receiver until it broke in half and then Ron ripped the phone off the pole it was attached to and smashed it to the ground.

Finally he began to run out of steam, and picked up the phone and slung it down the street as far as he could throw it, "AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Then he heard a voice behind him, "Ronnie what happened?"

Ron jumped and was suddenly very embarrassed by his temper tantrum; he spun around quickly and saw Tirza, "Oh…Hey…Shalom…I…lost my temper."

Tirza chuckled, "I hope you never get that angry with me."

Ron began laughing, "Yes…I…I don't know what happened…I just…lost my temper."

"I see, well I am back from my training classes, I'll have a look at your hand once we get back to the barracks." He told Ron motioning at his right hand.

He looked at the hand and could see it was cut up and bleeding, Ron had so completely lost his temper that he failed to notice how much damage he was doing to himself much less the pay phone.

* * *

Kim walked into Dr. Wong's office, "You wanted to see me?" 

"Kim…good to see you, I need you to sit in the chair today…I have a theory about what happened yesterday and I need to check it out." Dr. Wong said excitedly as she grabbed her clip board and headed towards the elevator.

She was tense, she didn't really want to go in the chair but this was what she was getting paid for, "What kind of theory?"

Dr. Wong waited for her to enter the elevator, "Well...You were extremely agitated when you sat in the chair yesterday, very tense…I think you transferred your fears to Ron and that is why he was coming across as angry to you."

Kim tilted her head, "I don't think I quite understand?"

"When you came out the first time you said he was incredibly angry with you…Ron has never been incredibly angry with you in past sessions, then you said that you were afraid he would propose to your friend and not to you." Dr. Wong reminded her.

It was finally becoming clear to Kim what she was saying, "You mean…I was making Ron act like that with the chair? He doesn't really want to marry Monique?"

Dr. Wong nodded, "I'm going to make some small adjustments and I want you to feel confident about your feelings for Ron and not let any of your fears creep into your mind while you're in the chair."

Kim nodded and when the elevator door opened she walked to the chair and put the head gear on and sat back and relaxed, _"OK…Think happy thoughts, Ron loves me and no one else…There's no place like home, there's no place like home…heh, heh, heh stop it Kimmie or they really will think your crazy."_

"Are you ready?" Dr. Wong asked as she took her seat behind the laptops.

Kim smiled and relaxed, "All ready up here."

She began to focus on Ron, there was intense pain in her right hand, and then she could see him and he was having his hand bandaged, "I do not know…I heard this guy named David answer Bonnie's phone and I just lost it."

Tirza chuckled, "You must have thrown that pay phone a good twenty meters."

Sergei shook his head, "Maybe he was just what she said a friend from school."

Kim smiled, _"Uh oh sounds like Bonnie is in trouble."_

Ron gave Sergei a stern look and imitated the voice on the phone, "Oh she is taking a shower…I will go and get her…I think he is a little more than friend from school."

Sergei started laughing, "Looks like someone else has their boots under her bed…So you are going with me to Yad Hannah this weekend then?"

Tirza interrupted them, "Turn your wrist over Ronnie…He may have only been a friend from school…You should talk to her this weekend and find out."

"Smiley…I heard her giggling and telling him to wait till she got me off the phone." Ron informed him.

Tirza chuckled, "Yes I think he is more than a friend."

Kim laughed, "Bonnie…This Friday you get your ass kicked and you're losing Ron…Booyah."

Dr. Wong looked up, "Everything all right up there?"

"Ohhhhhh Yeaaaaa" Kim told her as she relaxed in the chair and let a big smile cross her face.

"So you are going to Netanya this weekend?" Sergei asked still unsure of what Ron was planning.

Ron smiled, "Yes, I may have found out she is a whore but at least I can get rid of my lusting problems."

Sergei laughed, "Just try not to lose your temper; they will put you in jail if Bonnie ends up looking like that poor pay phone."

Ron laughed and nodded, "I will try…So Tirza how is your settler girlfriend doing?"

Tirza shrugged, "We weren't right for each other…It ended before it could begin."

Ron nodded, "Sounds like me and Kim when we broke up the first time."

"Ronnieeeeeee…Forget Kim, she is marrying someone else." Sergei reminded him.

"Maybe she is not getting married; maybe Bonnie was just being a bitch?" Ron said in a tweaked voice.

Kim pumped her fist in the air, _"BOOYAH…He remembered the thought I gave him."_

He watched as Tirza finished wrapping his hand, "Now quit hitting pay phones."

Ron nodded and admired Tirza's work, "Good advice."

Tirza and Sergei started to talk and Ron disappeared into his own thoughts, _"So Bonnie's a Ho', I wish I could see Kim one more time…Sergei is right…It's over, why can't I just let her go…I had no problems letting go of Monique…Bonnie is an easy loss…I don't know."_

Kim smiled, _"You'll see me this weekend Ron…I promise."_

He looked up when he heard his name called, "It is over with you and Kim is it not?"

Ron was startled by the question, _"I guess it is…Kim may or may not be marrying this Danny guy, I saw the pictures, and she quit writing me…I guess it is over…Ohhhhh if I could have just one more chance…I'd propose and she'd never get away again."_

Kim blushed in the chair, "Ohhhhh Ron"

"Earth to Ronnie…Shalom." Tirza said teasingly."

Ron chuckled, "Yes…I guess it is over."

Ron looked away from the two as they debated the merits of having a girlfriend as opposed to staying available. He looked down at his bandaged hand, _"I broke a hand over Kim and now I slice the same hand up over Bonnie…I have got to start watching my temper."_

"Ronnie…You listening to us?" Sergei asked.

Ron shook his head, "No…I was…as Danke liked to say, thinking deep thoughts."

Sergei laughed, "So you are going to Bonnie's on Friday?"

He nodded and let them know exactly what he had planned for the weekend, "Yes, I'm going to Bonnie's on Friday, I am going to treat her like the whore she is and when I'm done I am headed back to base."

Kim chuckled as she took off the head gear, _"Ron, Ron, Ron…What are we going to do with you?"_

Dr. Wong came around to look at her, "Better session today?"

She smiled and nodded, "Ummm hmmmmm…yea…much better."

"I should have thought of it yesterday but it didn't occur to me until after dinner last night." Dr. Wong said as she checked over Kim's vital signs.

"I leave tonight for Israel, I hope to be in Netanya by Friday…I hope to see Ron then." Kim said cheerily.

Dr. Wong nodded, "That sounds great…Are you going to tell him about the truth ray?"

Kim let out a deep breath and shook her head, "I…I don't know."

She left work and jumped in her car and called Monique on the cell phone, "You ready?"

Monique was on the other end and Kim could hear the excitement in her voice, "Girl I am so excited, yes I'm ready…I even packed a little see thru nothing, just in case your bad track record with Ron resurfaces."

Kim chuckled, _"Girlfriend I think you're the one that is going to be surprised."_

"That's great Monique because I may have to borrow it off of you for the weekend."

There was a long silence, "Something happened at work?"

She chuckled, "Noooooooo…I wouldn't say that…Mom is taking us to the airport…We'll be by to get you in about an hour."

"COOL…COOL…Wait till you see the name on my passport and on my master card that Wade hooked me up with…It is sooooo me." Monique squealed excitedly.

Kim laughed, "I haven't seen mine yet, I'll see you in an hour."

Kim hung up the phone and raced up to her room, there on the bed was a package from Wade. She opened it up and there was a passport an international drivers license and a master card, Kim picked up the passport and saw a photo with her new look, _"I wonder if Ron will recognize me? Hmmmm…Christy Carlson Romano…Sounds familiar…I just can't place it."_

She grabbed her bags with her mission gear and clothes and raced down stairs, "Come on Mom, we have to hurry, it takes forever to get on those international flights."

Mrs. Dr. P. was hurrying as fast as she could, she opened the trunk of her car and Kim piled in her luggage. Then it was off to pick up Monique, "Well this is a lot more fun than the last time I drove you two to the airport."

Kim nodded and smiled, "Ohhhhhhhh yeaaaa, we were going to Japan to find Ron…I guess this is going to be a better trip…At least we know Ron's not dead this time."

They picked up Monique and made for Upperton International Airport, Mrs. Dr. P. dropped the two teens off in front of the Northwest entrance and wished them and good trip as they gathered their gear from her trunk.

"Bye Mom, see you next week." Kim said as the two grabbed a luggage cart and made for the entrance.

"Girl Wade hooked me up right, I am Raven Symone." Monique gushed excitedly.

Kim's eyebrows went up, "I'm Christy Carlson Ramano…These names are familiar but I just can't place them."

Monique stopped as they were headed through the metal detector, "Yea…They do sound familiar."

They went up to the Northwest ticket booth and received their tickets, "Here you are Miss Ramano, and for you Miss Symone first class…We'll you be having wine with your meals?"

Monique nodded, "But of course."

They sat in the concourse waiting area waiting for the flight from Newark to land, Kim dozed off and began snoring, Monique looked around and then put two fingers under the sleeping Kim's chin and closed her mouth for her.

Monique watched her sleep, _"She seems more relaxed today, Bonnie was really starting to get to her…I'll let her sleep as long as I can."_

After a few hours the plane finally arrived from Newark and Monique and Kim boarded the plane, Monique quickly ran to their seats and claimed the window seat. Kim just shook her head, "I'd rather have the isle…I've been on enough planes I know what the sky looks like."

Monique leaned back in her seat, "First class…a week off from the store and no school to worry about…This is so cool….Going to Israel to see my FCBF."

Kim chuckled, "Your not going to start that nonsense are you?"

"Just giving you a hard time…Christy." Monique teased.

She smiled, "No Big, Rav."

* * *

Ron got off his shift of checking papers and being insulted in many different languages, he strolled by the PX and bought himself another pair of socks a bag of chocolate milk and strolled over to his favorite resting spot away from all the commotion of the border crossing and where he could look up at the hill and see Tulkharm. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, _"Mmmmmmmmm…Glad the hand quit hurting…Good day…I didn't feel like shooting anyone…Punching people in the mouth…yes…killing them…no."_

It was a cool January day and Ron was enjoying the sunlight as it warmed his face and the stiff breeze as it cooled his body. He looked around and saw Uday off in the distance approaching the check point.

Then Uday turned and started to walk away and then he turned around and began to walk back towards the check point nervously, Ron watched him intently and then the alarm bells went off in his head.

He had taken a class when he was first assigned to Tulkharm on how to spot suicide bombers, and Uday was displaying all the characteristics of a suicide bomber that wasn't sure if he wanted to carry out his attack or not.

Ron jumped up and grabbed his rifle and ran for where Uday was, he jumped over a concrete barrier and screamed at Uday, "STOP UDAY…STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE."

Uday nodded, "I do not want to do this Ronnie."

Ron was still on the other side of the fence from him, "I know…Just stand still."

He wiped at his mouth unsure of what to do, he heard a person running up to him from behind, _"Sergei"_

"What's going on Ronnie?" Sergei asked looking thru the fence at Uday.

Ron shook his head, "He's got a belt on him Sergei."

Sergei nodded and ran for help, Ron stayed with Uday, "So…do you know how to set it off?"

"There is a wire that is running down my arm that is attached to this button." Uday told him as he raised his arm up so Ron could see his palm.

Ron nodded, he was beginning to sweat, "Don't set it off…Relax…We'll get you out of this."

He took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves, _"How are we going to get him out of this?"_

"Do you know who did this too you?"

Uday shook his head, "They were very mean boys."

Ron chuckled nervously, "Well when we get you out of this…You leave the mean boys alone."

"They said they would hurt my mother if I didn't go thru the checkpoint and blow myself up…I do not want to die Ronnie." Uday began to cry.

Ron held out his hand, it was shaking and he could do nothing to keep it from shaking, "Shhhhh, shhhhhh…No one is going to die…Stay calm Uday."

He could hear people from behind him yelling at him to get away from Uday, but Ron wasn't leaving, _"its Saghir…it has to be…When we get out of this…I'll find a way to kill him for this."_

Ron could see the yellow robot headed towards Uday, "You can relax now…The robot will cut the belt off of you."

Uday nodded and Ron wiped his face, "I am going to come around the fence Uday…I am not going to leave you."

Ron started to walk to the break in the fence as he watched the robot work, he quickly realized that Uday was wearing a heavy sweat shirt and the man working the robot was having a hard time finding the belt.

He quickly ran around the fence and ignoring all the calls for him to stop and come back Ron ran up to Uday and began to look over the problem. He pulled the sweat shirt up and saw the belt packed with explosives.

He swallowed hard as he took the cutting device from the robot and began to snip away at Uday's shirt, and then the belt from the side, then he cut the two straps and slid it off of Uday. He gently took the button from Uday and cut the sleeve of his shirt so as not to have the button get tangled up with the shirt and have accidentally go off, and then he hung the belt on the robot.

He shivered as he watched the robot carry it away, he could see all of the nails, hex bolts, and marbles that were glued to the belt glistening in the sunlight, _"If Uday would have set that off…it would have killed a lot of people."_

He could hear Sergeant Shubaki telling Ron to have Uday take off the rest of his cloths, "Uday strip to your underwear and follow me."

Ron walked with the boy back around the fence where the border police took him into custody. Ron wiped the sweat from his face and he was still shaking when he received a blow to the head that knocked his helmet off and sent him to the ground.

Sergeant Shabuki was standing over him, "ARE YOU STUPID?"

Ron shook his head, not sure of exactly what was going on.

"I SAID…ARE YOU STUPID." The sergeant screamed again.

Ron shook his head, "No…no sergeant."

Sergeant Shabuki took his helmet off and wiped his bald head, "That has to be one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in my entire life…How did you know he would not blow himself up?"

Ron shook his head, "I…I just…knew."

Ron stayed on the ground as he listened to a barrage of insults coming at him and then the sergeant finally told him to get up and get ready for evening meal. Ron reached around and grabbed his helmet and put it on and then he had to lean on his rifle to get to his feet because his legs were trembling from all the excitement.

Ron staggered into the restroom and took a seat in the far stall, put his head in his hands and began to cry. Once the emotions ran their course he stood up and washed his face and wiped his face with a paper towel.

He took several deep breaths, _"I knew he wouldn't blow himself up…I just knew it….I feel better now…ohhhhhhhhh all those nails."_

Ron stood in staring in the mirror imagining what would have happened if Uday would have set that bomb off, he could see the white flash and in slow motion Uday disintegrated in front of his eyes, and all the nails and hex nuts and marbles launched outwards hitting his body and tearing it to shreds.

He shook his head and licked his lips, _"It didn't happen…the bomb didn't go off, stop it, stop it now."_ Ron took another deep breath, _"OK…Let's go catch up with Sergei…Watching him fight with Bina should take my mind of this."_

Ron walked out of the restroom and down the street to the barracks to store his gun, and then he left for the mess hall, He saw Sergei and waived and quickly went through the line for his food and sat at the table with Sergei, Bina and Tirza.

"Ronnieeeeeee…Glad to see you did not get blown to bits." Sergei said happily as he attacked his mystery meat.

Ron smiled and nodded, but said nothing.

Bina laughed, "You almost threw your life away for a good for nothing Arab…Stupid."

He quickly turned and glared at Bina, "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME?"

Bina had never seen Ron angry and the sudden out bust took her by surprise, "Uhhhh"

Sergei tried to defuse the situation, "Ronnieeee, Bina's had a hard day."

"AND MY DAY WAS EASY….YOU THINK YOU ARE A HARD ASS, YOU WANT TO GO RIGHT NOW!" Ron yelled as he stood up quickly from the table and started towards Bina.

Bina's eyes were huge, she was so used to intimidating people with her attitude that she wasn't quite sure how to handle someone that would stand up to her.

Sergei and Tirza grabbed Ron, who quickly grabbed Sergei by the shirt and slung him across the table, Ron's temper had exploded and now he was starting to scream at her in English, "BITCH YOU THINK YOUR GOING TO BITE MY EARS OFF, I'LL SNAP YOUR F'N NECK BEFORE YOU GET NEAR ME."

Tirza jumped onto Ron's back, "RONNIE, STOP…STOP IT."

Ron was getting ready to toss Tirza off when he looked towards Bina and seen her running for the exit, Ron let go of Tirza's arm and relaxed, "I…I shouldn't of come in here."

He turned and looked at Sergei, "I am so sorry."

Sergei shook his head, "Ronnie…First Bina makes me wear food, now you." Sergei slid off the table and brushed the food off as best he could, "You have got to get that temper of yours under control Ronnie."

Ron slumped and looked around everyone in the mess hall was looking at him and then once they saw the ruckus was over they tuned and went back to eating, "I am so sorry."

Tirza nodded and for the first time Ron saw a serious side to the little medic, "Look at your hand Ronnie….You did that when you were angry at a telephone…You did not even know you hurt it….Now you are angry at people, if we wouldn't have stopped you…You would have killed Bina."

Ron tried to talk but could say nothing, he just nodded and Tirza continued, "You are sorry now, if we wouldn't have stopped you Bina would be dead and you would be sorry…Ronnie…I think you have problems that go far beyond what happened out there today…Handle those problems or you will end up in a military prison for a very long time."

Sergei listened to the conversation, "Vodka"

Ron shook his head, "What?"

Sergei smiled, "Let's go to the PX and buy some vodka and get stinking drunk."

"Oh and that is supposed to help?" Ron said with a smile.

Sergei shrugged, "How could it get worse…You scared off my girlfriend."

Ron started to laugh, "Yes…I guess your right…vodka."

Tirza smiled, "I guess it is better than sitting around in here feeling sorry for ourselves because we have no women."

They went to the PX and Sergei bought a tall bottle of vodka and the three found themselves a quite concrete barricade well out of the way and began to pass the bottle around.

Ron took a swig and his eyes went wide as he forced the obnoxious drink down, "Ughhhhh…How can you guys drink this stuff."

Tirza took a drink and smiled, "You drink enough it all tastes like water."

They talked and drank for a few hours, with occasional breaks to run behind several pallets of sewer pipe to relieve themselves. Then Tirza began singing Neil Diamond songs:

"_Cracklin' Nosie, get on board_

_We're gonna ride till there ain't no more to go_

_Taking it glow_

_Lord, don't you grow_

_Have me a crime with a poor man's lady_

_Oh, I love my Rosie child_

_She got the way to make me happy_

_You and me, we go in style_

_Cracklin' Nosie you're a snoring woman_

_You make me sing like a guitar hummin'_

_So hang on to me, girl_

_Our song keeps droning' on"_

Ron laughed, "When he is drunk he does not butcher the words too badly."

Then Ron and Sergei looked at each other and joined in;

"_Play it now_

_Play it now_

_Play it now, my baby"_

Tirza stopped singing long enough to take another drink, "Neil Diamond is cool."

Ron started laughing and took another drink, wiped his mouth and began waving the bottle around, "Neil…Neil D…Di..Diamond…hasn't…been cool in 30 years Tirza."

Tirza gloomed, "What do you know, you are an American Jew and you have no appreciation of Neil Diamond."

Sergei finished the bottle, "All gone…Time for bed."

He tried to get up but couldn't, Ron began to claw at he concrete barricade trying to pull himself up, Tirza made no effort what so ever to get to his feet.

Ron and Sergei eventually stood up then they drug Tirza to his feet and then arm and arm staggered they're way back to the barracks singing 'Craklin' Rosie' or as Tirza liked to sing 'Craklin' Nosie."

* * *

At that moment somewhere over the Europe, Monique was trying to figure out a way to kill Kim.

Kim was bobbing back and forth in her seat; she turned and looked at Monique and smiled and began to sing once again;

"_Cracklin' Nosie, get on board_

_We're gonna ride till there ain't no more to go_

_Taking it slow_

_Lord, don't you know_

_Have me a crime with a poor man's lady"_

Monique listened to the song for the third time and shook her head, _"This is worse than Japan."_

Then she felt Kim's arm around her neck and Kim was right in her face, "Sing with me Monique."

"_Play it now_

_Play it now_

_Play it now, my baby"_

Monique shook her head, _"This Girl is not getting anymore wine on the flight back...This is not worth it…Nothing is worth this."_


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: New frontier here, I've never exceded thirty chapters before, but this story needs to be told before I can move on.

Thanks to all those that have reviewed my work, I really get a charge out of it.

Bubba

* * *

Kim and Monique finally landed at Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv, the plane pulled up to Terminal 3, the three mile long ultra modern terminal where El Al located.

The flight had been a long torturous one for Monique who had to put up with an intoxicated Kim Possible singing Neil Diamond songs for hours on end, "Since when do you like Neil Diamond?"

Kim turned to Monique as they stood in line to go through customs, "I told you it wasn't me it was Ron."

Monique shook her head and rolled here eyes, "Girl…I know Ron…He does not like Neil Diamond."

They were getting closer to man behind the counter and Kim didn't want to hear anymore about the subject, she turned and glared at Monique, "No body likes Neil Diamond, now just drop it."

Kim turned her back and was rehearsing her story, Monique began silently mocking her by acting like she was saying Kim's last statement and then followed up with her own, "Someone sure likes Neil Diamond and it's not me."

It was Kim's turn to go through customs; the bored man looked at Kim's passport, "Ms. Ramano, anything to declare?"

Kim was dancing around excitedly, "No...no...nothing to declare."

The man nodded and frowned, "What is your business in Israel?"

Kim began jumping up and down and began to scream excitedly, "SHOPPING…SHOPPING, WE'RE GOING SHOPPING!"

Monique started doing the same, "SHOPPING, SHOPPING, WHERE ARE THE MALLS!"

The man quickly processed the two girls and they were off to the baggage claim area, Kim looked at Monique, "That is enough about Neil Diamond…Remember you're the sidekick….I get to patronize you…Not the other way around."

"It's not my fault Christy that you can't hold your liquor, one glass of wine and your…" Monique was suddenly interrupted.

Kim spun towards Monique, "Look Raven…I told you that was Ron getting drunk not me…Now just drop it."

They collected their baggage and made the long trip towards end of the terminal to pick up their rental car, "Kim this is a long terminal…Do you think maybe we could find a luggage caddy."

She shook her head, "Monique, quit being a baby and just carry the bags."

Monique shook her head disgustedly, "You need to go sit in your chair again don't you?"

Kim glared at her, "No…I'm going to see Ron and everything will be much better."

They finally arrived at the end of the terminal and found the Avis booth and Kim used her Christy Carlson Ramano Master Card to pay for the rental. The went to the area where the cars were kept , Kim gave the porter her key and he retrieved the car for them.

It was a red fiat hatchback, Kim opened the hatch and they pitched their luggage in back and then it was time to leave the airport, Kim slid behind the wheel and looked down at the gear shift, "It's not an automatic?"

Monique started laughing, "Girl you can't drive a stick?"

She glared at her friend, "I can do anything."

With that being said she pushed in the clutch and put the car in gear, released the clutch and the car lurched forward and died, after several tries Kim was finally able to get the car to move forward.

Kim looked over at Monique and smiled, "See I told you I can do anything, now we have a day before Ron goes on leave…Let's go shopping."

* * *

Ron awoke after a few hours of sleep, hung over, but feeling great, "Sergei…I feel great today…I do not know why…I am just really happy." 

Sergei had a slightly green pallor to his skin, "Go away…I do not want happy today…at least not this early."

Ron quickly showered and grabbed a few pieces of toast for breakfast then it was off to the checkpoint to put in his shift, he was told he was going on leave early, when the shift was done he would have be off on leave, "Yes, off early, call that ho' Bonnie, get laid, go find Mr. Seitzman and see what he has in mind."

His good mood quickly evaporated when he saw the convoy of three United Nations vehicles heading towards his checkpoint, "Great, I get three truckloads of arrogant people."

The three white Chevrolet Suburbans pulled up to Ron's check point, he walked out to the first vehicle and waited for the driver to lower his window. The window slowly rolled down and Ron came face to face with Ali Mohamed Saghir.

Ron blinked and then narrowed his eyes, "You and your party will now step out of the vehicle so that it can be searched."

Saghir grinned, "You are not serious."

Ron pointed to his face, "Note serious face, everyone out of the vehicle."

Saghir and the rest of the United Nations personnel exited the suburban, Ron motioned for where the group should stand and then he walked around the suburban and began opening the doors and looking inside.

The truck was empty except for some pamphlets that were to be handed out in the schools in the West Bank, on the cover was hordes of 13th century Muslim riders with their long curved swords driving the hated Jews out of Palestine.

He smiled at the picture and dropped on the ground made a show of stepping on it in front of Saghir. Then he walked back to the group, "Papers"

One of the men in the group, who sounded as if he came from Latin America started to give Ron a hard time, "This is an outrage, I will report you to your superiors and tell them of this."

Ron looked the man's papers over motioned for him to move along; he checked the others who were also very annoyed that Ron was delaying their mission. Saghir was visibly angry and this pleased Ron to no end.

"Papers" Saghir handed Ron his papers, he glanced at them and handed them back, "work permit"

Saghir was taken by surprise by this request, "I work for the U.N. I do not need a work permit."

"You are driving a vehicle in Israel, you are working in Israel, you need a work permit." Ron said in a bored emotionless voice.

Saghir pulled out his wallet and dug through it, "I will tell your superiors that you are violating my human rights and you will be spending the next couple of weeks in jail."

Ron nodded his head as his hand casually reached down and gripped the pistol grip of his machine gun, _"Gee and I guess strapping bombs on eight year olds is not a violation of human rights."_

Saghir's rant was cut short by a noise he wasn't expecting, the loud click of Ron taking the safety off of his machine gun. He looked up and saw the expression in his eyes. Saghir quickly shut up and handed Ron his work permit.

Ali Mohamed Saghir was not used to this kind of treatment and he was making plans to make sure the blonde man would pay for his insolence, _"When we finish the truck bomb next week, we will see who laughs next week Jew."_

"What is your name so that I might report you."

Ron looked the papers over, memorized the address that he was sure was phony and handed them back to Saghir, "Private Ron Stoppabe."

Saghir nodded and walked back to the suburban as instructed by Ron, he sneered as Ron just checked their papers and motioned for the other two suburbans to move on thru, _"Yes, we will see who laughs next week."_

The lead suburban pulled away with a few of the passengers making obscene gestures at Ron and he just smiled, _"Nothing but love guys, nothing but love."_

He continued to work his shift with one driving thought, _"How am I going to get Saghir in front of my gun."_

Ron finally reached the end of his shift and quickly he ran back to his barracks, and changed and packed his bag. Then he ran for the pay phone to call Bonnie, "Hey Bon Bon…I'm off early can you come pick me up?"

Bonnie squealed, "I'm on my way Ron."

Ron smiled, _"Maybe it was just a friend from school."_

Ron said his goodbyes to Sergei and Tirza and made his way to the parking lot, he spotted Uday hanging around the concrete barrier that Ron normally hung around, "Shalom Uday…How are you today."

Uday smiled and ran up to Ron, "My sandal is broke again."

Ron looked over the sandal and started working on it, "You get in much trouble the other day after they took you away."

Uday shook his head, "No…I have to be kind of scarce around home though…I am afraid those boys."

He looked up from his work on the sandal, "Do you remember where they took you?"

Uday nodded, "They took me to a building by the old mosque."

Ron nodded as he fixed the sandal again, "I can not stay today, I have to go away for a few days to see my girlfriend."

Uday smiled, "So you will be back on Sunday?"

Ron nodded, "I should be back around Sunday."

He said his goodbyes and headed for the parking lot, _"I feel really good, I haven't felt this good or happy…Since…I was in Middleton."_

Ron waived as Bonnie pulled into the parking lot, _"I feel so good, I don't even care Bonnie's a whore."_

Bonnie parked the car and hopped out of the car and threw herself into Ron's arms, "I got great news for you Ron."

Ron smiled, _"Let me guess, you're pregnant."_

"I am dieing to hear, what is the big news…I bet it involves David doesn't it."

"Yesssssssss…David isn't really a school friend, he's the brother of a school friend….Anyway he works down on the docks in Hiafa…He thinks he knows someone that can get you into the reserves and you can work with him on the docks while you go to school in Netanya with me…Isn't that great." Bonnie was jumping up and down clapping her hands.

Ron stood there with a frozen smile on his face, "Ummmm…heh, heh, heh…yeaaaaaa…ummmmm…wow that is really good news…Let's talk about this in the car."

Ron looked around the parking lot real quick as he loaded his gear and his gun into the back seat, _"Man…I really misjudged Bonnie…I feel like an idiot."_

They drove off towards Netanya, "So isn't that a great idea, you get to go to school and get out of the army…You know your not happy here, I'm not happy with you only being around one week a month."

Ron chuckled nervously, "So David…isn't a boyfriend then?"

Bonnie gave Ron a puzzled look, "You thought I w as cheating on you?"

He started to rub the back of his neck, "Sha…No Way…ummmm…well…yea….sort of…I mean….he answered the phone…I…I just assumed…can we change the subject."

She smiled at him, "That is so cute you were jealous…I think that is a sign your ready for commitment."

He leaned back in the seat and watched the road go by, "I don't know if I'd go that far."

Bonnie looked over at him, "You really need to start thinking about the future Ron; I can be so good for Ron."

"I know Bonnie…I'm just not ready to go down that road." Ron was becoming uncomfortable.

She nodded her head and let the subject drop, "How did you hurt your hand?"

Ron looked down at the bandaged hand, "I…uh…accident….I…thought you found someone else and punched a pay phone."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "I'm getting to you aren't I?"

He looked at his hand and nodded, "Yea…I guess so…I…I don't really want to talk about it anymore, I feel like an idiot…I'm soooo sorry Bonnie."

She put her hand on his arm, "It's okay Ron, and after the way Kim treated you…I don't blame you for being suspicious."

"So how's school been going for you?" Ron asked desperately trying to change the subject.

Bonnie smiled and answered in Hebrew, "School goes well, I am getting better at speaking in Hebrew…Ron take David's offer and leave the army."

Ron shook his head, "Bonnie…I do not dislike the army…I…I have friends there and…I would not feel right about leaving them."

"Ron…I want you with me at nights…I get lonely." Bonnie whined.

Ron remained quiet while he thought over his situation, _"Maybe Kim's not really getting married…So what, she's not here and Bonnie is…How long am I going to keep letting Kim jerk me around…She's gone, I need to move on too…I don't want to leave the IDF though."_

* * *

Kim and Monique checked into the King David Hotel in Tel Aviv, Monique insisted on separate rooms so she could sleep in peace without having to be woke up with Kim singing Neil Diamond songs. 

"Monique…I am exhausted, I don't think I've ever shopped this much." Kim said as she dropped all the bags, boxes and assorted packages on the floor of her room.

Monique opened the door to her room and dumped her stuff on the floor and then went into Kim's room, "Gonna have to give Wade a big thumbs up for the Master Cards…I know I spent around $4,000 today alone."

Kim giggled, "Yea it's kind of fun shopping without have to worry about paying a bill…Wade said it's a victimless crime."

Monique giggled, "Well as long as we're violating many international laws, and staring at alifetime in jail might as well go out in style…How much did you spend?"

Kim smiled, "I was buying for two, I spent about $8,000."

Monique smiled, "You sure bought Ron a lot of clothes."

"I don't think he has much time outside of the base….I can't wait to see him." Kim said happily as she lay down on her bed.

Monique nodded and started to back out of the room, "I'm going to bed, get me up when you're ready to go to Netanya."

Kim nodded and waived as Monique left the room, she closed her eyes and thought of her boyfriend so close by that she could almost feel his presence, _"I feel like Candi when I took Mortimer away, when I put him back in the cage she started giving him things…I went overboard on the clothes buying for Ron, but he's worth it."_

* * *

Ron walked in the door and dropped his rifle in the corner and dropped his pack in another corner as he walked into Bonnie's apartment, "I still feel really bad about tearing up that pay phone."

Bonnie walked in just behind him and looked at the machine gun propped up against the wall, "This is so weird, the thought of you walking around in the street carrying that thing."

He chuckled and nodded, "Yea, I have to have it with me at all times in case we go to war or something."

She wrapped her arms around him, "You go relax and watch a little TV and I'll show you my new nightie."

"Booyah" Ron said in a low voice as he kissed her.

She pulled away and disappeared into the bedroom, he was half tempted to follow her but he sat on the couch and took off his boots instead, _"So strange to be here and away from the base…I keep thinking I'm AWOL."_

"Ahhhhhh TV" Ron said in a loud voice so that Bonnie could hear him.

He heard her voice from the other side of the door, "Anything on?"

Ron giggled, "I don't know but I'm hoping there's nothing on my Bon Bon when she comes out."

He heard her laugh from the other side of the door, "Down Mad Dog."

Bonnie finally appeared from the bedroom in a black lacey maids out fit complete with duster. Ron's mouth fell open, "W…w…wow…I don't want to watch TV Bonnie."

She smiled and blushed, "I wasn't expecting much TV watching tonight."

Ron chuckled and stood up and swept Bonnie up into his arms and carried her back into the bed room, "Booyahahahaha"

Just south of where Ron and Bonnie currently were, Kim's eyelids flew open, "Booyahahahaha" She put her hands to her head, _"He's with her again…Ronnnnnnn"_

Kim shook her head and forced herself to try and go back to sleep, in the morning she and Monique would be hunting down Bonnie and all would be right with the world, Ron would realize the error of his ways and he would be hers again.

It was around midnight when the two sweat covered lovers finally broke apart, Bonnie laid her head down on Ron's chest and listened to his breathing, _"He's falling in love with me, I can feel it…He's so gentile with me now…I never dreamed life could be so good…I'm glad Kim's out of the picture."_

Ron had a hand behind his head and had his eyes closed, he stroked Bonnie's hair and smiled when he felt her snuggling closer to him.

Bonnie looked up at Ron, "We're really good together aren't we?"

He opened his eyes, "Yea…We do make a good couple."

She began tracing small circles on his chest, "Any thought about take David up on the offer to get out of the army?"

Ron shook his head, "No…Bonnie, I'm enjoying my service…I don't know how to explain it, but it feels like I'm doing something important….Something that matters."

He could feel her tense up and then relax, "Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted to hear."

Bonnie's was trying hard not sound snotty, "Well if you think it's more important than us."

Ron shook his head, "Not…more important…bigger…bigger than us…I can't explain it…enough talk about this let's go to sleep…I have to meet with Mr. Seitzman tomorrow."

Bonnie nodded and let Ron go back to sleep, she was just a bit angry with him, _"I go to all this trouble to get you out of the army and you don't want to leave…Fine…I…I don't know if I can have a relationship where I only see my man one week a month."_

* * *

Kim woke up the next morning and quickly got Monique up and going, "Monique we have to move quick, he's falling in love with Bonnie." 

Monique yawned and rubbed her eyes, "I'm up…Give me time to get a shower and get ready, should only take about an hour and a half to drive up the coast."

She nodded and prepared herself for the trip there was new mission clothes that still had the tags on them, _"We have to get there, she was cheating on him….How can he be falling in love with her."_

* * *

Ron was finishing up the dishes Bonnie came into the kitchen and he leaned down and kissed her, "Breakfast okay?"

Bonnie smiled a dreamy smile and rested her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad you can cook, I'm afraid I'm not very good at it."

He nodded and smiled as he finished the last glass and reached into the water and pulled the plug to let the water run down the drain, and then he turned to Bonnie, "Time for another trip to the bedroom?"

She shook her head, "Mmmmmmmm….I'd like to but I have a class soon and I need to get ready."

Ron kissed her forehead, "I've got some running to do in town, see Mr. Seitzman."

Bonnie smiled, "Buy me something pretty."

"I will buy you something to match your pretty eyes." Ron told her as he switched to speaking in Hebrew.

Bonnie giggled and pranced out of the room, Ron smiled and shook his head, _"She…is something."_

She came back into the room and threw him the car keys, "I won't need the car today and wear a jacket or you'll catch cold."

Ron smiled and grabbed his bag and pulled out his army coat, "I am getting my coat so my pretty Jewish girlfriend will be happy with me."

* * *

Kim buckled the wide leather belt she didn't really need the belt the tight black leather pants held themselves up, the black commando mid-rift sweater and to top the new mission outfit off was a shiny new leather trench coat.

She smiled at herself in the mirror, with the black Timberland boots she stood nearly six feet tall, _"Now to put the sunglasses and gloves on and I will look bad ass."_

Her thoughts were a interrupted by a knock on the door, she opened the door and there was Monique in the same outfit with the addition of a long blonde wig, "Ready?"

Monique nodded, "Oh Yea…Let's get some coffee and hit the road."

Kim nodded and then her serious face broke into a giggle, "You look like a black Britney Spears."

"Girl…If you want problems mention me and that skank in the same sentence again." Monique said as she crossed her arms.

The girls went down to the lobby and through the double sliding glass doors, Kim was imagining the scene from Armageddon where all the drilling crew was emerging from the airplane hanger to go on their mission.

The image made her smile, as the wind caught their coats and blew them back, Kim reached into her pocket pulled out her cigarettes and lit one up and put the smokes and lighter back in her pocket.

She glanced over at Monique and saw the blonde wig, smiled and shook her head.

Monique had the most intense look on her face she had ever seen from her, she turned and faced Kim and held out her hand, "KEYS"

Kim shook her head, "No…I'm driving."

"Girl after you ground all the gears yesterday, I'm going to drive, so I know we can get home." Monique said as she still had her hand out.

She heaved a sigh and handed the keys to the rental car to her. They got into the car and Monique put the keys in the ignition and then she turned to Kim, "We're wearing leather."

Kim nodded, "We're wearing sunglasses."

Monique nodded, "We have a rental car with a full tank of gas."

Kim smiled, "Let's go get Bonnie."

Monique fired up the engine and backed out of the parking spot and began the trek north to Netanya to find Bonnie and Ron.

* * *

Ron walked into the small store that housed Seitzman's Jewelry and waived at Mr. Seitzman, "Shalom, I do not know if you remember me or not, I was in a few weeks ago." 

Mr. Seitzman nodded, "Yes the young man that knows his diamonds."

He nodded, "Yes, you told me to look you up when I was on leave."

"I have a small business proposition for you." Mr. Seitzman smiled and escorted Ron behind the counter to a chair.

Ron's interest was peaked as he sat down, "I am all about business propositions."

Mr. Seitzman smiled, "Good, good, let me explain…I am no longer a young man, my eyes are not what they once were…I do not purchase diamonds the way that I did when I was younger."

The old man sighed and sat down across from Ron, "I can not see through the jewelers glass as well as I used to, I would go to the diamond exchanges down in Haifa and…well I did not always get what I was told I was purchasing."

Ron nodded, _"They took advantage of the poor old guy."_

Mr. Seitzman rubbed his chin, "What I was wondering if you would be free this Wednesday evening to go down to Haifa and look over some diamonds for me to purchase…I will make it worth your trouble."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Sure, I don't have to live at the base this week so I can make it to Netanya."

"Can you be here by six?" The old man asked.

Ron ran through the schedule in his head, "Yes…I can be here by six, my shift usually ends around three or four and that would give me time to catch the bus."

"Then it is settled then." Mr. Seitzman said excitedly.

For the next hour Ron and Mr. Seitzman talked about diamonds and stones, then Ron remembered that Bonnie wanted something pretty so he scoured the display case looking for something that would match her eyes.

He found it a blue opal bracelet that was pretty reasonable and Ron bought it and confirmed that he would be there at six o'clock on Wednesday and Ron left the store.

He happily walked down the street to where he parked Bonnie's car, "I feel great, this is great, maybe I can start a Jewelry business on the side." Ron thought happily as reached the car.

Monique slowed the rental car to a stop as Kim grabbed her arm, "THERE'S RON!"

Monique looked out the window and smiled, "That's Ron?"

The both watched Ron put his machine gun in the back seat of the car and get in, Kim started to get out of the car but Monique grabbed her, "No…Ron doesn't have a car…It must be Bonnie's."

Kim nodded and quickly closed the door, "Right…Follow Ron find Bonnie."

They followed Ron at a discrete distance until he made a left into the Bueno Nacho parking lot. Kim shook her head and smiled, "Figures"

Monique pulled up across the street, "The boy is consistant."

They watched Ron get out and retrieve his gun, Monique looked at Kim, "He has to carry that everywhere he goes?"

Kim nodded, "Yea it looks like it."

They followed Ron for the rest of the day, it was obvious that Ron was sightseeing and exploring by the number of stops he made and then finally he reached the apartment building where Bonnie was living.

"Bingo…This is it." Kim said excitedly as she looked at the address.

Monique nodded, "What floor is Bonnie on again?"

Kim looked at the paper, "Sixth she is in apartment 614."

They sat and waited for a bit and then Kim spotted Bonnie walking down the street, "There she is…Let's go get her."

Monique grabbed Kim's arm again, "Let's tail her back to the apartment and then we can confront her, slap the shit out of her and explain things to Ron."

"Yea…Good idea…Also gives us a chance to escape…Should the police get called." Kim said sheepishly.

They got out of the car and crossed the street, following Bonnie at a discrete distance; Bonnie got on the elevator and rode it up to six. Kim and Monique followed up on the next car.

They walked out just in time to Ron meeting Bonnie in the hall and giving her a big kiss as he was taking the trash out to the dumpster. Kim's green eyes narrowed, "He sure looks happy to see her."

Monique grabbed Kim and pulled her around the corner where they waited for Ron to catch the elevator going down, they heard the "Bing" when the elevator arrived on the floor and heard Ron entering the elevator

Monique peeked around the corner, "Hallway is clear let's go find Bonnie."

The two walked down the hallway and then Kim found 614 and knocked on the door, the door began to open and she could hear Bonnie apologizing, "I really should get you a key."

Before Bonnie knew what was happening Kim was thru the door and shoved Bonnie hard in the chest knocking her backwards and Monique was right behind her as the walked into the room.

Kim pumped her right fist into her hand left hand, "Bonnie, I think we need to have a little talk."

Bonnie's mouth was open as she tried to recognize who the black haired girl was that just forced her way into her apartment, "Kim?"

Kim smiled and nodded, "You got it bitch." Then she slapped Bonnie hard across the face.

Monique was angling around to the side so she could get a shot at Bonnie and then the unexpected happened.

Bonnie fought back.

She was momentarily dazed and then she slapped Kim back across the face hard, "YOU GET OUT OF HERE, YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE AND YOU BLEW IT, HE'S HAPPY HERE."

Kim went reeling backwards till she found her footing again, and went at Bonnie again, they grappled with one another before they both tripped over the coffee table and fell to the floor.

The front door opened and there stood Ron, he had a perplexed look on his face and then he screamed, "SHEGO"

He turned quickly to find his rifle and then he spotted Monique, She smiled and waived, "Hi Ron."

Kim stood up quickly smiling, "Hi Ron."

Ron looked at her again, "Kim?"

Bonnie was still lying on the floor, "TELL THEM TO GET OUT RON!"

Ron shook his head, "Kim?"

Kim nodded her head excitedly, "Yes Ron it's really me."

He nodded his head and looked at Monique, "You look like a black Britney Spears."

Monique chuckled, "I know."

Kim looked at Monique, "So how is it's ok for him to say you look like a black Britney Spears and not for me?"

She smiled a big toothy grin, "Because he says it with class."

Ron shook his head and glared at Kim, "Shouldn't you be at home worrying about your wedding dress or something?"

Kim shook her head, "Ron…I'm not getting married, I never was."

"Don't listen to her Ron, she's lying." Bonnie said slightly panicked as she got up from the floor.

He shook his head and took a step back, "I…I seen the picture from your engagement party…I…I…"

Kim could see Ron was getting upset and moved closer to try and hug him, but he pulled away, "So…Who is this Danny Baldwin person?"

"He asked me to the homecoming dance and it's the only date I ever had with him." Kim said sadly as she reached out for Ron.

Ron shook his head, "Bonnie said you were getting married."

"Don't listen to her Ron; she's just trying to ruin it for both of us." Bonnie whimpered as the truth was finally starting to come out.

He glared at Bonnie, "Did you lie to me about Kim?"

Bonnie shrugged, "Does it matter…She quit writing you, she left you to out on dates and parties back home."

Ron turned back to Kim, "Why…Why did you quit writing me…I…I used to look so forward to hearing from you."

Kim shrugged, "I…it was hard to keep writing…I…just missed you so much."

She tried to hug Ron again, and again he backed away.

He pointed at Bonnie, "You lied to me."

Bonnie shook her head, "Just a little, but it still doesn't change the way I feel about you."

Kim narrowed her eyes, and then Ron pointed at her, "You've lied to me before and then you abandoned me…ME…After all we've been through…"

Monique smiled, "I've never lied to you Ron."

Ron glared at her and pointed a finger at her, "You…you…you're a blonde."

Monique lost her smile, "It's a wig Ron."

He shook his head, and went into the bedroom, Bonnie was starting to cry, "You've ruined everything Kim, you always do…You don't care for him…You just use him."

Kim was fighting off the urge to cry herself, the meeting with Ron didn't go as she had planned it, she looked up at Monique and shook her head, "Let's go Monique."

Monique nodded and walked over to Bonnie and slapped her hard across the face, "I owe you that for Brick honey."

Ron walked back into the living room, "Leave Bonnie alone, I'm heading out."

Bonnie was still rubbing her face where Monique had slapped her, "Where are you going?"

"Back to Tulkharm…I have a lot of thinking to do." Ron said as he turned and gathered up his rifle and his duffle bag and walked out of the apartment.

The three girls stood in silence and then Kim looked at Bonnie, "So you're not going to show us around your place?"

Bonnie closed her eyes and shook her head and in a very tired voice she told them to, "Just get out…You've ruined everything."

Monique looked at her, "I give up what did she ruin, you were only playing head games with Ron."

"I was not…well it started out that way…I was going to get Ron out of the army and get him a good job while he goes to school." Bonnie covered her eyes as she began to cry, "I was going to be with him…Then you two freaks show up and ruin it for us…I could have made Ron so happy." Bonnie said tearfully.

Kim stood there staring at Bonnie, _"Wow, she really does love Ron."_

"Come on Monique; let's go back to the hotel."

They left the apartment and headed back towards the street to find the rental car, Monique unlocked the doors and Kim got in, "I guess we were too late."

Monique started the car and started to drive away, "I guess so, it looks like he was starting to get settled in with Bonnie."

Kim winced, "I don't know if I'd go that far."

"Girl the man was taking out her trash, if that's not settling in I don't know what is." Monique told her as she turned onto another side street.

Kim nodded, _"I guess he was settling in…Could the mental focusing unit have been that wrong…How could things have changed so drastically from when we left Middleton?"_

Kim's thoughts were interrupted by Monique, "I have some bad news of you…I'm lost."

She nodded, _"Great what else can go wrong tonight."_

"We'll try to find a business or something to get directions from." Kim's eyes lit up, "Is that Ron at that bus stop over there."

Monique looked over and sure enough there was Ron sitting in the Plexiglas bus stop waiting on a bus, "Sure is."

Monique pulled up just down the street from the bus stop, Kim looked at her, "I'll go talk to Ron…He'll help us get back to Tel Aviv."

Kim walked slowly up to the bus stop, she could see Ron lost in thought shifting his gun from one hand to the other, "Hey"

Ron looked up and nodded, "Hey"

"Mind if I sit with you?" Kim asked.

Ron motioned with his hand, "It's a big bench."

Kim sat down, "I'm sorry about what happened at Bonnie's…I…I didn't realize you had become tight with her."

"How's Rufus?" Ron asked, he clearly didn't want to discuss Bonnie or relationships.

Kim swallowed hard, "He's doing ok, the twins keep him busy."

Ron smiled, "I bet they do…You seen my Mom and Dad, how's Kaley doing?"

Kim smiled, "They're doing well, Kaley is a cutie."

"I…I get letters and pictures from mom…I'm going back to Middleton in May…I'm best man at Ned's wedding." Ron said happily.

Kim nodded, "That's nice."

Ron looked at his gun, "I…I've never seen my sister…I really want to see her, I'd like to drop by and see Rufus too…If that's okay?"

Kim wiped a tear from her eyes, "Of course you can see Rufus."

He sucked in his cheeks and nodded, "That's good…thanks."

"I'm so sorry Ron…I had problems…I've worked through them and I tried to send you emails…Bonnie figured out your password…So I guess you didn't get them." Kim said she reached out for Ron's arm.

Ron stiffened and then relaxed at her touch and then he turned his head away while he thought about the emails, "That explains all my emails disappearing."

Kim bit her tongue and then decided to try and see what was going through Ron's mind, "I…know I shouldn't have dated Danny Baldwin and that Cody Marshall creep."

Ron chuckled, "My, you have been busy while I've been gone."

Kim winced and Ron held up a hand, "Kim…I don't really care about that, it wasn't like we were engaged or anything, and nobody understands about being lonely and wanting companionship more than me….but you abandoned me."

"Ron…I never abandoned you…I…I should have kept writing…I had things going on and now…I work at the space center and…I'm doing much better." Kim said nervously.

Ron looked up, "They have you on medication?"

Kim narrowed her eyes and tried not to become offended, "Something like that."

He nodded, "I…always suspected something wasn't quite right…Your mood swings and all…I…I just never wanted to say anything…figured you'd get mad at me."

Kim let out a deep breath, "Ron…I can't lose you…That's why I'm here."

Ron looked around and chuckled, "I'm tired Kim, I want something more now…This on again off again thing between us…It's not healthy…Bonnie may be what she is but…I think her feelings for me are genuine."

Kim laughed, "Yea…your probably right about that, I would have never of seen it coming…You can't be seriously thinking about a commitment with Bonnie are you?"

Ron nodded his head, "She's here Kim, your 3,000 miles away and not trying to communicate with me…Kim, I'm angry with you, I'm angry at Bonnie for lying to me."

He threw up his hands, "I…I'm half tempted to cut everyone lose and just find me a nice Israeli girl and settle down and have fat babies."

She narrowed her eyes, "I didn't think you could do that with Sensei and all?"

"You have a point there too, I think the only reason I want to get married and have a family is because I'm told I can't do it." Ron said dejectedly.

Kim began to say something and Ron continued on, "I see people pairing up, finding one another…talking about kids and futures…Why should I be denied this because of some stupid legend…I don't know…It's just not fair."

The bus was coming down the street and Ron stood up and shouldered his rifle and picked up his duffle bag, "I'll see you in May Kim, good luck with school and work and everything."

She panicked, "NO…I mean…Ron…we're lost…Show us how to get back to Tel Aviv…Please."

Ron began to laugh, "OK, I'll help you guys get back to Tel Aviv, but you have to drop me at the Oster's in Bat Yam…OK."

Kim smiled, "Deal"

She grabbed Ron's duffle bag and headed for the rental car, she put the bag in the trunk and Ron dropped his gun in with it. Kim smiled, "Weird seeing you walking around carrying a machine gun."

He nodded, "I have to have it at all times, when I'm off base I have to keep it unloaded with the ammo close by."

Kim nodded happily, and opened the back door for him, "I need to run by a pay phone and let the Oster's know I'm coming."

Monique turned to look at him, "So…what do you think of our new look?"

Ron winced, "The matrix thing went out of style about five years ago, thought you would have caught that Monique."

Monique glared at him, "Hey…leather never goes out of style."

He smiled and nodded, "Good to see you without the wig."

Kim slid into the seat, "Where did the wig go?"

"I threw it in back, it was getting hot." Monique said sheepishly.

Ron started to give directions and Monique waived him off, "I know where we are, I just played lost, when I seen you at the bus stop…Figured I'd give you guys a little time together."

He shook his head, and Kim turned in the seat to look at him with a weak smile, "I…I didn't know."

He shrugged, "Well let me find that pay phone so I can call the Oster's and let them know I'm coming."

Once Ron made his call Monique brought Ron up to speed on what was happening back home and then she made the mistake of telling him about Kim's adventure with the fraternity.

"THEY DID WHAT!" Ron screamed.

Kim waived a hand in the air, "It's okay Ron, I took care of it."

He shook his head, "Monique, what frat was that again, I'll kill every last one of those bastards."

Monique responded nervously, "I think I've said too much, Kim took care of it and burned down their frat house and everything."

Ron looked at Kim, and she could feel the anger radiating from his eyes "Is that why you changed the way you look? You hiding from them, say the word Kim and they're dead…I'll kill every last one of them, burn down their house again."

She turned in her seat and took his hand, "Ron, it's okay…I took care of it."

Kim could start to feel Ron calm down at her touch, "Monique, she has anymore trouble from those guys, you write, email me, call me and I'll fix em' good."

Monique started laughing, "I think Kim already fixed that one guy good."

Ron looked at Kim and she sheepishly grinned, "I kind of castrated him with a broken beer bottle."

He smiled and then he started to laugh, "I guess you did fix things then…Good for you."

She smiled, "I got the job at the space center after that, it's really helped me."

Monique turned and looked at him, "She has been a lot less flakey since she started working there."

They pulled up in front of the Oster's and Ron had the girls get out and he introduced them to the family. Sima looked at Kim, "She does not have red hair."

Ron nodded, "She got a haircut and had her color changed before she came to visit."

Kim smiled as she listened to Ron speak in Hebrew, Sima looked her over again and then turned and walked back inside the house.

Mr. Oster shook their hands and then picked up Ron's duffle bag and carried it inside, Mrs. Oster nodded, "It was nice to meet you two."

Monique looked at Ron, "She speaks English?"

Ron nodded and wrote down the Oster's phone number for the girls, "Yes she does…Well thanks for the lift down here, I'll be going to temple tomorrow so I won't be back around here until mid afternoon."

Kim was sad that he wouldn't go back to the hotel with them, but she understood he had been through a lot for one day. She looked up and seen that he was looking at her. She decided to go for broke and leaped into his arms and hugged him.

She felt him tense up and then relax, then she felt his arms go around her to hug her back, and then she heard a sob. Ron began to cry and so did Kim they stood outside the Oster's house holding each other crying.

Monique lowered her eyes and walked back to the car, _"I think Kim is making progress…Poor Bonnie…Well I think I can give up on Ron now…Time to move on."_

They continued to hold one another when Ron finally broke the embrace and wiped his eyes, "I…ummm…Sorry…I didn't mean for…"

Kim put her hand on the side of his face, "Shhhhhh…It's okay…I'll see you tomorrow…OK?'

Ron nodded, "Yea…okay."

He watched the Kim get into the car and waived as it backed out of the driveway, _"Well at least Kim's not marrying Danny Baldwin…Now what do I do?"_


	32. Chapter 32

A/N, I was going to have Ron's big showdown in this chapter but there was just so much good juicy angst to explore first.

Big time blowout in next chapter.

Thanks for reviewing.

* * *

Ron walked up the stairs after Kim and Monique dropped him off at the Oster's, Sima was waiting for him at the top. Ron gave her a look that said he didn't really feel like talking. 

Sima was fascinated; Ron's life was a soap opera that rivaled her favorite show Agony County that was just beginning to have episodes shown in Israel, "So did you and Bonnie break up? Are you back with Kim? She doesn't look like her photos."

He stopped on his way up the stairs and patted her on the head, "I don't know." Then Ron grimaced and replied to her in Hebrew, "I do not know…I am angry and confused…I do not understand girls."

"You have been crying." Said Sima as she watched him move past her and continue up the stairs.

Ron waived a hand, "I do not want to talk about it, I am very tired."

Sima stood up and followed him up the stairs, "What happened? Why are you crying?"

She pursued him up the stairs and tried to follow him into his room only to have the door closed in her face, she made a face at the door and then she heard his voice from the other side, "I will see you at breakfast."

Ron lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, _"Why is it she shows up now?_

Ron sat back up and dug into his duffle bag and pulled out his Subliminal and the Shadow CD and put it into his clock radio and listened to it as he began to work it through his mind, _"I...I like Bonnie…They shouldn't have ganged up on her."_

"_Ohhhhhhh We've come to rescue you Ron, we want to make sure you'll always be unhappy and confused…How did they find us anyway? Wade probably."_ He shook his head and rolled over and set his alarm to go off at seven.

Ron rolled back over, _"Then there's the whole Bonnie thing…Why did she lie to me, I guess hurting me must have been part of the plan…I guess it backfired on both of us."_

He chuckled, _"I guess I'll have to apologize to Bina…Man, my temper has been off the scale lately…Stress?"_

_"It could be…Need to focus…Women problems have to be moved to the back burner for now…How am I going to get into the West Bank to kill Saghir."_ Ron smiled at the thought of killing the man that strapped that bomb on poor Uday.

Ron rolled over onto his stomach, _"OK….West Bank, by myself…I wouldn't last long, I don't know the area…IDF uniform alone….I wouldn't last long….Kim's got a rental car…Kim would help…Couldn't tell her I'm going to kill this guy…She might not help."_

Ron crossed his legs, _"I don't know about Kim…Can I even trust her to have my back?"_

He mulled over various plans, each less likely than the other. Then he shook his head and rolled over again and began to rehash his sitch with Kim, _"I think I could trust Kim to have my back…I don't think she realizes that it's a whole different world over here."_

Ron shook his head again, _"I can't take her on a pure hit like this…After all this is what I'm planning…A hit…targeted killing as we call it over here…Sensei was right…I'm going to become a first class assassin….Is mystical monkey power driving me or am I driving it?"_

* * *

Ali Mohamed Saghir was brought up in the tough refugee camp in Tulkharm, where every morning he would rise to morning prayers where he would be indoctrinated in hate by the Clerics who would preach that all of his problems were caused by Jews and the only way to solve those problems was to kill Jews. 

Entering his teenage years Saghir would routinely participate in protests against Israel; he enjoyed the excitement of hurling stones and bottles at IDF soldiers and Border Police. His zeal caught the eye of one of the more radical clerics in the camp and he tried to recruit Saghir for martyrdom.

Saghir wasn't at all interested in blowing himself up, but he agreed to help recruit for the old cleric, he recruited many of his friends, he would inspire them with rousing speeches about Jewish atrocities against the Palestinian people and how that they could make a difference and spend eternity in paradise with 70 virgins.

When he was eighteen he left home and was smuggled out of the West Bank with a number of other volunteers to train for the coming second intifada or the second uprising against Israel.

He received his training in explosives in Iran, at the terrorist training camps funded by the Mullahs and their oil money. Upon his return he became a specialist in constructing the suicide belts. Belts that held large amounts of explosives that had large wide straps that crossed the chest that were covered with epoxy, nails, bolts and his favorite marbles.

He liked the marbles because when the shattered all the little shards of glass would slice through the innocent bystanders and those lucky enough to make it to the hospitals and survive would spend a lifetime in pain as the glass would not show up in x-rays.

He also liked to coat all of the nails, bolts, and marbles in rat poison to keep the blood from coagulating so that even people that were wounded would bleed to death before they could be rescued.

Ali Mohamed Saghir's suicide belts were top of the line in inducing terror.

His training and his zealous hatred of Jews moved him quickly up the ladder in Hammas before they came to power Now that they were the leaders of the Palestinian Authority they were able to secure him a driving job with United Nations.

With his driving job he was able to make routine intelligence gathering forays into Israel with the safety and security of the U.N. who were in the West Bank to monitor Israel's efforts to defend themselves from people like Saghir.

Now through his intelligence gathering it was decided by Hamas and their new partners Al Qaeda that Tulkharm was the softest border crossing that could be blown up with a large truck bomb and that would be the kick off of the third intifada.

He had several assistants working on the large Volvo box truck; it was painted to look like one of the local transport companies inside of Israel so as not to arouse suspicion. The construction of the bomb had been slow it was hard getting what he needed smuggled into the West Bank because of raids by Shin Bet and the Border Police.

The truck bomb was housed in his workshop in an old warehouse inside Tulkharm, the dilapidated structure was perfect cover for the project. From the outside it appeared to be barley standing and could collapse at any time with a row of high windows that were all broken out.

The front of the warehouse was in disrepair with large holes in the roof, but in back it had been fixed up just enough to house Saghir's important work. Now that the truck bomb was almost complete he took some time to admire his work, _"Another shipment and the blonde infidel will be taught a lesson…If he survives."_

Saghir leaned up against the wall and closed his eyes; he could see the martyr driving it into the check point. He could see it waiting in line; he could see the insolent blonde soldier checking the driver's papers.

He smiled as the image of the blonde soldier being vaporized in the blast as well as the whole checkpoint, he could see the flames from the explosion sweeping thru the base, soldiers running around on fire and when it was all over there would be nothing but bodies littering the ground.

* * *

Ron awoke with a start and looked around the room quickly, he dreamed of a large explosion at Tulkharm, _"Something is going to happen…I need to find Saghir and quick."_

He looked over at the clock it was time to get up, _"I think I'll take a shower and spend the day with the Oster's, be good to spend time with them."_

He took a shower and went down to the second floor to eat a light breakfast, Sharon Oster smiled and gave him a hug, "Now what brings you hear so late at night?'

Eli Oster smiled, "Two girls dropped you off last night, I think your story will be complicated."

Ron shook his head sadly, "If it involves Kim Possible it usually is complicated."

Sharon looked at the bandaged hand, "So how did you hurt your hand?"

"I…I thought Bonnie had found another boy friend and I punched a pay phone…Turns out I misjudged her…I still feel badly about that, then Kim shows up." Ron said with a slight chuckle.

Sima who was already sitting at the table eating breakfast quickly swallowed her food and chimed in, "His girlfriend from America showed up…She does not look like her pictures though."

Sharon looked sternly at Sima, and Ron teased her, "That is enough out of you little one."

Sharon fixed Ron a plate of fish and eggs with some fruit, "So it was girl trouble that brings you back here."

Ron nodded, "Yes…I…I was at my girlfriend Bonnie's apartment last night and my old girlfriend from America shows up and starts a fight with her."

Sima smiled, "They were fighting."

"Sima, that is enough out of you, let Ron tell us what happened." Sharon scolded her daughter.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck, "I…Kim, my old girlfriend, stopped writing me and started dating again…So she moved on…I start seeing Bonnie who she knew in high school and does not like and then she shows up here to pick a fight with her."

Sharon nodded, "So she wants to be able to date and you should not?"

He shook his head in frustration, "No…Yes…Maybe…I do not know…She tried to email me but Bonnie got into my email account and deleted all the messages."

Sima sat up straight, "Is Kim still getting married?"

"Kim is getting married and doesn't want you seeing this Bonnie girl?" Sharon shook her head slightly confused.

Ron took a bite of his food and looked past Sima to look at the Mediterranean Sea, "You have such a pretty view of the sea here." Ron let out a deep breath, "Bonnie told me that Kim was engaged to be married, but she wasn't….Now Kim wants to get back together with me."

Sharon nodded finally understanding Ron's problem, "So they are both stinkers?"

He started laughing, "Yes they are both stinkers."

Sima laughed, "So which stinker stinks less?"

Ron shook his head, "I do not know, Bonnie is here and I enjoy my time with her…Kim is back in America and can not decide if she wants a relationship with me or not."

Eli who had been seated at the table but said nothing decided to ask a question, "Is Kim Jewish?"

Ron shook his head, "No"

Eli nodded, "Is Bonnie Jewish?"

Ron nodded his head, "Yes"

Eli laughed, "Problem solved, stay with the nice Jewish girl."

Sharon smiled, "As much as I hate to agree with my husband, in this case I think he is right, Bonnie may have lied to you, but she's here for you….This Kim girl sounds…a little too possessive to me."

Sima smiled, "I was thinking that she is crazy or mean…She does not treat you like a girlfriend should…She should have kept writing you."

Ron glared at Sima for a moment and then softened his gaze, "Life would be easier if I stay in a relationship with Bonnie…Mom likes her…Mom hates Kim."

"Well then the problem is solved. Forgive Bonnie and continue seeing her, and send Kim back to America so she can find someone else to bother." Sharon told him as she shook a fork at him to accentuate her point.

"There is only one problem…I like being bothered." Ron said sadly.

Eli and Sharon chuckled at Ron's admission and then they smiled and returned to eating breakfast.

Sima chimed in with her thought "Ron, stay with Bonnie she is not mean to you."

He looked at Sima and nodded, "I'll call Bonnie later…after temple."

Kim was dressed and watching TV, she hadn't had enough Hebrew classes so she was trying to make sense of the shows but was having no luck. She looked up as she heard a knock at the door, "Just a minute."

She stood up and crossed the floor of her room and opened the door, she pursed her lips and nodded as she saw Monique outside, "Come on in."

Monique walked in the door, there was a sullen mood to the day, their plans didn't quite go the way they wanted and now they were left wondering what to do next, "You feeling okay?"

Kim nodded her head and shrugged, "I…I didn't think that Bonnie could get under Ron's skin like that."

"The girl is good…You think you made any headway with him last night? I tried to give you guys a lot of alone time together?" Monique said as she sat down on the bed as started watching TV.

She shook her head, "Thanks Monique…I really appreciated that…but, I don't know…I thought…He'd want to get back together."

Monique shrugged, "You shouldn't have dated those guys and you should have stayed in touch with him."

Kim nodded her head, "Should of, would of, could of…I'll call the Oster's later and see how he's doing."

"So what happened to this great telepathic link you're supposed to have with him?" Monique asked sarcastically.

She shook her head and began to tear up, "It's there Monique, he's angry and confused and I have no idea what he's going to do."

Kim looked down at all the packages she bought for him in the malls just two days ago and started to rub the back of her head, "I did not come all this way for nothing…I won't let Bonnie win, she'd make Ron miserable."

"You do a pretty good job of making him miserable too." Monique pointed out.

She glared at her friend and then the small rage left her, "I guess I do."

Monique heaved a big sigh, "Well I might as well lay it all out for you…Remember when you broke up with Ron the first time and how hard you had to work to get back with him again after Lacey died?"

"Yea" Kim answered not quite sure of where Monique was going.

"He was a different person than the boy you used to on missions with wasn't he?" Monique asked already knowing the answer.

She nodded, "Yea"

"Your going to have to do the same thing all over again, Ron is not the same guy that left Middleton last June." Monique observed.

Kim frowned, "Oh come on Monique, I know he's different…I've been inside his head."

"You seen him shoot two people or so you say….You think that doesn't change a man?" Monique said with a slight attitude.

She shook her head, "Monique, he's still Ron…He still goes to Bueno Nacho." Kim stopped in her observation, "He likes guns…drinks…curses…he has changed."

"I could tell he changed once he figured out who we were…He looked at me like I was a friend and not a girlfriend…I'm letting him go." Monique told her.

Kim blinked, "You're serious?"

Monique nodded her head, "Yea…I'm serious, now the question is Kim, can you live with his changes? Do you want him just to deny Bonnie? He's thinking about finding a wife…Can you be a wife?"

"Yes…I think he wants to marry me…" Kim started before Monique interrupted her.

"I didn't ask you if you would marry him….I asked you if you can be a wife."

She shook her head, "I...I don't understand."

Monique wiped a tear from her eye, "Kim…Ron put in a lot of effort to come over here and I don't think he plans on going back to live in Middleton anytime soon…If you marry him, he'll expect you to live and go to school here…Not in Middleton."

Kim turned away from Monique and looked at the TV. Monique nodded her head, _"You didn't work that into your plan did you?"_

"Kim, we're sitting on a bed watching TV that is in a language we can't understand….Looking at pictures. Bonnie is here and speaks the language…Ron looked like he was pretty happy with Bonnie."

"NO…He's not happy with her, she lied to him and…" Kim began only to be interrupted again.

"And he told us to leave her alone…Kim…Like it or not Bonnie might be better for him than you." Monique said sadly.

Kim's eyes narrowed, "NO, I won't accept that, Ron loves me…I know he does, he just needs to be reminded. Bonnie is cold and cruel and selfish and…." She stopped as she looked at Monique and saw that she was laughing, "What?"

Monique shook her head, "And so are you girl, you forget all about him when the first guy comes along, you quit writing to him, we came all the way over her to keep him from Bonnie…Then you'll only do the same thing once we get back home?"

She shook her head, "No that's not true, it was the truth ray that caused me to do that."

"Girl do you know how crazy that sounds…I think you'd be better off if you'd just say, 'well it's only Ron'." Monique said angrily.

Kim gritted her teeth and tried to keep her temper in check, "Well if you're so smart…What should I do?"

Monique looked at the TV and shook her head, "I don't know…I don't know if there is much you can do."

"Well…You…Your no help at all." Kim said as she started to laugh.

Monique began laughing and nodded, "Kim, call Ron, we have to do something today. This town is closed up being it's the Sabbath and we are going to get so bored hanging around here."

She nodded her head, "I'll wait till around one and call him, they should be back from temple by then."

* * *

Ron and the Oster's attended Sabbath services and returned home, he grabbed a small pastry for lunch and headed for the phone to call up Bonnie. He stood at the phone with his hand on the receiver trying to think of what he was going to say. 

Nothing came to him, he wasn't really mad at her; disappointed was a better word for it he thought. Finally he decided that the only way to deal with the problem was at hand was to call her and just see how the conversation goes.

He picked up the phone and dialed her number, he heard her answer the phone and could tell that she was feeling down, "Hey Bonnie, I just thought I'd call and see if you were alright after last night."

Bonnie was quiet for a long moment and Ron was half afraid she was going to hang up on him, "I…I'm doing okay…I guess you and Kim are back together again?"

Ron could hear the sadness in her voice, "No…no, we're not. Why did you lie to me Bonnie? Kim quit writing me months ago and…you didn't need to lie."

He could hear Bonnie sniffle on the other end of the phone, "I…I was originally…just wanting to hurt Kim…I know it's childish…I just wanted to upstage her just once…I was going to hurt you too, just because…I guess."

Ron sucked in his cheeks at that statement and nodded his head subconsciously and continued to hear Bonnie out, "Once…I got to know you…I really began to like you…a lot."

There was a soft chuckle from Bonnie after her last statement, "Then…hurting Kim and rubbing her nose in it…just didn't seem all that important anymore."

Ron smiled uneasily, "So your game backfired…Bonnie…I don't know."

He heard Bonnie let out a long sigh, "I know Ron, it was the wrong thing to do and I am so sorry…As long as I'm coming clean with everything….Danny Baldwin is my cousin and I had him ask Kim out so I could get pictures of the two of them before I came over here…You know…help sell the story."

Ron started to become really angry at what Bonnie had done and then it was replaced by sadness, "Well you certainly sold the story…What would you have done if Kim would have of said no?"

Bonnie chuckled over the phone, "No offense Ron…I knew she wouldn't…Food chain and all."

Ron cringed, "Food chain."

Bonnie continued explaining, "Ron…no offense but Danny is very good looking and tall and…"

He interrupted her, "and I'm not."

Bonnie could hear the sadness in his voice, "Ron, I'm so sorry."

"Yea…that makes two of us." Ron said fighting back tears.

"Ron, I don't want to lose you…Tell me you forgive me...We can be so good together." Bonnie whined helplessly.

Ron shook his head, "I don't know what I'm going to do Bonnie…I'll call you later, I need some time to sort this all out."

He said goodbye to Bonnie and sat staring at the phone, _"I'm 3000 miles from home and I'm still hearing about the food chain…its Josh Mankey all over again…If it wasn't Josh it would have been somebody else, I've always known that about Kim."_

Sima was watching him from the corner of the room, "So did you make up with Bonnie."

Ron turned to her and she could see the sadness in his eyes, "No"

Ron got up from the chair and started to walk upstairs when the phone rang, "I will answer that"He told Sima as she raced to answer the phone, "Shalom"

"Shalom Ron…This is Kim." Ron winced and nodded his head, "Hey…Enjoying your trip so far?"

Kim couldn't tell if Ron was being sarcastic or not so she didn't respond to the question, "I was wondering if we could come out and see you?"

Kim looked at Monique and waited for an answer, Ron sat back down in the chair by the phone and stared at Sima.

Sima backed up nervously, "I did not do anything."

Ron smiled and shook his head and put a hand over the telephone receiver, "Kim wants to come over and I'm thinking it over."

The lack of an answer was making Kim nervous, "Ron…Is everything alright?"

"No…no everything is not okay…I talked to Bonnie a while ago." Ron said flatly.

Kim could feel a knot in her stomach, _"What did Bonnie tell him now?"_

"So what did Bonnie have to say?"

Ron looked at Sima who was edging closer and closer to him to try and make out what was being said. Ron pointed towards the other room and shooed her with his hand, "Ummm…She said Donny Baldwin was her cousin and she set the whole date thing up."

Monique sat in one of the oversized chairs across from Kim and she could see her temper starting to edge ever closer to the boiling point. Kim pursed her lips and looked at Monique and balled her fist and shook it.

"Ohhhhh Really"

He could hear the change in Kim's tone, "Kim…She came clean over the phone about the whole plan and everything, Don't do anything to her."

"RON…I wondered why he never asked me out again….Not that I would've gone out with him or anything." Kim said bewildered as she looked towards Monique and continued to shake her fist.

"Yea…you would have went out with him again, Bonnie said she knew you couldn't pass up Danny…It's the whole food chain thing again." Ron's voice was sad as he came to the realization that he needed to break it off with Kim.

Kim was stunned by the Ron's statement and the anger was gone, "That…That's not true Ron…That was…before…Look I'd rather be able to talk with you about this in person…can I come over?"

Ron started to bite his thumb nail, _"If I say yes, we'll make up and it will be right back to the same old routine of Kim meets new boyfriend or Kim gets bored with Ron, and so on and so on and so on."_

Sima creeped back into the room and Ron glared at her and she went into the other room and peeked around the corner.

Kim could feel tears welling up in her eyes, she didn't have to have a telepathic link to Ron to know he was hurt and Bonnie didn't help matters out any, "Ron…"

She stopped when she heard him let out a deep breath, "Kim…I…I…think it would be best if we just called it quits."

Her blood went cold and she looked at Monique and shook her head, "Ron…I'd really like to see you…It's…against the rules to break up over the phone."

Monique lifted an eyebrow, _"Uh oh"_

Ron shook his head and laughed bitterly, "Ohhhhh now you're pulling the rules on me."

Kim laughed uneasily, "Yea…the rules."

"Well if it's for the rules…I guess its ok then." Ron said sadly.

"Great, we'll be there in about an hour, see you then." Kim quickly hung up the phone before Ron could change his mind.

Monique smiled an uneasy smile, "This doesn't look to promising."

Kim flopped back onto her bed, "Monique…Bonnie so played me."

"What did she do?" Monique was just dieing to know.

"Danny Baldwin is her cousin, she set the whole thing up." Kim said in amazement.

Monique gasped, "NO WAY"

Kim nodded, "She told Ron everything…Even told him that she knew I'd say yes because of the stupid food chain."

Monique frowned, "Well she was right about that…you looked at that boy like it was Christmas."

Kim winced and shook her head, "NO…It's not like that."

Monique held up a hand, "Save it for Ron, I have to get ready."

Ron hung up the phone, and began kicking himself, _"Stupid Rules, why am I such a sucker for the rules?"_

Sima came back into the room, "Did you breakup with Kim?"

Ron put his face in his hands until only his eyes were visible above his finger tips, "I don't know…Maybe…"

He looked around the room, "She will be here in an hour."

The two girls made the trip to Bat Yam and pulled up in front of the Oester's house Ron was waiting and walked outside to meet them. He smiled and waived, "Hello, shame you came in January, it's much nicer here when it's not winter."

Monique got out of the car and gave him a hug, "I'll get out of the way and let you talk to Kim."

Kim got out of the car nervously and Ron nodded, "Hey KP…Let's go for a walk."

Ron walked with her the two blocks down to the beach; it was too cold for swimming so they could have some privacy while they talked, "So…when do you two head home?"

"In a hurry to get us out of here…huh." Kim said half teasingly.

Ron shrugged, "Just trying to make conversation."

They continued to walk along the street that bordered the beach until Ron spotted another Plexiglas bus stop and motioned for her to have a seat, "This looks like a good spot out of the wind."

Kim sat down she was bundled up in a parka and she noticed that Ron was in shirt sleeves, "Don't you get cold?"

Ron smiled, "This isn't cold, Yamanouchi was cold."

Kim smiled and nodded, "So you want to break up?"

Ron looked up the street, the street was disserted because of the Shabbat, "I think it would be better for both us…I can move on with my life and you can go back to Middleton and go to school and date and have fun and live your life."

Kim leaned back against the seat, "Ron,did you ever ask me what I want?"

He shook his head and shrugged, "I don't know…What do you want, then?"

Kim rubbed the back of her neck, "I want to be with Ron…That's what I've always wanted."

Ron smiled, "Kim…That is all I ever wanted too, but we both know with you being in Middleton and me here…It won't work."

"Ron…I've been talking to Rabbi Katz about converting to Judaism." Kim said desperately hoping that would help convince Ron that she was serious.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Kim you don't have to do that…"

"You know that's always been in the back of your mind…I'm not Jewish...Your mother wants you to marry a nice Jewish girl…Why can't I be the nice Jewish girl?" Kim said bitterly.

Ron started laughing, "Kim…That's not the answer…It's a nice thought but it's not the answer."

Kim shook her head, "Well what is the answer then?"

He buried his hands in his head, _"I don't believe I'm even…I'm an idiot."_

She put her hand on his shoulder, she was making progress and she knew it. He was ready to walk away and now he was wavering, _"It's got to be the truth ray?"_

"Ron…What are you thinking?"

"I don't know…Look…I'll create a new email account…Get Wade to get those stupid communicators working, and write me…When I go back to Middleton in May…We'll go from there." Ron said in a very tired voice.

Kim nodded, "That sounds fair…Ron…I've been different since I've worked at the Space Center."

Ron nodded still lost in his own thoughts, "Well we better head back, I'm sure Monique and Sima are tired of not being able to talk to one another."

They walked back to the house, Kim chatted away nervously and Ron remained silent. Kim could tell that he was still struggling with his decision. So she continued to talk all about the twins and Rufus and his parents, trying desperately to remind him of all the history the two had between them.

"So you want to go out to eat?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure…Can you guys drop me back off at Tulkharm? I have to report for duty in the morning." Ron said flatly as he looked up at the Oester's house on the hill.

Ron returned to the Oester house and met up with Monique who was in the living room, Sima and Monique were able to talk to one another with Sharon acting as an interpreter.

Sharon smiled nervously as they entered the house, "Well, Ron are you packed…You have to be back at Tulkharm for duty tomorrow?"

Ron nodded and spoke in Hebrew, "I am ready, I am an idiot who is ready to go back to the base."

Sharon nodded sadly, "Are the girls taking you back."

"Yes" Ron said sadly as he walked up the stairs.

He quickly packed his things and grabbed his machine gun and came back downstairs and hugged the Oester's and walked out the front door, _"Won't see them for another month."_ He thought sadly as he loaded his gear into the back of the rental car.

Sima came to the door and waived as they backed down the driveway, Ron waived back and she could tell that he wasn't very happy, "Momma, he didn't break up with Kim did he?"

Sharon shook her head, "No…pity, I think she is going to bring him nothing but heartache."

Sima nodded in agreement, "Monique was nice."

"Yes, she is a nice girl, she needs to find a nice boyfriend and quit hanging out with Kim." Sharon said knowingly.

They went and ate at a Burger King they passed on the way to Tulkharm, Kim and Monique were filling Ron in on what everyone was doing and Ron was nodding but not talking very much.

Monique finally had enough talking; she looked at Ron, "So tell us about the army."

Ron was looking out the window and not paying attention. Monique tapped the brakes and the car lurched forward, Ron looked up towards the front seat and Monique smiled, "Sorry…I thought I saw an animal crossing the road…So how do you like the army?"

Ron smiled and shrugged, "It's alright I guess, once you get out of basic that is…I have friends and we stay busy. Sergei wants me to look for a place in Yad Hannah…It's a village by the base."

Kim turned and looked at him and started to tease him, "Going to get yourselves a spankin' bachelor pad?"

He laughed and shook his head, "I don't think I'll actually do move in with him….We would only be able to live there one week out of the month…It just seems like a waste of money."

Monique nodded, "So…You going to hook back up with Bonnie?"

Kim glared at Monique, "Monique!"

Ron narrowed his eyes, "That is none of your business Monique."

Monique let out a deep breath, "Sorry for asking."

The rest of the ride to Tulkharm was in silence; Kim looked over at Monique a few times and shook her head. Ron continued to look out the window, the way they were going was unfamiliar to him and he was taking in the new scenery as they drove by it in the dark.

They pulled up into the parking lot on the base and they got out, there were other soldiers returning from leave. Tirza Cohen quickly spotted Ron and yelled to him, "Ronnieeeee"

Ron turned and smiled, "Shalom Tirza, let me introduce you to my friends from America." Ron pointed to Kim, "This is Kim Possible my former girlfriend, and next to her is Monique Jones."

Kim and Monique both smiled and nodded hello, Tirza who didn't speak any English was immediately attracted to Monique and quickly moved towards her and took her hand, "You have the most beautiful eyes, you are an American….How do you like Israel?"

Ron smiled, "Tirza, they do not speak Hebrew."

Tirza frowned and thought about it, "Ronnie, tell Monique that I think she very pretty."

He smiled at his friend and nodded, "Monique, Tirza thinks you are very pretty."

Monique smiled uneasily and nodded her head, "OK….Is he…a nice guy Ron?"

Ron looked wounded, "Of course he's a nice guy, he's the company medic." Ron held up his bandagedhand, "He patched up my hand."

"Well, tell him…Thank You." Monique nodded at him and smiled uneasily.

He smiled, "Monique, says thank you and wants to know if you are doing anything tomorrow night?"

Tirza's eyes lit up, "No, no…I am not doing anything tomorrow night."

Ron looked back towards Monique, "He would like to take you to dinner tomorrow night Monique."

Monique laughed and held up her hands, "I…I don't think that's a good idea Ron."

He looked back towards Tirza, "She says she will be here around six tomorrow night."

Tirza smiled and took her hand and kissed it and squeezed it and patted, "Tell her I will be waiting."

Then Tirza grabbed his things and ran towards the barracks, Monique glared at Ron, "What did you tell him."

Ron smiled, "I told him you'd love to have dinner with him tomorrow night."

"RONNNNNNNN" Monique squealed.

He held up his hands, "Monique, it won't kill you to have dinner with him once, besides Kim and I will be there to chaperon."

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "I will?"

Ron shrugged, "Yea…your right, I'll ask Bonnie."

Kim shook her head in resignation, "I'll be here too."

"Great be here at six and we'll go to one of the little restaurants in one of the nearby villages." Ron said as he started to turn and walk away.

Kim looked at the ground, "Ron…Aren't you forgetting something?"

Ron checked his bags and his gun and his bags and then looked at Kim, she held her arms out, "Oh yea…Sorry."

He hugged her but it was more a friendly embrace and then he hugged Monique, "Don't worry….What could go wrong?"

Monique shook her head, "I'm afraid to think about all that could go wrong…We'll see you tomorrow Ron."

They waived goodbye to Ron and watched him walk towards the base and disappear into the barracks. Kim shook her head and looked at Monique, "Well at least your going to have fun tomorrow."

"He didn't take you back?" Monique asked.

Kim shook her head, "He wants to take a wait and see approach…He is a different person, I feel like I'm starting from scratch."

They got back in the car, "Well you have someone else to worry about other than Bonnie now."

Kim looked confused, "Who?"

Monique started the car and backed out of the parking spot and began the drive back to Tel Aviv, "Sima"

"NO WAY, she's a kid." Kim said with a chuckle.

She looked at Kim, "I was there at the house with Sima and Sharon and all she asked was questions about Ron, she looks at Ron…I mean she looks at Ron."

Kim shook her head, "It's a crush, and she's too young for Ron anyway."

Monique looked at her, "She's only two years younger than Ron, and she turns sixteen next month."

Kim chuckled, "No way."

"She doesn't like you…I could see that the minute you were introduced." Monique said waiting for a response from Kim.

Kim looked out the window, _"That's okay…I think Ron doesn't like me much either."_

"So are the Oester's nice people."

Monique nodded, "Yea, they consider Ron one of the family, Sharon stays in touch with his mother…I think Ron is happy here Kim."

* * *

"So Monique likes me?" Tirza said excitedly. 

Ron smiled, "Yes…She thinks you are very handsome." Ron said as he reached over and pinched his cheek.

Tirza shoved his hand away, "So how am I going to talk to her?"

"I will give you a crash course in English before we go to bed." Ron said as they walked into the barracks.

* * *

Sunday was an uneventful day at the border crossing, Ron had to spend the day searching buses and the day flew by. He was off duty now and met up with Sergei by the concrete barricades that were away from the main road and caught up on the days events. 

Kim and Monique arrived early and spotted the two talking from the parking lot. Kim smiled as she seen Ron laughing and being very animated about what he was telling Sergei, _"That's my Ron."_

Then their attention shifted to a car that was driving erratically before it left the road and headed towards Ron and Sergei. Ron looked at Sergei, "They are fighting over the wheel?"

The car stopped and a woman jumped out and ran for the border crossing, Ron and Sergei jumped the barriers and brought their rifles up and closed on the cars, Ron and Sergei began screaming at the driver to put his hands up.

The driver was shaking and put his hands up, Sergei opened the door and Ron grabbed the driver by the shirt collar and drug him out and slung him on the ground, "DO NOT MOVE."

The border police quickly appeared and handcuffed the man, Kim and Monique turned and looked at each other, "What was that all about?"

Monique shook her head, "I don't know but it looks like Ron did OK."

Ron shouldered his rifle and looked at Sergei, "What the hell was that all about?"

Sergei shook his head, "I do not know but that lady looked terrified."

He chuckled and slapped Sergei on the back, "He looked terrified too when he saw us running at him."

Kim watched as they both saluted an officer and Ron looked down and nodded, and then he saluted again and ran back to the car and put his gun in the front seat and drove the car away.

They waived at Sergei as he walked by, Sergei waived and kept walking, Kim yelled out, "SERGEI…Find Ron."

Sergei looked at them strangely because he had never met the two girls, Monique looked at Kim, "How do you know him?"

Kim smiled, "The chair is all knowing."

Sergei rounded up Ron, "There are two girls here to see you."

Ron looked up and shook his head, "Oh…Come out here and let me introduce you."

They walked into the parking lot, Kim ran up and hugged Ron, "What was that all about?"

He shook his head, "Oh you saw that…well…This is Sergei Bunimovich, Sergei this is Kim Possible and Monique Jones."

Sergei smiled and tried out his English, "Hello, it is nice to meet you…Ron has told me so much about you both." Then Sergei looked at Kim, "You do not look like your pictures."

Kim shook her head, "I got a haircut before I came to visit."

"Ah…Well that explains it then…I will go find Tirza." Sergei said with a grin.

Ron waived at him as he left, "You new boyfriend is very excited to go out with you, I taught him some English so he won't be completely lost."

Monique looked uneasily at him, "You being on the level right…He's not going to say anything bad or anything is he?"

"Noooooooooo…Would I do that to you Monique." Ron said innocently.

She nodded her head, "Yes"

Kim interrupted them, "Ron what was that all about?"

Ron looked at Kim in confusion, "What?"

"THE CAR RON, THE CAR." Kim yelled in exasperation.

He laughed, "Oh yea…that…domestic dispute, ummm…she was Jewish converted to Islam to marry her Arab boyfriend, she became pregnant, had a girl….He didn't want a girl he wanted a boy so he locked her in a closet for three days."

Kim shook her head, "WHAT?"

Ron held up and hand and continued, "She talked him into going out for a drive to smooth things over and when they got close to the border crossing she jumped him and then you saw the rest."

Monique shook her head, "That's crazy?"

He looked at the girls and shrugged, "It's a different world over here, up on that hill over there." Ron said pointing towards Tulkharm, "It is acceptable…This side of the border it is not."

Sergei walked up with Tirza in tow, he was dressed in a clean uniform with his dress beret on and Ron smiled, "Told you he was excited to go out with you."

Tirza walked up and smiled at Monique, "Hello…sexy lady."

Monique smiled and nodded, "This is going to be a long night isn't it?"

Sergei chuckled, "It depends if he remembers all 36 pickup lines Ron taught him."

Kim shook her head and looked at Ron, "What did you teach him?"

Before Ron could answer a black four door Toyota Camry pulled up and a man jumped out, "Pink Sloth, Pink Sloth, can you go over to Tulkharm with us…We have a line on a bomb maker and a machine gunner could come in handy?"

Ron smiled, _"This is my lucky day, these guys know their way around Tulkharm, and there is only one bomb maker I know over there."_

Then Ron came to the horrible realization of just who was asking him to go along, and it made him frown, _"Oh no it's Raffi and George with Shin Bet…They're idiots."_

George was becoming impatient, "It is only a scouting mission to find a…Ali Mohamed Saghir…Once we find him we come back and get reinforcements and go back and arrest him."

Ron smiled, _"That is what you think."_

"Yes I would like to go…on this scouting mission." Then he turned and gave Kim and evil grin, "Kim would you like to go on a mission into Tulkharm?"

Her eyes grew big and a big smile crossed her face, "YES"

Monique held up her hand, "Wait…I thought we were going to dinner?"

Ron looked at Sergei, "Go get Bina and go with them on a double date, you speak English goodly, you can help Tirza out."

Sergei shook his head, "Ronnie I don't think this is a real good idea."

Ron wasn't listening he was shoving Kim into the back seat of the Camry and before Sergei could raise another concern the car was off for the West Bank.

Sergei looked at Monique, and shook his head, "I think this will not end happily."

Monique nodded and turned her attention to Tirza who was busy fawning over her.

Tirza smiled and told her happily, "You make me hot."

Monique smiled and shook her head, _"Ron…you are so dead."_


	33. Chapter 33

Ron sat in the backseat of the Toyota Camry chuckling, Kim sat next to him giggling. Raffie and George looked at them, "You should not be bringing your girlfriend along."

Ron and Kim continued chuckling and giggling, Kim could hardly contain her excitement, and Ron could see the excitement in her eyes, "What harm is there…After all it is just a intelligence gathering mission….Right?"

Raffi looked at George and shrugged, "He says it is just an intelligence gathering mission."

George shrugged, "Well it is, but he should not bring her along."

Ron's eyes narrowed, "It should be no problem and I will get laid afterwards, help me out here."

Raffi groaned and shook his head and put the car in gear, "You will of course tell no one of this."

"I will of course say nothing to anyone." Ron said as he watched Kim bouncing up and down on the seat.

"Let's go, let's go, YES, YES, Mission….I am so ready for this." Kim said excitedly as she clapped her hands.

Ron smiled and shook his head, _"Thrill Junkie"_

Then a measure of reality sat in as they left the border check point, _"Kim could get killed, these people don't monologue the way Drakken or Duff or any of those other freaks do…They just shoot you."_

Ron laid his rifle down in the floorboard and took his helmet and body armor off. He told Kim to take off her coat and fitted the body armor on her and plopped the helmet down on her head and slapped the front of the helmet so it covered her eyes, "Head in the game Kim."

She resisted the encumbrances at first and then let Ron fit the equipment on her, after he shoved the helmet down over her eyes she raised the helmet back up to see him smiling at her, "What happens if you get shot now?"

Ron shook his head and started laughing, all he could see was Kim's big green eyes and her pearly white teeth peering at him from the underneath the helmet in the darkened car, "Well if I get shot…I'll probably die…I don't plan on getting shot though."

He picked his rifle up again; it was the first time he had actually been inside the refuge camp, _"Right now we only have to worry about getting car jacked, since there are four of us in the car that's not likely to happen."_

The old tin sheds and tents of the displaced Palestinians rolled by slowly as Raffi and George drove slowly through, the area was disserted as most of the people were at the Mosques attending evening prayers. Ron shook his head, _"These people are beyond poor."_

Kim's excitement drained away as she looked out the car window, "Ron what is this place?"

Ron leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Refugee camp."

She nodded, "Oh"

He looked towards the front of the car and looked out the windshield as they started to leave the tin shanties and move into the large stone multifamily homes, many damaged from rioting and pock marked from gun fire from old battles between the PLO and the IDF in years past.

They entered an area in the village where there were small coffee houses, and an open air market that had long since closed, they drove down an back alley and stopped down the street from a large dilapidated warehouse.

Ron leaned over the front seat of the car, "Is there an old Mosque nearby?"

George nodded and pointed to a rundown building further up the alley, "That is an old Mosque over there."

With that bit of information Ron looked at Kim and smiled, "Let's go."

They opened their doors and quickly exited the vehicle, George and Raffi looked at each other and Raffi urgently whispered at Kim, "What do you think you are doing?"

Kim who didn't speak a word of Hebrew smiled and pointed at the large building, Ron walked around to the driver's side of the car, "It is called reconnaissance; we are going inside to have a look."

George got out of the passenger's side of the car and motioned for the two to get back in the car, "This is not part of the plan."

Ron smiled wickedly, "The plan has changed….You want to come with us or just wait in the car."

Raffi shook his head, "This is not going to turn out well, and it will be entirely your fault."

* * *

Sergei, Tirza and Monique walked into the mess hall, Sergei spotted Bina and took a deep breath and walked up to Bina, "Shalom, would you…do me a favor and go out to dinner with me and my friends?" 

Bina looked at him in amazement, "I told you I do not like you."

Sergei shook his head, "It is not a date, we are just going to eat Yad Hannah, with Tirza and his new girlfriend."

Bina looked at the food on the metal tray, "You will of course pay?"

Sergei smiled, "If I pay it would be a date."

She looked at Tirza and Monique and in a quiet voice asked Sergei, "Is big ears coming?"

Sergei shook his head, "No, Ronnie is…away."

Bina nodded, "I will go, and you take us someplace nice."

Monique looked around at all the soldiers eating dinner and then turned to Tirza and was startled to see him still staring at her intently with a big grin on his face. She nodded, _"Kim…Ron…You two are so dead."_

Tirza caught Monique's eye once again, "Your hair is smells like ice."

Monique eyes grew big and she nodded and said uneasily, "Thank you."

Sergei walked up to the couple with Bina and spoke to Monique, "You have car, I will show you a nice place to eat close to the base."

Monique nodded her head and the group walked out of the mess hall and into the parking lot. She unlocked the doors on the car and Bina quickly hopped into the front seat next to Monique.

She looked at Bina, "Girl what is your problem?"

Sergei spoke up from the backseat, "She does not want to sit next to me…She…thinks I am beneath her because I am Lithuanian."

Monique blinked, "Oh"

Monique drove and followed the directions that Sergei gave her and they pulled up outside a café' in Yad Hannah. She was uneasy being the only one in the group that did not speak Hebrew, _"I should have went back to the hotel, I don't even know these people."_

Bina gloomed, "It figures you would pick a restaurant that serves food from eastern Europe."

Sergei smiled, "Yad Hannah was settled by Russian Jews, that is why the food is so good here."

They took a table and Bina made a point to sit across from Sergei and not talk to him, Sergei was acting in the role of translator, "Tirza wants to know about your family."

Monique nodded, _"Well this is sort of normal, I guess?"_

"I live at home with my mother and father, I have an older brother named Kejay,. So tell me about your family?"

Sergei relayed the message to Tirza and he nodded and smiled, he pulled his wallet out and pulled out pictures, he handed them to Monique and moved his chair so he could sit next to her.

Bina was forced to move over and she shook her head and sat her menu up so she wouldn't have to directly look at Sergei. Sergei shook his head, _"Just once I wish she would at least be nice to me."_

Tirza pointed at the picture of a lady in flower print shirt, "Momma…That is my momma."

Monique understood momma and nodded, "You look like your mother."

Tirza looked at Sergei, and he relayed the message, and he nodded, "Yes, I look like Momma."

He switched pictures, "Poppa, poppa works for the sewer company, been there many years."

Sergei relayed the message and Monique nodded.

He switched pictures, "This is my brother, his name is Uri, he drives a bus."

Monique looked at Sergei and he relayed the message, _"Well this isn't too bad."_ Monique thought as she continued to look at family pictures.

Another picture came out, "This is my little sister, Mehira, she is twelve years old."

Sergei relayed the message and Monique smiled, "She looks a lot like your mother too."

Sergei again relayed the message and Tirza nodded and then he decided to tryout more of his English pickup lines that Ron had taught him, "You are fine foxy momma."

Sergei looked away nervously not quite knowing how Monique was going to react, Monique chuckled, "Tell Tirza, Thank you."

Sergei smiled and relayed the message to Tirza who smiled proudly.

Then the waiter came by the table and Sergei ordered for the table, once the waiter left, Tirza was now feeling really good and thought of a line that Ron said was a can't miss line that would make Monique weak in the knees, "You are so pretty, you make me hard."

Monique started blushing and turned her head away smiling, _"Ron…You are sooooooo dead."_

Sergei looked shocked and began stammering out an excuse for Tirza and Monique waived a hand, "This is Ron's way of thinking he's cute, I'll kick his butt later."

Sergei smiled uneasily and looked at Tirza who was looking at the two in confusion, "Tirza, do not use anymore of Ronnie's English lines."

Tirza shook his head still not understanding, "Did I say something wrong?"

He looked and Tirza and nodded, "You just told Monique that looking at her makes your penis hard."

Bina heard this and began laughing and snorting and pounding her hand on the table, "Big ears made you look like a fool."

Monique had a vague idea what was going on and then knew exactly what Sergei had told Tirza as his shoulders slumped and he turned away from her and for a moment she thought that he was going to cry.

Tirza's plight touched something inside Monique as she narrowed her eyes at Bima who was still laughing at Tirza and she took his hand, "It's okay Tirza, Ron does stuff like this thinking he's funny and all he does is make himself look like a big jerk."

Sergei quickly relayed the message and Tirza shook his head and squeezed her hand, "Why would Ronnie do this to me, I thought he was my friend?"

"Ronnie probably thought it would be funny, American's can be strange." Sergei said as tried to make him feel better.

* * *

The group of four moved quickly and quietly along the wall of the abandoned warehouse, there was a large sliding door that appeared to be locked but next to that door was a smaller steel door that he could clearly see was barely hanging on its hinges. 

Raffie and George were still complaining about having to get out of their car and Ron narrowed his eyes and put a finger to his lips, "Shhhhhhhh"

He put his hand on the door knob and turned the knob, it was locked and Raffi pushed by him and began to pick the lock and said in exasperation, "I better get this open before John Wayne here kicks the door down."

Ron chuckled, "I was always a Steven Segal guy."

Kim smiled and shook her head, not fully comprehending the conversation, "What has any of this got to do with Steven Segal?"

"I'll tell you later, now shhhhhhhhh." Ron said as he brought his rifle to up to his shoulder.

Raffi picked the lock and they quickly went inside, the building was dark and deserted, and Ron shook his head clearly disappointed, _"Damn, I thought we had something here."_

George had pulled his glock out of a shoulder holster looked around the empty building, "Nothing, our information was worthless."

"Wasted trip, pink sloth, you and your girlfriend back to the car." Raffi ordered.

Ron lowered the rifle and then raised it up to his shoulder again as he heard a sound from very far inside the warehouse, "Someone is here."

Kim tapped Ron on the shoulder and pointed, "That way."

The quickly made their way to the right side of the building, they were trying hard not to make any noise on as they moved across the concrete floor Ron looked and saw some old packing crates and motioned for them to hide behind them.

The four hid behind the boxes and listened intently, they could hear voices speaking in Arabic, Ron looked over at Kim and whispered to her, "You wearing that helmet kind of turns me on."

She smiled, "What would you do if I was wearing a beret?"

"Head in the game Kim, quit trying to distract me." Ron said with a chuckle.

Raffi scolded the two, "Shut up, we are outnumbered here."

A door opened at the far end of the building and two men came out holding Ak47s, they were chatting as they walked the length of the wall. They walked past the crates where they were hiding, Ron could barely see them in the dark and then he quickly scrambled fell silently behind them.

George and Raffi looked at each other and shook their heads as they realized the girl had moved in behind the pink sloth. They quickly joined the line behind them as the walked in the darkness towards the end of the building.

The two men reached the end of the building and the first man unlocked a door, the second man turned and looked behind him, he saw nothing until the door opened and light spilled into the empty warehouse and illuminated Ron who was already taking aim on the man.

The guard spotted him and began to yell out and raise bring his gun up to shoot at Ron but was cut down instantly along with the guard that was unlocking the door. The bullets tore through the men and Ron was on top of them and moving through the doorway and into the light, "Don't slip on the blood KP."

Kim ran in behind him trying to not look at the men Ron had just killed, "I think we've lost the element of surprise."

"Run that way cause a diversion." Ron yelled as he began shooting at people that were beginning to run back and forth trying to find their rifles and return fire.

Ron ran forward to try and find Saghir and then stopped in his tracks, "Did I just tell Kim to cause a diversion?"

Kim started running in the opposite direction and then stopped, "Did he just tell me to cause a diversion?"

They turned and looked at each other, and then they shrugged and ran off to create mayhem.

George and Raffi took cover with their guns drawn, "You are all under arrest." Raffi yelled to no one in particular.

He quickly ducked and took cover as bullets began flying in his direction, George shook his head, "We should have asked someone else to come with us."

Kim ran behind crates and fell on the ground as bullets tore through them, then she got to her feet and began looking for someone to beat up She smiled as she saw a gun barrel of a terrorist that was obviously looking for her.

She grabbed the barrel and pulled the terrorist forward and drove her knee into the man's groin, she heard him groan and then she came struck him with a vicious right cross that dropped him to the ground, _"Ahhhhhhhh what I wouldn't give to be fighting Shego right now."_

Another man came from around the crate and stopped in his tracks as he saw Kim, she began to move to her left and then the man began to jerk and jump as bullets tore through him, "RON….I didn't ask you for help."

There was no answer and Kim could hear Ron's machine gun further inside the building and realized he was on the move.

Ali Mohamed Saghir heard the gunfire and ordered the men that were helping to find their guns and hold off the intruders while he wired the truck bomb to go off. He shook his head in frustration he had no timers, all he could do was try to arrange a booby trap.

Ron was making headway, he was moving from crate to crate shooting as he moved forward, finally he found the Saghir hiding behind a large truck, he took aim and then quickly spun to his right and dropped another guard.

Saghir looked up and began to run, Ron gritted his teeth and let loose a burst from the machine gun, but it was too late. Ron began running after him shooting more guns as he ran by the truck.

Kim found an open crate of RPG's and picked one up, _"I've seen these on TV, I wonder how they work?"_

Kim hit the button and the tube jumped and she heard the swish as the rocket grenade flew off towards the roof of the building where it exploded and rained debris down on a few terrorists as they scrambled for cover.

"BOOYAHAHAHAHA" Kim screamed as she pumped a fist in the air and grabbed another one.

Saghir found his AK47 and began firing at Ron, he returned fire as closed the distance to his target and Ron was trying to get closer when he heard the explosion and he dived for cover as metal and wiring fell down from the roof.

Ron smiled as he heard Kim yelling excitedly, _"Glad she's having fun."_

Saghir took the opportunity to run towards a door that led to the outside and Ron fired a quick burst that tore through his legs and sent him hard to the ground. He rolled himself over onto pulled himself behind a large crate that contained machine parts and began to fire wildly at Ron.

His face was contorted in pain and he grimaced as he peered around the corner, the man that had shot him was no where to be found, He looked up and realized he had backed himself into a corner and couldn't escape, _"I will get into the corner and when the soldier comes for me, I will kill him."_

He turned to look where he was going to drag his broken body again and was stunned to see the blonde soldier was behind him, he tried to bring his rifle up only to have the blonde man kick it away from him.

Saghir gave Ron a look of pure hatred as he raised his hands in surrender, _"The crates back up to the wall, there is no door, how could he have gotten behind me?"_

He gasped as he realized the man that had shot him was the blonde border guard and the blonde soldier's eyes began to glow blue, "I give up, you have to arrest me."

Ron grinned wickedly, "You have been judged by the White Guardians to be evil, and you are hereby sentenced to death."

He fired one shot between Saghir's eye's he lowered his rifle, "What the hell…White Guardians?"

Ron's attention was attracted towards Kim, who had fired another RPG round towards the other end of the building to help Raffi and George who were in a gunfight with three terrorists.

The RPG round hit a corner of the roof and blew a hole in it, the explosion rained debris down on the terrorists and started a fire that began to spread quickly; Kim laughed and began jumping up and down.

She didn't get a chance to celebrate long as Ron grabbed her by the arm, "Time to go."

They ran towards Raffi and George, Ron was shooting anyone that even so much as looked like they were going to point a gun and them. There was an explosion as a 55 gallon drum of gasoline ignited.

"Fire and explosives do not mix; it is time to leave now." He yelled at Raffi and George as he ran by them with Kim

Raffi and George scrambled to their feet and ran after the two, there was a much louder explosion now and it was becoming more and more apparent that the warehouse was going up as the four began to run as fast as they could for the door they came in at.

They made it to the street just as Palestinian Authority Police were arriving, Ron began to fire at them and they turned and quickly fled from the scene. There was an incredibly large explosion behind them that knocked them to the ground.

Ron reached down and picked up Kim and drug her under the covered entry way of the old Mosque as debris began raining down.

He shook his head and smiled as he heard Kim laughing and clapping, "Just like a lair, just like a lair."

A truck axle and tires bounced off of the Toyota Camry shattering the back windshield before continuing to bounce down the alley, Raffi and George who had taken cover across the street shook their heads, Raffi was feeling sick to his stomach, "We are in so much trouble."

Once the debris stopped falling they all ran for the car and got in, Raffi fired the engine and backed out into the street where people were beginning to congregate to see what was happening.

Bullets started hitting the Camry as they sped off, Ron had shoved Kim to the floor board and took a quick peak out the rear window to see the PAP had gone for reinforcements and were now perusing them.

Ron brought his rifle up and began to return fire out of the shattered window; he saw the truck that he was firing at swerve and crash into a store front.

He jumped as he felt a tongue in his ear, "You still know how to show a girl a good time."

Ron growled and pushed Kim back into floor board, _"Great, we're running for our lives and Kim is turned on."_

He could still see the winking flashes of gunfire from another vehicle and Ron began firing at it, he watched his tracer rounds as they began to find their mark and the second vehicle disappeared from view.

The smashed up and bullet ridden car pulled back into the check point, Raffi and George sat in the front seat ashen faced, they had never been through anything like this before and they were stunned speechless.

Kim was lying in the floor board grinning, "THAT WAS GREAT…Are there anymore places like that?"

Ron began to chuckle, and then Kim began chuckling, she raised and eyebrow, he raised an eyebrow, at the same time they both screamed, 'BOOYAHAHAHAHA" and began to tear each others clothes off.

Raffi looked at George, "No more asking pink sloth's for help."

They got out of the car and turned to look at the damage, George shook his head, "We will be at that garbage dump for the rest of our lives."

Raffi shook his head as he heard the sounds of passion coming from the backseat and then the Camry began to rock back and forth violently, "Americans only think about sex." He said disgustedly as they walked away from the car.

Once their passion was spent Ron quickly dressed, "Sorry about your shirt."

Kim lay on the backseat smiling, "I was getting tired of that blue sweater anyway"

Ron handed her his shirt, "Here's a loaner."

She put it on and wiggled back into her pants, "Ouch" she reached underneath her and pulled out a shell casing, "Yours?"

He nodded, "I seem to recall I was the only one shooting."

Kim smiled, "Fighting bad guys, explosions, and wanton property destruction…Ron…You get to have all the fun."

Ron shook his head, "It's late, and we better find Monique."

She was playing with her black hair, "Who?"

He chuckled, "Monique, your friend, came over here with you."

Kim nodded wistfully, "Oh yea"

They walked back towards the parking lot and Kim found the rental car, "There around here somewhere."

Kim smiled and lifted her eyebrows again as she unlocked the fiat, Ron smiled and lifted his eyebrows, and began chuckling, She began chuckling and then they lost interest in finding Monique as they disappeared into the back seat of the fiat and closed the door and began tearing at each other clothes again.

* * *

Sergeant Shabuki left the base commander's office after Raffi and George's briefing and he was livid, _"What is he doing running around with those idiots, why did they go to him, why did he bring a woman along, Stoppable is an idiot."_

He stormed into the barracks and found Sergei, "Where is Stoppable?"

Sergei shrugged, "I have not seen him since he got into the car with the two men."

"Where is Cohen?" The sergeant yelled.

"He is showing his girlfriend his Neil Diamond collection near the parking lot." Sergei told him.

Sergeant Shabuki left the barracks and went to the parking lot, he seen a fiat rocking back and forth, _"Showing her his Neil Diamond collection indeed."_

He walked up to the fiat and opened the back door, Ron's head jerked up, "Hey" Then he swallowed hard when he saw who it was.

"Stoppable what are you doing?" Shabuki roared at Ron.

Ron blinked and Kim tilted her head back smiled and waived shyly, Ron stammered out the only answer he could think of, "She was lost and I was giving her directions back to Tel Aviv."

Sergeant Shabuki shook his head and began to laugh, "Finish giving her directions and come find me, you have some explaining to do."

He closed the door and walked away, Tirza ran up with Monique, "You are looking for me?"

"Go back to your Neil Diamond." Sergeant Shabuki said as he strode back towards the base.

Monique smiled as she saw the rental car start rocking again, _"Good to see Kim is keeping busy."_

Tirza looked at the car and Monique took him by the arm and led him away, "So tell me more about Neil Diamond."

He was handing Monique CD's and talking up a storm, Monique nodded politely and smiled, _"Sweet guy, shame I don't understand a word he is saying."_

Monique looked at the ageing pop star and nodded, she handed him the CD back and he pushed it back to her, "You keep this."

She understood and smiled, "Thank you."

The rear door of the fiat popped open and Ron slid out and began pulling up his pants, Monique shook her head, "Ron you are a bad boy."

She could see Kim scrambling around trying to get dressed, _"Kim, Kim, Kim, should have wore a skirt."_

She seen Tirza's mood changed he handed her the CD collection and walked purposely towards Ron. He seen him coming and smiled and waived, then Tirza punched him in the jaw and Ron fell to the ground and Tirza jumped on top of him.

"Tirza are you crazy, stop it." Ron said as he wrapped him up to keep him from hitting him anymore.

Tirza continued to struggle, "You tried to make me look like a fool in front of Monique, I thought you were my friend."

Monqiue sat the CD's on the hood of the car and began tugging at Tirza, "Tirza stop, it wasn't that bad."

Ron continued to hold on to his friend, "Monique….What happened?"

Kim finally got dressed and slid out of the backseat, "What's going on?"

"Tirza used one of your pickup lines and Sergei told him what it meant." Monique told him.

Ron nodded once he understood, "Oh…Yes Tirza, you were using the line too soon, you were supposed to use those lines when you were alone with Monique."

He stopped struggling, "Really?"

"Yes, you don't use them at a table full of people." Ron said trying to sound convincing.

Tirza looked sick, "Ronnie, I am so sorry….I misunderstood."

Ron laughed, "Not a problem, now get off of me."

Kim was standing around, "What's going on?"

Monique smiled, "Nothing, what's going on with you?"

Ron stood up and looked at Monique, "What did he say?"

"You make me hard." Monique said trying to suppress a laugh.

"Tirzaaaaaaaaa, what did I tell you about those lines I taught you?" Ron said trying to keep from laughing.

TIrza smiled, "To only use them when I was alone with Monique."

Monique handed Tirza his CD's, "I think we have to leave now."

Kim nodded her head, "We'll be back tomorrow night."

Ron chuckled nervously, "You may be hanging around with Sergei and Tirza, it looks like I'm going to be spending time in jail."

"I hope you don't get into too much trouble." Kim said sadly.

He shrugged, "Well I better go find the Sergeant."

Ron told Tirza that the girls would be back tomorrow and Monique gave him a hug and a kiss and he stood in front of her grinning until he felt a tug on his collar from Ron and then he waived and turned and walked off with him.

Kim sat in the passenger seat with a very satisfied grin on her face, once Monique was in the car she turned and looked at her, "So how was your evening?"

"It was okay, I just wish I could understand him, he's a sweet guy…and how was your evening?" She asked as she started the car.

Kim pointed to a large fire that was still burning on top of the hill across the border, "It was great."

* * *

Ron split with Tirza and went to go find Sergeant Shabuki, "Well…What do I do now? I can't go home; I'm not going to a military prison, Japan?" 

He stood outside the Sergeant's apartment and knocked on the door. Sergeant Shabuki answered the door, "Stoppable, what were you thinking about, going to the West Bank with those idiots, you are lucky you and that girlfriend were not killed."

"I did not think there would be any fighting and…." Ron was quickly interrupted.

"The base commander's phone is ringing off the hook; you will report to his office at 09:00 hours tomorrow morning to see what your status will be at this base." Sergeant Shabuki informed him and then closed the door on him.

Ron returned to the barracks and broke down his rifle and began cleaning it.

Sergei looked at him, "Did you have a good time tonight?"

He looked up and smiled, "Oh yes, I had lots of fun, I will be going to jail tomorrow so when the girls come back tomorrow night tell them I said hello."

Sergei smiled, "Tirza and Monique had a nice time, Bina was there….Who knows if she had a good time."

"Your not tiring of her are you, just when I thought you were making progress from hatred to loathing?" Ron started to laugh.

Sergei smiled, "You should not have taught Tirza those lines."

Ron smiled, "I didn't think he would use all of them."

Tirza came over and asked Ron, "You know Monique very well?"

He shrugged, "I dated her for a few months, so I guess I do."

"You dated Monique?" Tirza said in astonishment.

Ron nodded and smiled wistfully, "She is a great girl, smart, funny, a good person."

Tirza looked at him uneasily, "That is why you gave me those lines, you still want her."

He bagan laughing and pulled the used cartridge belt out of the nylon pouch that was loaded into his gun, "No, we are friends, we parted ways and I went back to Kim."

Sergei looked over at the two of them, "So that was Kim that you went into the West Bank with?"

Ron nodded and began to place new rounds in the cartridge belt. Sergei watched him enviously, "Remember every third round is a tracer."

"I know, I know, yes that was Kim I was with." Ron said with a smile.

Sergei nodded, "So are you and Bonnie finished?"

Ron stopped loading the belt and thought about it and shook his head, "I don't know, Kim is fun, smart, and beautiful and loves property destruction, violence, and martial arts, but she is….unpredictable, she loves me now but next week when she is back in the U.S…Who knows?"

He dropped the empty cardboard box of ammunition on the floor and picked up another one and continued feeding the belt, "Bonnie is a schemer, self centered, and overbearing at times, but she is also practical, loving, and looks out for me."

Tirza nodded, "Maybe you should stick with Bonnie."

Ron stopped working on the ammo belt, "I was thinking about asking Monique out again."

He looked up and smiled and winked at Tirza who was starting turn red in the face, "I was only joking Tirza…She thinks you are a nice guy…I did not tell her the truth."

Tirza waded up a newspaper and threw it at Ron, "Watch out….I still owe you one for punching me earlier."

"You had that coming." Tirza laughed happily.

Ron looked over at Sergei, "So how did your guys double date go?"

Sergei shrugged, "I guess it went well, I translated, Bima ignored me, Tirza and Monique appeared to get along well together."

Ron nodded, "Good, I was kind of worried that Monique would be uncomfortable with the language barrier."

Tirza nodded, "It was a little stiff at first but she loosened up and I gave her a Neil Diamond CD."

He looked and Tirza and nodded, "She will think….that is great."

Ron finished working on his gun and turned in for the night. Now was the time to worry about his morning meeting with the base commander, _"I just hope I don't go to jail."_

* * *

At 09:00 the next morning Ron made the long walk from the barracks to the administrative offices, he found the door "Colonel Eli Lazaroff Tulkharm Check Point Base Commander"

He had on his best uniform and dress beret tucked under his epaulet on his left shoulder. Ron opened the door and was greeted by his secretary, "P…Private Ronald Stoppable…I was told to report her this morning."

The secretary disappeared into the Colonel's office and returned shortly, "The Colonel will see you now."

Ron felt his heart in his throat; he walked into the office and snapped a parade ground salute. The Colonel stood and returned the salute, "You must be Private Stoppable."

He nodded, "Yes Officer"

"Do you realize how late I was up last night receiving phone calls from your…adventures with the Shin Bet?"

Ron was starting to become even nervous, "No Officer"

The Colonel shook his head, "I received a call from the Shin Bet disavowing any damages done by…'The Pink Sloth.' I have received a call from the United Nations representative to lodge a complaint at the death of four of their employee's including one Ali Mohamed Saghir…I received a call from the Palestinian Authority Police about the destruction of three of their vehicles and the deaths of three of their officers."

The Colonel leaned back and crossed his hands on his chest, "Once the fires were put out it was discovered that you killed 14 people…including Mr. Saghir and three Palestinian Authority Police officers to bring your night time rampage to 17 dead, a city block destroyed, countless multifamily dwellings damaged from debris that were sent airborne from the explosions you caused in the warehouse."

Ron was beginning to turn green and making plans to contact Yori and start planning his escape from Israel and how he was going to earn a living while he was on the run. The Colonel began to talk again and this brought Ron out of his thoughts.

"You killed 17 terrorists…17…All by yourself…Do you know how many shots you fired last night?" The Colonel asked.

He shifted his weight on his feet, "Yes Officer, I fired 237 rounds…I had thirteen rounds left in the 250 round battle pack."

The Colonel shook his head, "You are very lucky we do not concern ourselves with what the United Nations thinks and you are very lucky that Palestinian Authority Police are considered enemy combatants and you are very lucky that no innocent people were killed when that bomb factory exploded."

Ron licked his lips, "Y…Yes Officer"

The Colonel offered Ron a seat and he quickly sat down. The Colonel looked at Ron, 'Sergeant Shubaki is retiring next in May…I have decided that someone as deadly and dangerous as you seem to be would be a good replacement."

He blinked, "Wha…I…uh…I see."

"You will be relieved of your duties this week in order for you to get your personal affairs in order and then next Sunday you will be reassigned to Camp 80 to begin training, you will have to much to learn…This way when you are tempted to jump in a car with two idiots from the Shin Bet…You will have the sense to stay on post." The Colonel finished informing Ron of his promotion and waited for his reaction.

Ron sat in the chair stunned, "Yes officer"

The Colonel smiled, "It is a better deal than being sentenced to a military prison…Make sure your girlfriend…" The Colonel stopped to find the paper that held Kim's name on it, he pulled the paper out of a folder, "…a Miss Christy Ramano catches her flight out of Israel on Thursday."

He blinked several times, "Kim's here under a fake name?"

"Yes Officer"

The Colonel began to chuckle, "You killed all those terrorists and Raffi and George fired three clips from their guns and didn't hit a single person…How do you account for their poor marksmanship."

Ron licked his lips and smiled uneasily, "I am a level seven marksman."

* * *

He was dismissed and Ron raised from his seat his legs shaking and made his way out of the office. He walked slowly out of the administration building and made his way to the barracks where he collapsed on his bunk_, "Promoted….I was promoted….I'm being shipped out…Camp 80…That is the Mahal…I'm going to Jerusalem."_

Ron closed his eyes, _"What the hell are the White Guardians?"_

He decided to meditate and ask Master Sensei what White Guardians were. He sat on his bunk and crossed his legs and began to clear his mind and focus on his belly button and soon Ron was standing on his beach staring out at the deep blue water, palm trees and white sand.

He felt himself smile and then he turned and was stunned to see a man in a white three piece suit, broad white brimmed hat, with shiny white shoes. He was holding a drink with an umbrella in it and he was smiling at Ron.

Ron took a step back, "Who are you?"

There was a long silence, "We are the White Guardians…You work for us."

He blinked, "Work?"

The man smiled, "You are a….enforcer…an assassin…an instrument of our policies."

Ron blinked again, "Uh…I think…Ummm…I don't really understand."

The man looked down at his shoes, "This is a nice suit isn't it?"

"Umm…Yes" Ron said nervously.

"You were exposed to the mystical monkey power, you wield the Lotus Blade, all of these artifacts are from the third Great War, centuries ago a champion that was selected that was pure of heart to help keep the forces of evil…or the Dark Guardians in check." The man explained causally.

"So you are the White Guardian?" Ron asked uneasily.

The man smiled and nodded, "This is a beautiful place, much more interesting than the jungles the last death angel existed in."

Ron shook his head, "Death Angel?"

The man shrugged, "Assassin, Enforcer…Killer…Death Angel labels are unimportant."

Ron wiped his face nervously, "Work? I get paid? Do I have freedom of thought or am I under…someone else's control?"

The man smiled, "We are aware that you enjoy your freedom, as long as you abide by the rules you shall have no problems."

He shifted his weight nervously, "What are the rules and what happens if I break them?"

The man beamed at Ron, "You only dispatch those that are evil, you do not dispatch those that are good, do not dispatch for personal gain, failure to do this and nothing will happen to you."

"Nothing will happen to me?" Ron asked not quite understanding what was being conveyed to him.

The man nodded, "Nothing will happen to you…ever…you will simply cease to exist."

Ron took another step backwards, and his lower lip shook and he tried to talk but the only thing he could manage was a weak, "oh"

The White Guardian stood, "I believe this is your seat, I believe…I will go for a walk."

"WH…what do I do know?" Ron asked.

The White Guardian turned to face Ron, "Live your life, dispatch evil when you can, you will be contacted by us from time to time…Try not to be dispatched…It would be most inconvenient to us."

He shook his head, "Inconvenient"

The elderly What Guardian nodded, "Those that would oppose us…are aware of you of course, be vigilant."

Ron was shaking, "Can I have a family?"

The White Guardian lost his smile, "Could you perform your job and protect a mate and offspring from the Dark Guardians?"

Ron was back in the barracks and wiped tears from his eyes, _"No…I guess I couldn't."_

"Aggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Ron let out a scream as he looked up and saw Sergei sitting across from him on his bed.

"Ronnie, why were you glowing blue and levitating above your bed?" Sergei asked nervously.

He shook his head, "Levitation is impossible, you were imagining things Sergei."

Sergei was unconvinced but he nodded anyway, "I heard you were in trouble for last night and was called into the base commander's office."

Ron nodded, and stood up, "I was…promoted….or will be promoted."

Sergei smiled, "That is great news."

He shook his head, "No…I have been relieved of duty for the week to get my affairs in order and then I will be assigned to Camp 80 for training."

Sergei looked stunned, "Oh…Well…you will be coming back here one day though…right?"

Ron nodded, "I think so…It will be hard leaving…I was just getting used to this place."


	34. Chapter 34

Mature warning...Kim is frisky so don't read if frisky Kim offends you.

* * *

Monique and Kim arrived back at Tulkharm, they were dressed to kill, Monique wore a leather mini skirt and a red spaghetti strap top and to top the outfit off was a black jacket that also served as a coat, Kim was wearing a black turtle neck sweater and a pair of tight black jeans with black cowboy boots that made her look at least two inches taller because of the heels. 

Tirza was excited and pushed past Kim and took Monique by the hand he said slowly in English, "It…is good…to see you."

She smiled and nodded, "It is good to see you too."

Kim lifted and eyebrow, "Ron…Where is Ron? Ronnie where is?"

Tirza smiled and decided to show off more of his new English skills, "Ronnie…is a jerk."

Monique giggled, "He knows Ron alright."

"Hey now…That's my boyfriend your talking about there….I'm the only one that can call him that." Kim said as she put a hand on her hip.

Tirza motioned for them to follow him, they went towards the checkpoint and found Ron talking to Uday. He spotted Kim and Monique walking up with Tirza leading the way and stood up to meet them.

He waived to them as they approached, "Hey KP, Monique." Then he turned to Tirza, "How was your Engilish?"

Tirza smiled, "Good I think."

He nodded and smiled at him, "He pestered me and Sergei until we taught him some normal phrases."

Monique smiled, "It's better than what he was saying before."

Kim giggled, "I heard what he was saying before…Ron, Ron…."

She wasn't able to finish chiding him, he quickly patted Uday on the shoulder, "This is my buddy Uday." Ron leaned down to Uday and pointed towards Kim and Monique, "These are my American girlfriends, and they came all this way because they miss me."

Uday giggled, "They are very pretty."

Ron grinned and nodded, "Kim, Monique this is Uday, he hangs out here and keeps me from getting bored."

The girls waived and smiled, Ron leaned down to Uday again, "I have to go now, they want to take me out to eat."

They said their goodbyes to Uday and began walking back to the parking lot; Kim was in an exuberant mood, "What are we blowing up tonight?"

Ron shook his head, "Nothing, I kind of…well I got transferred this morning, and I don't want to get transferred to jail."

Kim shook her head, "You got in trouble?"

He shook his head, "Not so much trouble as I have to go to Camp 80 and go through corporal training and then I think I will either be sent back here or to Bezeq to go through sergeant training."

Kim's eyes lit up, "Sergeant, your going to be a sergeant."

Ron nodded sadly, "Yea, soon I will be able to sit in a chair and scream at people….and I will also be locked into the IDF for an additional two years."

Her smile evaporated, "Oh"

Monique smiled at Tirza, "Want to come eat with us in Netanya for dinner?"

Tirza looked at Ron and he quickly translated, "She is asking you out for dinner."

Ron took the keys from Monique and she smiled sheepishly, "We'll sit in back."

He smiled and nodded his head, "We're going to make a side trip and go see Bonnie first."

Kim recoiled, "What?"

He shrugged, "I want my Ronnunicator back, you guys can wait in the car if you want."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh I don't think so." Kim said in an icy cold voice.

They climbed into the fiat and Ron started the motor and the CD player began playing Neil Diamond's greatest hits, he turned in the seat quickly and saw Tirza smiling and giving him the thumbs up.

Ron shook his head, "All right smiley."

He put the car into reverse and the car jerked backwards and stalled, Monique laughed, "You're as bad as Kim."

He glared at Monique and backed the car out of the parking space and ground the gears as he put the transmission into first gear, the car began to go forward and Ron chanced a glance into the back seat, "I'm getting better."

They drove to Netanya, Ron was translating for Monique and Tirza, Kim was staring daggers at Ron, _"What is he playing at now?"_

Even listening to Neil Diamond on the cars CD player wasn't calming Kim down as they pulled into the parking lot, "Ron…I don't think your sending me the proper message."

Ron glared at Kim, "I'll be back in a minute."

He got out of the car and Kim got out as well, then Monique hopped out and turned to Tirza, "Wait here….Stay here." Then she turned and ran to catch up with her two friends, _"I wouldn't miss this for the world."_

"Wait…here" Tirza said slowly with a smile.

They exited the elevator and walked up to Bonnie's door, Ron knocked on the door and after a short wait Bonnie answered the door, "RON..." She said excitedly and then she spotted Kim and Monique, "oh"

She let them inside the apartment, Ron spoke to her out of earshot of Kim and Monique, and then she disappeared into the bedroom and brought his Ronnunicator back to him.

Bonnie saw Kim smirk out of the corner of her eye and she began a slow boil, "This isn't over Kim…Your going home, and I'll still be here."

"What you did was low Bonnie." Kim sneered.

Ron watched the two trade barbs back and forth and he shook his head, _"I can't have a family."_

He held up a hand and began walking towards the door, "Tirza is waiting in the car, we have to leave."

Bonnie watched as they began to leave and then an evil grin came over her face, "Ohhhhh Monique"

Monique turned and tried to fake a civil tone, "Yes Bonnie"

Bonnie wiggled a finger for her to come closer and when she did, Bonnie slapped her hard across the face 'SLAP', before Monique could return the slap Ron had grabbed her and began pulling her to the door. Bonnie followed them out and in a rather haughty voice explained to her, "Monique….Brick stayed with me because he wanted to."

Ron pulled her out of the apartment; Monique was trying to wiggle out of his grasp, "LET ME GO…NO ONE GET'S A FREE SHOT AT ME!"

Kim quickly closed the door to Bonnie's apartment, "Let's go Monique."

Monique walked up to the car with a face of total dejection, Tirza got out of the car and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. Monique resisted at first and then folded into the embrace.

She looked up at Tirza, and smiled and then she closed her eyes, _"I wish you understood more English."_

Ron got behind the wheel of the car, "I'm hungry." He turned and looked at Tirza, "Are you hungry?"

Tirza nodded and Monique quickly put in her two cents worth, "I want McDonalds, I never thought I'd miss fast food but I do, I want McDonalds."

Ron shrugged and looked at Kim, she nodded that it was fine with her. Ron backed the car out and began heading for Hertzel Street, he pointed at a shop, "I have to come into town tomorrow and work for Mr. Seitzman."

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Doing what? I didn't know about this?"

Ron gave her a strange look, "Why would you know? I just told you about it."

Kim giggled nervously, "I…I mean you never mentioned it."

Ron pulled up to a stop light and looked over at her, "Yes I did, just now."

Monique's attention had been captured by Kim's slip of the lips and she came to her aid, "Ron…Tell Tirza that I think he's looking good today."

Ron chuckled and nodded, "Tirza, Monique says you are very handsome today…I think she likes you."

"Tell her…That I think…" TIrza paused to look into Monique's eyes, "…I think she is wonderful."

Ron looked over toMonique and smiled, "Tirza wants me to tell you that he thinks you are wonderful."

Monique grinned broadly, "Thank you Tirza." She then leaned forward and kissed him.

He blushed and laughed nervously, "You are pretty lady."

Kim looked at the two in the backseat and smiled, "I'm glad we're back together again."

Ron turned and looked at her, "Are we?"

Kim flinched, "Well after we exposed Bonnie's lies…I thought…."

"Kim, you cut me off, you stopped writing to me…Bonnie had nothing to do with that." he reminded her.

He made the turn into McDonalds just as Kim's temper started to flare, "I thought we had that all settled, I don't know why you're always taking Bonnie's side in this?"

Monique could tell an argument was coming and pulled Tirza quickly out of the car and walked with him inside. They watched them go in and then Ron turned to Kim, "I don't like the fact that Bonnie lied to me, but let's be honest you didn't come here to see me so much as you two came here to see her."

"That's not true, Ron I missed you…." Kim started to explain again before Ron raised a hand.

"KP…I go back to Middleton in May, let's see if you can keep in touch with me until then and we'll go from there." Ron told her as he got out of the car to go into McDonalds.

Kim got out of the car and wasn't ready to let the subject go, she was becoming more tweaked by the second, "You don't have any faith in me do you?"

He shook his head as they went into the restaurant, "No…not really, I think the minute you two land back in Upperton, you will forget all about me and go right back to whatever it is you were doing in school."

She glared at him, he turned and smiled at her, "No offense…So what do you want to eat?"

She smirked at him, "You go ahead and order, I'm trying not to be offended."

Ron walked up to the counter, "We would like a McRoyal combo with a cokeand a…." Ron scanned the menu board after he ordered Kim a Big Mac meal and then he spotted a local delicacy, "…Ahhhh I would like a McShawama."

He turned and pointed at Tirza with a smile, "shwarma!"

Tirza laughed and nodded, "I seen that, should be interesting."

Monique made a face, "What is…shwarma?"

Ron laughed, "It's seasoned lamb or in McDonalds case seasoned turkey, lettice, pickles and probably mayonnaise served inside a pita…Palestinians and Israeli's always fight over who actually invented it."

Ron ordered the Mcshwarma combo and quickly paid for the food and he and Kim moved out of the way so Tirza and Monique could order, she leaned over to Ron, "McRoyal is the Big Mac?"

Ron nodded and she told Tirza what she wanted and he nodded and ordered for the both of them, the tray came with Ron and Kim's food and they went and sat down, Kim still wasn't talking.

Monique and Tirza took their tray but Monique led Tirza to the back of restaurant, as they walked by the table their friends were sitting at, she smiled, "I need some Tirza time."

Ron smiled and chuckled, "They seem to be getting along well."

Kim lifted an eyebrow as she watched Ron eat, "She didn't want him to hear us arguing."

He looked at her quizzically, "Arguing…about what?"

Her face became flushed red with anger and she whispered in an urgent angry voice, "Do you think I'm so shallow…so fickle…so featherbrained to think that I'm going to forget all about you once I get home."

Ron grabbed a napkin and quickly dabbed at the leaking juices coming out of his McShwarma as they landed on his shirt, "KP…I don't understand girls…I only know what happened before…I came here, you wrote for a while…then nothing."

"I came all the way over here to find you, and I find you with Bonnie…" Kim snarled as she began to lose her temper.

He held up a finger, "You know how that happened…If you would have kept in touch with me…It wouldn't of."

She slapped the table and turned away, "I…had reasons for not writing."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Danny Baldwin…Kim it's okay…You moved on and then only felt compelled to come over here when Bonnie popped up."

Kim was breathing heavily thru her nose and finally in exasperation yelled, "RON"

"KIM" Ron said just as exasperated, "Eat, your food's getting cold."

She growled and threw and handful of fries at Ron, who laughed and threw some back at her, "It's not funny Ron."

He nodded his head, "Yea it is…You're only mad because I'm right."

Kim's eyes went as wide as saucers and Ron knew that he had just hit the wrong button on his now brunette girlfriend, she lowered her voice to make sure that only Ron could hear what she was going to say, "If your mom and dad wouldn't have screwed you up so bad, maybe you would have had the courage to stay home and face your problems rather than run away from them."

Ron's mouth dropped open, he had never argued with Kim before so the whole experience was new to him, he had never argued with any of his past girlfriends so he had no idea of what to say so he just sat in his seat slack jawed and the only thing he could think to say was, "oh"

Kim hadn't finished and continued her venomous tirade, "You ditch me, you ditch Rufus and you ran away. Who cares about us, it's all about Ron and his sad little story, 'Oh I can't have a family, because of my super powers' that is such bullshit Ron…So you run over here and hookup with Babbette and Bonnie and God knows who else and then turn around and have the nerve to play all knowing with me…I know your secrets Ron and I know your doing nothing but hiding."

Ron was nodding his head vigorously and then he sucked in his cheeks, "oh"

She finally ran out of steam and slumped back into her booth, Ron was ashen faced and didn't have a clue as to how to respond so he just nodded. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped as it startled him, it was Monique, "We're finished and I think there is a club or something that Tirza wants to go to?"

He smiled grateful for the interruption, "That's great…I have to go back to Tulkharm and finish some paper work for the transfer so I'll catch the bus back." He told her as he handed the car keys to her.

Kim shook her head, "tsk, tsk, tsk…Running away again are we."

Ron had a forced smile on his face as he responded, "Yes, as quickly as I can."

Monique was uncomfortable watching the two, "You want us to drop you off?"

He wiped his face, "Nooooo, it's out of the way…I…I'll just ride the bus."

They dropped him at a nearby bus shelter and he waived as they pulled away, _"I should have kept my big all knowing mouth shut…Never seen KP so angry at me before."_

Ron looked down and the street and saw the little fiat make a left and disappear from view, _"Wow…hmmmmm…well…I guess I screwed up…She's right…I am screwed up."_

He let out a deep breath and shook his head, he stood as the bus pulled up Ron flashed his IDF ID and paid the reduced fare and then took a seat in the back of the bus, _"I guess I'll check my mail when I get back to base…See what Sergei's up to..."_

He watched the landscape go by out the window of the bus, the restaurant district changed to the Industrial parks and then into rocky desert before they encountered villages, he gazed out the window, _"She must be really jealous of Bonnie and Babbette."_

A cold chill suddenly ran up his spine, _"I never told her about Babbette, I never told anyone about Babbette…She knew about her, but how?"_

He began to run a hand up and down the back of his neck and the only answer he could think of was, _"WADE, they have me chipped again…She can't write or send email or call me but she can use Wade to spy on me?"_

Ron shook his head and stood up to leave the bus as it pulled up to the base, _"Well let's not think on that now, let's find Sergei and see what's going on."_

* * *

Kim sat in the passenger seat frowning with her arms crossed, glaring out the window. Monique smiled and nodded as Tirza pointed the way from the back seat, "So…first fight?" 

She shook her head, "What?"

"You guys just had your first fight?" Monique said carefully.

Kim let out a deep breath, "Yea, first and last…I'm done…He made me so mad…He goaded me into that fight, he's never done that before."

Monique nodded, "Sooooooo want to talk about it?"

She glanced into the backseat, Tirza was smiling and pointing happily, Kim shook her head, "Maybe later."

The three pulled into the club called the Red Octopus, the flashing neon sign of an octopus dancing with some very curvy females glowed into the night sky. They could see couples going in and Tirza grabbed Monique by the hand and pulled her along to the door.

Kim smiled and shook her head, "and I thought she would be bored and Ron and I would be having all the fun."

The club wasn't too crowded as Tirza escorted Monique onto the dance floor, Monique smiled and shrugged as she left, Kim waived and headed for the bar, the bartender came over and she ordered, "Coke"

When she got her drink she sat transfixed starring into it, her whole argument with Ron seemed like a bad dream, _"I shouldn't have harshed on him…but he made me so mad, he didn't have to do that."_

The local club dance stud strolled up to Kim at the bar and began to talk to her in Hebrew, she glared at him, "Get lost."

She closed her eyes as she realized how he was dressed, tight pants to accentuate his crotch, suspenders and no shirt so he could proudly display his chest hair, he had black curly hair and a mustache, Kim was trying hard not to laugh, _"Ohhhhh my God, he looks like Mario from the Nintendo games, Mario is hitting on me…Glad Ron isn't here, he'd get mad and set the poor guys chest hair on fire...Then again…that might have been fun to watch."_

"Ahhhhhhhh an American, I speak English…Come dance with me, pretty lady like you shouldn't be alone." The man said hopefully.

Kim grimaced as she also noticed that the man was beginning to sweat, she shook her head once again and motioned to her shirt, "No…Noooooo, I don't want to stain my top."

The man started to dance, "My name is Martel and I have a meter long…"

Monique cut in between the two of them, "Kim this place is great…We should have made Ron come here."

Kim put on a tight smile, "Yeaaaaa I think your right."

Tirza smiled, "I am a dancing food."

Monique laughed, "FOOL, Tirza not food."

The hairy sweaty man tapped on Monique's shoulder, "You must introduce me to your beautiful friend."

She looked at the sweaty man and then at Kim, she smiled queasily and gave her a look of pure panic. Monique smiled, "Ohhhhhhh sorry, Christy's genital herpes are flaring up this month so…She's not really up for…contact if you know what I mean?"

The man's smile suddenly vanished, "Martel is going to find someone new to dance with, would you like to dance?"

Tirza lost his grin and pulled the man's left side suspender out and let it snap, that got Martel's attention and then he told him very quietly in Hebrew, "I think it would be wise for you to walk away now."

Martel swallowed hard, then he recovered his bravado and pointed at Kim and Monique with both hands and said, "Later"

Kim punched Monique hard in the arm, "Did you have to tell a total stranger that I have a sexually transmitted disease?"

Monique laughed, "So what, you'll never see him again."

She brightened, "That's true."

Tirza grabbed Monique by the arm, "Dance, Dance, Dance" and led her back out to the dance floor.

She turned and waived at Kim as they headed back out to dance, _"Tirza does like to dance…I…I wish Ron were here, now I feel bad…Ron…you are a jerk."_

* * *

Ron found Sergei in the barracks, "Your back early, I didn't expect to see you for a few days since you were given the week off." 

Ron shrugged, "I got in a fight with Kim and then I was on a bus back here."

"Bina…hates you if that makes you feel any better." Sergei said with a laugh.

He thought about it for a few minutes, "Yes that does make me feel better."

"So you and Kim are fighting, so you have decided to go with Bonnie?" Sergei asked not sure what Ron's reaction would be.

Ron shook his head, "No…I was…picking on Kim and she got mad at me."

Sergei looked at his watch, "Time to drink?"

"Time to drink." Ron agreed.

They went to the PX and Sergei bought a tall bottle of vodka and Ron looked around nervously, and then he said to the man behind the cash register, "Whatever is cheap and is that size." He said pointing at Sergei's bottle.

They found their familiar spot behind the Armored Personnel Carriers and the concrete barricades and settled in to start drinking. Ron opened his bottle and took a swig and made a face, "This tastes awful."

"Who cares it is cheap." Sergei told him as he took a long pull off of his bottle.

Ron took another drink from his bottle and this time he managed to not make a face, "Kim is very mad at me."

Sergei took another drink, "What did you do?"

He waived a hand as if he were trying to shoo a fly, "It was stupid really…I was telling her that she was going to forget me the minute she got home…Then she got mad."

Sergei rubbed his face, "Hell with her then."

Ron chuckled as he took another swig from the bottle, "Yes…hell with her."

"So you are not thinking about marrying her and having fat babies anymore?" Sergei asked.

His mood changed to one of deep sadness, "That kind of life…is not possible for me."

Sergei began laughing and Ron shook his head, "What?"

"You are afraid the babies will glow blue?" Sergei said before he began laughing again.

Ron began laughing, "I do not glow blue and I do not float in the air."

"Yes you do…I saw you." Sergei said shaking his head.

Ron smiled and shook his head again, "You were drunk."

"I was not drinking and you were blue and floating…How do you do that?" Sergei said with a straight face.

* * *

Kim was sitting at the bar and began feeling flushed and then light headed, _"Ohhhhhh noooooo Ron's drinking again."_

Monique came back over with Tirza, she was trying to fan herself, "I'm getting hot, want to head outside to cool down…January weather should cool me off quick."

Kim waived a hand, "OK…Then…I want to find Ron and tell him I'm sorry."

Monique did a double take, "You feeling alright?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine but Ron is sad and he's drinking."

Tirza began tugging on Monique again, "Dance, Dance, Dancing food"

"FOOL, not food…you crazy…guy." She said as she began tugging him the other way.

Kim slid off the barstool, and followed the two out side, Tirza gave her a questioning look, she smiled at him, "Ronnie's drinking."

Once in the cool night air Tirza slid up closer to Monique and put his hands on her hips and began doing a bump and grind dance with her, she giggled and pushed him away and then tugged him back to her and began to kiss him passionately.

Kim stood next to Monique blinking her eyes and then she tugged on her shirt, "We have to go back to the base so I can find Ron."

Tirza bent down and began kissing her neck, Monique's eyes rolled up in her head and she waived at Kim and mouthed the word 'Later' at her.

Kim pulled at Monique's shirt again, "We have to go back to the base so I can find Ron." She said more urgently.

Monique frowned and broke off from Tirza and smiled, "We have to get rid of Kim so she can find Ron."

Tirza looked at her and shook his head not quite understanding what Monique was telling him. She frowned, and grabbed his hand, "Let's go."

Kim followed along behind them and climbed into the back seat, Monique turned and glared at her, "You really know how to screw things up."

She shrugged, "What?"

Tirza smiled at Monique, "You are making my penis hard."

Kim bit her lower lip to keep from laughing, Monique leaned over and kissed him and patted his hand, "You keep that idea in mind…OK?"

Tirza nodded his head, "OK…Dancing Food."

Monique winced as she started the fiat and began the short trip back to Tulkharm, once they pulled into the parking lot; Tirza began to direct them back towards the APC's where he knew Ron would be.

Kim spotted the two men trying to remain out of sight, "There he is, stop the car."

They all got out of the car, Kim walked quickly to where Ron was hiding and Monique tugged Tirza into the backseat. Kim walked up to Ron and smiled, "What are you doing?"

Ron blinked and pulled his bottle out from beside him, "Drinking"

Kim put her hands on her hips and shook her head, "The least you could have done was invite me."

Then she sat down next to him and nodded at Sergei, "Shalom Sergei…So…Ron, what are we drinking?"

Sergei blinked unsure if Ron was in trouble or not, "Shalom Kim"

Ron finally found his voice, "Ummm…I…it's brown."

She held out her hand and Kim took the bottle and took a swig, her face scrunched up into a look of disgust, "Ughhhhh…This is awful."

He shrugged and took a swig and then wiped his mouth, "It was cheap."

Sergei tried to get up and then he sat back down again, "I would leave but my legs will not let me."

Kim nodded, "Ron…I'm sorry about…earlier…I…"

"No…it was my fault…I didn't mean to make you mad." Ron said quietly as he tried to cap the bottle before Kim took it away from him.

She took another swig from the bottle and coughed, "This is really rancid."

Ron smiled and took another drink, "I told you…it was cheap."

Sergei drained the last of his bottle, "All gone…I have to get up early…So…"

He managed to claw his way up to his feet and then he stretched and looked at the fiat as it began rocking back and forth, "Tirza is getting laid." Sergei observed and then he started laughing.

Ron began giggling and Kim popped her head up and smiled, "Monique is such a slut, she'll fall on her back for anyone."

Ron looked up just in time to see Monique sit up before Tirza wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back down to him. Ron cocked his head to the side and corrected Kim, "Actually I think that's Tirza on his back."

Sergei shook his head and staggered away, "I will see you later…Ronnie."

Kim scooted closer to Ron and took the bottle from him and took another drink, "Ronnie…I'm cold."

Ron pulled off green army sweater and she put it on. When she had it on he pulled her closer, "Better?"

She nodded and giggled; "Now you're going to get cold."

He shook his head and took another drink, "Antifreeze"

Kim giggled and cuddled up closer to Ron and began humming a song, he recognized it almost immediately, "Cracklin' Rosie get on board….da, da, da duh..da…I don't remember the words."

She smiled and finished the bottle off, "All gone…Hey, I really didn't mean…"

He waived his hand, "Forget it…I should have known when to shut up and not pushed your buttons."

Kim gave him a very drunken puppy dog pout, "You were a jerk."

Ron laughed at the sight of the famous puppy dog pout, "Ohhhhhhh…So you agree it was my fault."

She shook her head, "That was never in doubt, and I'm just sorry…I said those things."

He shrugged, "Ahhhhh…I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Kim put her hand on the side of Ron's face and turned him to her, she began to kiss him gently, "Drinking makes me horny."

Ron smiled and said under his breath, "Booyah"

She began laughing; Ron pulled back, "What?"

Kim smiled at him, "Remember that time…You spent the night and I was getting ready to…You know…Then mom walked in and threw water on us?"

He nodded, "Ohhhhhh yeaaaaa, that's something you just don't forget."

They began laughing and Ron shook his head, "I thought she was going to kill us."

"I remember kissing my way down past your stomach and opening my eyes just in time to see all the water heading towards us…Mom wanted to kill me." Kim said as she began laughing hysterically.

Ron smiled and pulled her closer and kissed her on the head, "Funny now…man…that seems like years ago now."

Kim frowned and nodded, "It was only…what…nine months ago?"

He wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled, "I'm sorry about McDonalds…I…never had a fight with a girlfriend before."

She winced, "I could tell…Why didn't you yell at me?"

"I…I don't know…I just…" Ron fell silent and looked at his bandaged hand, _"Because I didn't know what to say."_

Kim didn't press the subject it was clear Ron didn't want to talk about it anymore, she poked her head up from behind the concrete barricade, "I think they're done, the car quit shaking."

Ron struggled to his feet and helped Kim up, They walked towards the car just as the passenger side door opened and Monique fell out onto the ground, "Shit…stupid panty hose, forget it, I'll put them on later."

Kim laughed, "Problems?"

Monique smiled as she threw the offending garments into the front seat, "I see why guys don't like pantyhose."

Ron was wobbling and smiling at Monique drunkenly, "You weren't too hard on Tirza, he has to be on duty tomorrow."

Monique giggled, "Sorry Ron, I was only thinking of myself."

Tirza came out of the backseat pulling up his pants, "Roniieeeeeeee"

He smiled, "Tirzaaaaaaaaaaa"

Tirza smiled, "Monique is wonderful, want to know what we were doing in the backseat."

Ron shook his head, "Nooooooooo"

He began laughing as he realized that Ron was drunk, "Ronnie, I want you and Sergei to only talk to me in English, I want to be able to talk to Monique."

Ron smiled, "Your assuming of course that Monique speaks English."

Tirza looked at him questioningly. "English?"

Kim grabbed Ron and pushed him into the backseat, "Sorry, my turn."

Tirza walked around to the driver's side of the car and kissed her goodbye as Kim and Ron began pawing each other drunkenly in the backseat, Monique put a hand to Tirza's face, "I'll be back tomorrow night."

Tirza smiled, "Tomorrow…OooooooK."

She chuckled and waived at him as she started the car and pulled out of the secret spot by the APC's and headed for the exit. The car began to shimmy as the two in the backseat started to wrestle each other.

Monique looked into the rearview mirror and saw Ron sitting up with a big stupid grin, she pulled onto the highway to head back to Tel Aviv and then glanced into the backseat. It was then that she saw the reason for Ron's grin, Kim's head was bobbing up and down in his lap, "Damn…can't you two wait till we get to Tel Aviv?"

Ron opened his eyes and shook his head drunkenly, "NoooooooOHHhhhhhhhhh"

She drove glancing into the back seat from time to time, _"Never thought Kim could be so freaky…Then again…She has been drinking."_

The ride continued for another ten minutes and then she heard Kim gagging and spitting in the backseat, "RONNNNNNNNN…You could have at least warned me."

Monique grinned trying hard not to laugh, _"Now that's the Kim I know."_

Ron began giggling, "Kim, mean people suck, nice people swallow."

"Don't you ever think I'm going to be that 'nice'." Kim scolded him.

* * *

Once they arrived at the King David Hotel, Monique was sick of both of them and their nonstop slap and tickle marathon that was going on in the backseat. She went into her room and lay on her bed and began thinking about Tirza, _"I wish he spoke English, then again if he spoke English…He might not ever shut up."_

Monique giggled as she thought about how the evening went, _"Dancing food, he is sooooo cute…I wonder…if…Club Banana would open a store over here if I could manage it…and be closer to him?"_

She stood up and began to undress for the night, _"This is crazy, I don't know him that well, he's like a love sick puppy…He was never with a girl before, I could tell by how he shook…Had to whisper sweet things in his ear to calm him down, I wonder if he understood me?"_

Once her nightgown was on she turned on the television and watched shows that she didn't understand but it really didn't matter to her, she wasn't paying attention, _"I wish I could talk to Ron and find out more about Tirza, I don't really want Kim knowing what I'm thinking…She'd give me that look and tell me I'm crazy….Ron is such a jerk, he's changed…I don't think Kim realizes it yet…I would have punched him in the mouth at McDonalds…Then again…Kim's trying to rush him along, he wants to go slow….I don't know."_

She watched what she thought was a news show, there were dozens of men waiving AK-47's in the air, their faces covered with their kuffiyeh that they wore on their heads that wrapped around their necks and faces, _"This is not the safest part of the world, what happens…No Tirza's a medic, he won't get…killed, or would he? He's still a soldier though, that goon at the club found that out…I thought I was going to have to get rid of him, but he just said a few words and that man left quickly."_

She frowned and turned off the television, _"What am I thinking, I don't even know him that well, Ron set us up as a joke…He's sooooo sweet, I'm not used to being fawned over, that was a nice experience." _She smiled at the memory of the dinner they had in Bad Hannah,_ "Ron shouldn't have taught him those things, when Sergei told him what they meant…He was crushed…It was funny seeing him punch Ron, served him right."_

* * *

Morning came and then the afternoon, Monique had heard nothing from Kim so she got dressed and walked across the hall and knocked on her door, after a length of time the door opened and a very bewildered Kim opened it wrapped in a bed spread, "Hi" 

Monique shook her head, "Hard night?"

Kim giggled, "Real hard night."

She moved out of the way and let her friend in, Monique stopped almost immediately the once elegant hotel room was in a shambles, "What happened in here?"

"Mystical Monkey Meat." Kim said wistfully.

Monique shook her head, "What?"

Kim giggled and lay back down on the bed, "Ron…was a little rambunctious last night, never thought he'd run out of steam…didn't really want him to actually."

She looked around at the damage and then to the damage that was done on Kim, she was covered in hickies and bite marks, "You alright?"

Kim smiled and nodded, "Ummmmm hmmmmm…I'm just glad I didn't have a stick of butter handy."

Monique made a face, "What? Where's Ron?"

"He left for Netanya to meet up with that shop owner…Took the bus I think." Kim said giggling.

She frowned at Kim, "Get dressed, I want to go see Tirza, we leave tomorrow."

"You really like him?" Kim said looking up from the bed.

She frowned at her, "Of course I like him…I just…wish we had more time together."

Kim giggled, "You are serious."

"I'll give you a half hour, and then I'm going to Tulkharm with or without you." Monique said as she walked out of the room.

* * *

Ron rode the bus to Netanya and back to Hertzel Street on Liberty Square, the two and a half hour bus ride went by quickly because he slept all the way up. When he awoke he reflected on the previous night with a smile, _"Man, have to remember to take Kim drinking more often…We tore the shit out of that room last night."_

Then a big smile came over his face, _"I knew she'd become a nice person if I gave her a little more time."_

The bus let him off a few blocks from the store and he walked the rest of the way there, he was wearing the new clothes that Kim had bought him, _"I look spankin', at least that's what Kim said….Then again she was barely conscious."_

Ron reached the store and opened the door and walked in, _"I wonder if she was serious about buying a stick of butter?"_

He waived at Mr. Seitzman, "Shalom"

"Ahhhhhh Private Stoppable, are you ready to go to Haifa?"

Ron nodded and thenhe followed Mr. Seitzmanaround back to his car and they got in, _"I feel like I've been riding all day, Kim, bus, car."_

Mr. Seitzman smiled, "You look tired, long day?"

Ron smiled, "Long night with my girlfriend."

There was a knowing chuckle from the older man, "Ahhhhhhhh I seem to remember having a few of those back in the day."

He nodded at the old man, "So what exactly are we looking for?"

Mr. Seitzman looked at him, "We are looking for outstanding diamonds, and trying to avoid the cheats."

Ron nodded, "I guess I'll just wait till we get there."

They arrived in Haifa and entered the city on Hatwat Golani Blvd then they found their destination Talpiot Market, an open air market by day and one of Israel's most thriving diamond exchanges on Wednesday evenings

Ron walked into the market square with Mr. Seitzman, "I only want you to look at the diamonds, you let me do the talking."

He nodded and looked at the collection of men milling about with brief cases and multi drawer jewel boxes; there were many Hasidic Jews with their black suits, long beards, bowler hats, and long curls.

Mr. Seitzman waived to him to come over to a group of them, they eyed Ron with amusement. One of the older men addressed Mr. Seitzman, "So Ira who is the little one?"

He smiled and put his hand on Ron's shoulder, "This is my daughter's middle son Ronnie, I am having him help me today because my eyes are not that good any more."

"Well let us see if this one knows his stuff." The older man said as he laid his brief case on a table.

Mr. Seitzman handed Ron a jewelers glass, he took it and then took a diamond from the a small little envelope and held it up to the light, "Garbage"

The man flinched; as Ron picked up another envelope and selected another diamond, "Not bad"

He picked up another envelope and took a third diamond out and looked at it and then looked at the man, "Industrial grade?"

The man sighed as he pulled another envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Ron, "He knows his stuff Ira."

Ron looked at the latest sample, "Nice"

Then he looked at the rest and nodded to Mr. Seitzman, "Sooooo hiding your good stuff from me are you Benji?"

The man looked offended, "Now Ira, I just forgot to pack them in the case."

Ron walked a short distance while the men haggled over the price of the diamonds. He looked at some of the other diamond vendor's wares and nodded, it was then he noticed a man eyeing him suspiciously.

He looked him over out of the corner of his eyes, _"Big guy, six foot maybe, mean looking, nice suit…no sense looking for trouble, best find dear grandpa and steer him clear."_

Mr. Seitzman was clearly happy, "Let us try Bergman, he usually has nice stuff."

He pulled Ron over and gave the man called Bergman the same story, Ron noticed the man that was watching him also went to the same side of the market. His attention was returned to diamonds as the jewelers glass was forced back into his hand, Ron took a diamond, "Glass"

"Glass, that is not glass, this is an outrage, the boy doesn't know what he is looking at." The man known as Bergman wailed.

Ron looked at Mr. Seitzman and shook his head, "Let us try someone else, this man would not carry on like a school girl if he had anything of real value to look at."

The man held up his hands, "Wait, wait just a second, I just remembered that I have these in my pocket."

He pulled out a black felt bag and handed it to Ron, he pulled a diamond out of it and examined it, "Now this is more like it."

He looked at several more in the bag and nodded his head, Mr. Seitzman began haggling on the price and Ron turned to look for the man but he was gone, then he heard a very menacing voice from behind him, "Do not turn around, you need to go into the restroom….NOW."

Ron nodded his head and told Mr. Seitzman that he would be back shortly, and then he made his way to the restroom, _"What is going on here?"_

Once they were out of sight the man walked with him into the bathroom and then locked the door, and then he pushed Ron into the wall hard, "I know everyone here, but I do not know you….How do you explain this?"

The man's voice echoed off the walls in the large men's room, there were four stalls and four urinals and across from them was a round sink with a ring around the bottom of it that you stepped on when you were ready to wash your hands.

Ron blinked and then answered with a cheery grin, "I am a shy person by nature."

"You are a clown, I do not like clowns." The man said before he slapped Ron.

Ron grabbed the man quickly with left hand on the back of his hair and his right hand on his chin, twisted quickly and took him to the ground and growled in his face, "You do not like clowns and I do not like monkeys…So what?"

The man grinned, "A tough guy, Ms. Sakorov will not like you."

The man began to struggle and then Ron realized that he knew what he was doing as a leg came up and caught him across the chest just enough to knock him to the side, he rolled off and gained his feet as quickly as he could..

The man was up and moving towards Ron quickly, he reached out for his throat but Ron blocked the move and tried in return to punch the man in the throat. He missed but the man's next move didn't as Ron caught a knee to the stomach.

Ron had back peddled just enough to keep the wind from being forced from his lungs, he moved to the right side of the man and kicked savagely at the side of the man's knee trying to break it.

He missed but the managed to stomp on the man's insole and when he pulled his foot away he was off balance and Ron was able to slam the palm of his hand onto the bridge of the man's nose breaking it.

The man then punched Ron hard in the mouth sending him towards the urinals, as the man pressed his attack on the new advantage he had on him, Ron slid to the floor and kicked the man in the groin sending him to the other side of the restroom, he stumbled backwards into the round sink.

Ron wasted no time in getting to his feet, both men were breathing heavily from the exertion, he glanced at himself in the mirror and could see blood coming from his mouth, he looked at the man and yelled, "SO NOW WHAT?"

The man was breathing hard and then he growled, "You are more trouble than I thought, time for you to die."

He started to reach into his suit coat, one word flashed into Ron's mind, _"GUN"_

Ron ran at him as fast as he could and before the man could bring the pistol up to shoot him, he had grabbed him by the wrist and the two began wrestling for control of it, Ron twisted the gun arm and in desperation he punched the man hard in the elbow. He was rewarded with a snapping sound and then he heard the gun clatter to floor, the man yelped with pain and then Ron was behind the man as he was still trying to reach for the gun with his good arm.

Ron had his right arm wrapped around the man's throat and his left hand was on the side of the man's head. The man realized that Ron was about to snap his neck when he stood up quickly and backed into the wall as hard as he could. Ron let out a groan and then noticed that the sounds of their struggle were echoing off the walls of the restroom.

He continued to hold the man as tight as he could as he slammed him into the wall again and again. Ron was starting to see spots and knew he had to end this fight quick so he twisted the man's head as hard as he could, there was a loud 'Crack' and then both men slumped to the floor.

Ron sat there panting, then he pushed the man off of him, his head rolled on his shoulders at an unnatural angle, _"What the hell?"_

Then the alarm bells went off in his head, _"Oh No, I've just killed a guy in a restroom and I have no idea what this is over…I still exist so this guy must be…evil…Hide the body and try to figure all this out later."_

Ron dragged the man into a stall and sat the lifeless form on a stool, the man slumped forward and he pushed him back upright and then the man slumped to the left against the partition wall, _"Good enough."_

He closed the door to the stall and saw there was an indentation on the doors locking mechanism so that maintenance people could lock the stall from the outside should it be necessary to make a stall out of order. Ron pulled out a coin and inserted it into the slot and twisted hard locking the door. His attention was diverted by a knock at the door, "Open the damn door, I have to pee."

He shook his head and cleaned himself up as best he could, he then reached down and picked up the pistol and looked at it, _"Glock Firearms, model 19, 9mm parabellum…cool."_

Ron pushed the pistol into the waist band of his pants and pulled his shirt down over it to hide the gun and then unlocked the door and stood to the side as a man raced by. Ron turned and watched the man run to a urinal and then he rejoined the diamond merchants.

He found Mr. Seitzman and he did a double take at Ron's appearance, "What happened to you?"

He shrugged, "Fell in."

Mr. Seitzman nodded, "I have purchased enough good diamonds to last for a while, would you mind very much if we left?"

Ron smiled, "No…no arguments from me."

Mr. Seitzman drove Ron back to Tulkharm and dropped him off, but before he left waived for Ron to come back over to his car and he pulled out a small envelope and dropped a small handful of diamonds into it, "This is for your help today."

He smiled and nodded as he took the envelope, "Thank you."

"You come back to the shop next time you are on leave and I will show you how to make jewelry." Mr. Seitzman said happily.

Ron nodded his head, "Sounds great, I will be there as soon as I can."

He walked back to the barracks smiling, suddenly his busted lips didn't hurt as much, his arms weren't so heavy, his back wasn't aching as badly and then he saw Kim, Monique and Tirza.

Kim spotted him right away, "Ron…What happened to you?"

He smiled and shrugged, "Diamond buying is a full contact sport."

She raised an eyebrow, "Ron"

Ron looked around and then he told Monique and Tirza to wait for them in the parking lot, "Kim….follow me."

He walked her back towards the barracks and took her to his bunk, "This is my home away from home."

Kim nodded and looked at the other bunks lined up and down the length of the building, "Not very private are they?"

Ron shook his head and opened his footlocker and pulled out the pistol and looked at Kim, "Someone tried to kill me in Haifa."

Kim tilted her head, "What? Why?"

He shook his head, "I don't know…said he didn't like clowns and that Ms. Sakorov wouldn't be happy with me…Weird."

Kim pointed to the bags on the bed, "I brought the rest of your clothes over."

Ron smiled and quickly changed, Kim flinched as she saw the bruises on his back and the deep red scratch marks, "Ron…Where did you get all those bruises and scratches from?"

He smiled, "Bruises were from the fight…Scratches were from you…Last night."

Kim rolled her eyes and giggled, "Oh yea"

Ron pulled on a new shirt and then looked at himself in a small mirror, Kim came up from behind and hugged him, "I'm glad your alright….We went by a market earlier…I bought some sticks of butter."

He grinned and then turned to hug her, _"Here we go again."_


	35. Chapter 35

It was Monique and Kim's last night in Israel, the next afternoon they would be on a plane back to the United States and back to school and their respective jobs. They had accomplished almost everything they set out to do.

They rescued Ron from the evil clutches of Bonnie, well sort of. Ron still had feelings for Bonnie and that was something Kim was going to have to learn to live with as she struggled to reinstate herself as Ron's number one love interest.

Monique had found her a new boyfriend in a most unlikely place. Ron had fixed her up with his friend Tirza Cohen the company medic as a joke on Monique. The joke backfired and Tirza and Monique were falling for each other hard.

Kim and Ron had destroyed a bomb factory in the West Bank and Ron had gunned down the chief Hamas bomb maker Ali Mohamed Saghir. Kim was ecstatic at the massive amounts of property damage that they were able to wreak in such a short amount of time.

Ron had survived a fight with an unknown assailant at a diamond exchange and acquired a new gun. He met up with Kim, Monique and Tirza for a night on the town and a return to the Red Octopus dance club.

At the club Ron ran into Martel and much as Kim had feared the night before, Ron set the man's chest hair on fire and sent the man running out of the club screaming. Kim hugged Ron tightly, "Burning chest hair really turns me on."

Ron laughed, "The guy had it coming telling me not to touch you because you have a sexually transmitted disease."

Kim giggled, "Yea…He must have had me confused with someone else."

It was Ron's first visit to a dance club in Israel and was dancing the night away with Kim until she realized it was getting late, "I think it's time to head back to Tel Aviv…We're leaving in the afternoon."

He nodded and told Tirza who looked crushed, "Monique is leaving?"

"Yes, Monique has to go back to school and work." Ron told him.

Monique glared at Ron, "What did you tell him?"

Ron looked at Monique sadly, "That we had to leave so you guys get ready to leave tomorrow."

She turned and looked at Tirza sadly, "Ohhhhhhhh, you can come with us back to the hotel."

"Monique he has to report fro duty at six in the morning." Ron reminded her.

Then Kim had an idea, "Why don't we just get hotel rooms in Netanya for the night, then Monique can run Tirza back to the base around five and we will have plenty of time to run back to Tel Aviv to check out of the hotel down there."

Monique smiled, "Yeaaaaaaaaa…after all we're not paying for it."

Ron shrugged, "Sounds like a plan to me." Then he turned to Tirza, "Monique wants to take you to a hotel."

Tirza grinned, "OoooooooKayyyyyyyy"

They checked into the Seasons Hotel, Monique and Kim each got a room. They all giggled nervously as they went to their rooms, Monique was getting ready to tell Kim and Ron goodnight but never got the chance as Kim shoved Ron forcefully thru the door.

Once the door was closed Kim quickly turned on Ron, "Get naked Ron, I'm not taking no for an answer."

Ron smiled and began to undress, "Now Kim when is the last time I told you no."

Monique stood outside the door smiling and shaking her head, "Come on Tirza."

Tirza smiled and followed her, "Oooookayyyyyyyyy"

They spent their last night together and then sadly Monique had to take Tirza back to base but not before they took a shower to make sure Tirza was nice and clean for the day ahead of him.

She took him into the parking lot to let him out, Monique turned to him, "You have my email address and my home address and phone number…We'll stay in touch…Right?'

Tirza looked very sad at the paper in his hands, "OK…I will learn English."

Monique hugged and kissed him goodbye, "When Ron comes home in May, you come with him, I want to see you….OK?"

Tirza smiled not really fully understanding but he knew Ron, May and of course OK, he gave her a big hug and a kiss and then left for the barracks. Monique watched him until he disappeared from view, _"I'll tell Ron to bring him along in May when he comes home."_

Ron lay on his back with Kim nestled in the crook of his arm, "We have to get moving."

Kim frowned, "I know."

"I've got a question for you…Something that's been bothering me for a while." Ron said with a serious expression on his face.

Kim looked up nervously, "Yea?"

Ron looked down at her, "How did you know about Babbette? I mean, I never told anyone about that."

He felt her stiffen and then relax, "Ohhhhhhh Sergei told Monique about her when they all went out to dinner last Sunday."

Kim looked up to see Ron's reaction, she could see the wheels turning in his head as he processed the answer, "OK…It wasn't that much of a deal…I got a dance and a kiss and I never saw her again."

Kim smiled, "I know."

Ron narrowed his eyes, "Well we better get moving."

He got out of bed and Kim followed slowly, obviously in pain, "If I would have known that was what the butter was for…I never would have bought them…I'm not going to walk right for a week."

Ron walked past her and slapped her on the butt, "Head in the game Kim, see you in the shower."

She stuck out her tongue at him and followed him into the bathroom, she climbed into the shower the water felt good and she began to wake up, she felt Ron envelop her from behind and he began kissing her neck and rubbing his hands up and down her body. Then she felt an unusually warm spray from behind, "RON, YOU NASTY…"

Ron began laughing, "Nothing like peeing in the shower first thing in the morning."

She pushed him to the back of the shower and began wrestling with him, trying to teach him a lesson and before too long they both fell to the floor of the shower and began to make love again.

* * *

Katrina Sakorov sat at her desk receiving her morning briefing; she was a woman in her early thirties, long black straight hair and cold black eyes to match, pale in complexion she was a tough minded and totally ruthless crime lord in charge of the Yurchenko/Sakorov crime family operations in Israel. The large Russian Mafia group was in a never ending war with Shin Bet and the Border Police as they began to control of the drug trade in Israel. 

They were moving shipments of exstacy, cocaine and other controlled substances through tunnels in the Gaza Strip for distribution through Tel Aviv's thriving club scene. The group was also starting to branch out into brothels and in Haifa they were instituting a brutal form of the protection racket. Charging money to insure nothing would happen to the business they were protecting. If you didn't pay the protection money, something usually really bad happened to the business that didn't' pay their protection money.

Wensday nights shake down of the diamond merchants and the death of one of their top enforcers was the topic of concern for her at the moment, "So you found Gregory dead in the men's room?"

She was addressing one of her top lieutenants Ivan Totsky another ruthless enforcer, a former commando in the GRU he gravitated to the Russian Mafia because it paid better than the Russian army.

He stood 6'2, with a head shaved skin bald and heavily muscled; the man was a proven killer and was one of Katrina Sakorov's problem solvers. He looked at his boss and nodded, "He fought with someone, and came out on the short end, he had a broken nose, shattered right elbow before having his neck snapped."

She took in the report, "Police, Shin Bet?"

The man shook his head, "Unlikely, they would not have tried to hide the body…Gregory's gun was missing?"

Ms. Sakorov lifted an eyebrow, "Robbery?"

"I do not think so; he had nearly five thousand shekels on him after he took payments from the old Jew diamond merchants." Ivan informed her.

She sat in her leather chair behind a highly polished desk in their business offices in the Tel Aviv Towers high rise, "Did you dispose of the body?"

The man nodded, "Yes, we took Gregory down to the docks and fed him to the boiler of an old coal burning cargo ship."

Ms. Sakorov nodded, "Good, good, anyone outside of our little group know what happened?"

Ivan shook his head, "No"

She crossed her arms and began to turn from side to side in her chair as she thought over the possibilities, _"Rival group? They would have taken the money….Gregory was a brutal man…The diamond merchants are all old…not in his league."_ She looked up at Ivan, "Mr. Totsky, any ideas on who did this?"

The man shook his head, "Gregory was like me, ex-GRU…Whoever did this was very well trained, and he knew where to strike for to achieve maximum damage…I would say it was a planned hit…Person or person's unknown, possibly Isayeret Machal."

Katrina weighed the information carefully, "I do not believe it was the IDF, they would have had the killing broadcast all over the country."

Ivan Totsky nodded in agreement, Ms. Sakorov continued to mull things over in her head, _"No one reported anything strange, no security cameras watching…Strange all those diamonds and no security cameras?"_

"Why no security cameras?" Ms. Sakorov asked out loud.

He shrugged, "The diamond merchants value their privacy, diamonds are used as a second currency and they are afraid of the tax liablilities."

Ms. Sakorov nodded, "Good idea for them bad for us, install our own cameras for next weeks exchange…I think it is important we find out exactly what happened to Gregory."

Ivan nodded and asked, "What would you like done to the person that did this?"

Ms. Sakorov leaned back in her chair and nodded, "Make an example of him, use your imagination, but make sure it is gruesome so people will remember it, if they remember it, they will be afraid then."

* * *

Kim, Monique and Ron returned to the King David Hotel in Tel Aviv, the girls finished packing for the long trip home. Once they were packed it was off to return the rental car, Monique became emotional as they parted company with the fiat, "I had so many good times in that back seat." 

Kim patted her on the shoulder, "There, there Monique there are plenty of other cars out there with backseats."

Monique chuckled, "Thanks for the support Kim."

Ron smiled and walked into the airport as far as he could. Then it was time to say goodbye again. Kim turned to Ron, "It was good seeing you again, I'll write and I won't stop I promise."

Ron nodded and looked at Monique, "She stops, kick her butt for me."

Monique smiled, "Oh yeaaaaaaaa don't want to have to come here for a mission again…Ron bring Tirza with you when you come…Please."

Ron smiled, "Monique likes the Tirza then."

Monique smiled, "Me like"

Kim hugged Ron, "I'm going to miss you."

Ron nodded, "Yea, I'll miss you too."

"I'll write, I promise, just send me an email with your new addresses." She said sounding slightly desperate.

He smiled, "I'm going to keep using my email address, I changed the password to something a little harder to crack this time."

Kim looked deeply into his eyes, "We…have to go…I…I don't want to…you know…go."

Ron pulled her to him and gave her a deep kiss after a long moment he broke it off, "I'll miss you too."

Kim was breathless, "Yea"

Monique cleared her throat and pointed to her watch, and Kim nodded and put a hand on Ron's chest, "I'll stay in touch, I promise."

He nodded and held out his arms for Monique and she hugged him, "I'll try and bring Tirza along, see if he can get leave, he'll have to put in for it now."

She smiled, "You better, because Dad's car has a much bigger backseat."

They gathered up their luggage and they started to walk to through the terminal entrance, Kim turned to look at Ron one more time and he smiled and waived to her. He stood there and watched them make their way through the three miles of terminal three until they were out of sight.

Then he turned and walked away, _"I wish we weren't always saying goodbye to each other…Well…I have a long bus ride back to base."_

Monique grabbed a luggage caddy and looked at Kim, "I'm not hoofing this stuff three miles like we did last time."

Kim gave her a look, "I didn't know it was three miles the last time."

They loaded their luggage and used the people movers to make their way to the gate, they cleared customs and checked their bags and then it was a two hour wait in the waiting room.

Monique got bored, "I'm saw a bookshop a ways back, want anything?"

Kim shook her head and Monique left. She came back a half hour later and handed Kim a book, "Hebrew for dummies, I figure we can use this."

She smiled at the book, "I think your just wanting to talk to Tirza."

"Well, that too, I never expected to…you know…meet anyone, while we were over here." She told Kim sheepishly.

Kim nodded, "The trip didn't go the way I thought it would, but it was still a good trip."

Monique nodded in agreement, "Yea, so Ron didn't have any problem about the truth ray and all that?"

"Well…I didn't exactly tell him about that?" Kim said as she lost her smile.

Monique turned to look at her, "You didn't tell him? Why?"

Kim shrugged, "We were having problems to get through and I didn't want to complicate things."

"Great, now it's going to be even more complicated when he comes home in May…Kim you should have told him." Monique chided her.

"NO…That would have complicated things and I'm not prepared for that right now, we had enough drama with Bonnie to lump the truth ray in there would have sent him running for the hills." Kim said sadly.

"Monique nodded, "I guess your right."

Kim smiled, "So you actually agree with me on something."

"Well you are the expert in all things Ron." Monique said condescendingly

Kim frowned and narrowed her eyes, "What would you have done, emotionally unstable boyfriend, you spare him the confusion or you tell him and risk alienating him even more?"

Monique shook her head as their plane began to roll to the gate, "I don' know…It's a tough road either way you go."

When they were finally able to board the plane and it took off back to the United States Monique let her seat back to get some sleep, Kim looked at her, "So you going to try to have a relationship with Tirza?"

Monique smiled and nodded with her eyes closed, "Yea, he's a FCSH."

Kim giggled, "Let me guess first class shit head?"

Monique opened her eyes just enough to glare at Kim, "I think your talking about your boyfriend now…For your information Tirza's a first class sweet heart."

* * *

Friday arrived and Ron had checked in his equipment with the Quarter Master he was getting ready to leave Tulkharm for Camp 80 to report in to begin his crash course training to become a corporal. 

He said his goodbye's to Sergei and Tirza, Sergei promised to keep tutoring Tirza on his English and Tirza was trying to get his month of leave off in May so he could go to the U.S. and visit Monique.

"So when do you think you'll be back?" Sergei asked.

Ron shook his head, "I am not quite sure...I will just play it by ear."

Tirza smiled, "I want to go see Monique with you in May."

"English only then, Monique likes you and wants to be able to talk to you." Ron told him in English.

Tirza nodded and said slowly to make sure he had his words in the right order, "English only…I like Monique?"

Ron nodded, "Yes, you like Monique."

Sergei slapped Tirza on the back hard, "I will have him functioning in English by May….I would come with you but…I do not have much money and I would like to go back to Lithuania for a visit with my mother."

"Sergei did I say anything about money, I know this guy named Wade that can get us a ride." Ron said happily as he watched the bus pull up.

Sergei picked up one of Ron's duffle bags and helped him load it onto the bus, "You stay in touch."

They hugged one another and then Sergei left the bus and Ron settled in with all of his gear for the bus ride to Camp 80. The ride was long and for the most part uneventful, Ron slept off and on, Once they arrived in Jerusalem there were many female soldiers that boarded the bus.

Ron's eyes lit up they wore the purple berets of the Mahal, hs straighted up in his seat and began to dodge the barrels of the M16s that they carried slung over their backs. They chatted away happily as they found seats on the bus.

Once the bus was rolling one of the girls finally took notice of Ron, She had black hair pulled up into a bun. She elbowed her blond friend that was sitting next to her and pointed at the smiling Ron, "Hey Golani, you are very far from home."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes, I have to report to Camp 80 for squad training, going to be a corporal when I get done."

Both girls nodded knowingly, "Ohhhhhhh one of those Golani."

He lost his smile, "What do you mean?"

"You are a screw up, why would they send you down here to train instead of Bezeq?" The blonde girl said as she started to laugh.

Ron stiffened, "I am not a screw up, I was told to report here because there weren't enough real men to satisfy the Mahal ladies."

This brought howls of laughter from all the women that were in earshot, he heard a voice from the back of the bus, "So a little guy like you is going to satisfy all of us."

"I have mystical powers over women folk." Ron said with a smile.

The bantering went back and forth and it didn't take Ron long to figure out he was fighting a loosing battle so it was time to change the subject, "Do any of you know Babbette Shangra?"

The black haired girl's eyes lit up, "She is on this bus."

Ron looked shocked, "Really?"

The girl called to the back of the bus, "Babbette, this man is asking about you."

Then Ron saw her, purple beret, M16 slung over her shoulder, he blonde hair was pinned up under the beret. Ron's mouth fell open as she took a seat next to him, "It is Ronnie, he kills terrorists…I can contain my lust for you no longer, I must have you."

The black haired girl and her friend eyes lit up, "Then you must satisfy us."

Other girls began begging for Ron the terrorist killer to satisfy them. The bus ground to a halt and Ron was thrown forward in his seat, he opened his eyes and looked around, much to his disappointment it had all been a dream and they were only now reaching Jerusalem.

He shook his as he watched a few tired looking female soldiers climb on board with their gear and push to the back of the bus without even so much as a glance his way, _"Figures, first decent dream I have since coming over here and I get woke up in the good part."_

He rode for another half an hour and then he could see Camp 80, he had seen the rear of the camp when he was in basic training and this was his first time to actually see the base from the front entrance.

He gathered up his gear and stepped off the bus and presented his papers and his IDF identity card to the guard at the front gate. The guard looked at the card and then back at Ron, "Golani…You are far from the Golan."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes, I am to report for squad training and corporal training on Sunday."

The guard nodded and instructed Ron, "You will need to report to building18, ask for Lieutenant Glick."

The guard pointed Ron in the direction he needed to go, he nodded and went in that direction, he could hear the giggling of girls in the distance and this brought a smile to Ron's face, _"Too many targets of opportunity."_

He found building 18 and realized it was the officer's quarters, Ron walked in the front door and saw a bored Sergeant sitting behind a desk, he handed the man his papers, "I was told to ask for Lt. Glick."

The sergeant nodded and left the reception area, he returned a short time later with Lt. Saul Glick, he was a man not much taller than Ron, shaved head, wire rim glasses, olive complexion with a thin mustache.

Ron saluted Lt. Glick and handed him his papers, the lieutenant looked up at Ron, "American?"

Ron nodded as he took the papers back and stuffed them in his pocket, "Yes sir."

"I'm from Boston, Mass…Where are you from?" He asked Ron in English.

"Middleton, Colorado." Ron answered.

Lt. Glick shrugged, "Never heard of it." He waived a sergeant over, "Sergeant Tsur, show this Golani private to the barracks."

The sergeant nodded and saluted, Ron did the same and turned to leave with the sergeant when Lt. Glick stopped him, "Tomorrow, after the Shabbat is over, get a haircut, we have some armor units training here and their rules are much stricter than ours…If your hair is too long and one of their sergeants see you….he will court marshal you and then you will have to pay a fine…Keep your money in your wallet, get a hair cut."

Ron nodded and saluted again, "Thank you officer."

He followed the sergeant out the door and then the sergeant turned to him, "Keep your boots polished, and shirt tucked in at all times as well."

"We're not in the armor division though?" Ron said shaking his head.

Sgt. Tsur shrugged, "Makes no difference, a court marshal is a court marshal."

Ron followed him and was trying to learn more so he could minimize problems, "So who else trains here?"

"Let's see, Paratroopers, arrogant bastards only train with themselves, The women, we train all the female soldiers in the IDF…Don't get any ideas about finding a cute girlfriend…the officers get all the good looking ones as aides." He told them as they approached a darkened building.

The sergeant pointed at the building, "Here's your new home, the rest of the trainees are away for the Shabbot."

They walked in the front door and the sergeant turned on the lights, they walked down the isle of beds, "Here you go number 26, stow your gear and then your time is your own till you report and draw your battle gear tomorrow evening."

Ron packed his gear away and made his bunk, he sat down and looked around at the barracks, _"I don't know anyone here, I can't wait toget trained and back to my company."_

* * *

Kim and Monique landed at Upperton International; Mrs. Dr. P. picked them up, she smiled as she saw the two girls emerge from the terminal. They were both smiling and they weren't fighting, this in Mrs. Dr. P.'s opinion was a good thing, "So how was the trip?" 

Kim smiled, "It was good, a few bumpy spots here and there but good."

Mrs. Dr. P. opened the trunk of her car, "What kind of bumpy spots."

Monique laughed, "Ron fell in love with Bonny and wasn't wild about taking Kim back."

Kim glared at Monique as she threw a suitcase in the trunk, "That's not true…He just needed some…reminding."

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at her daughter, "Reminding?"

Kim looked at her mother, "Reminding."

"It was a good trip for me, I got a new boyfriend out of it." Monique told her happily.

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at her, "New boyfriend isn't Ron is it?"

Monique shook her head, "No Ron's a jerk, he's one of Ron's friends a cutie by the name of Tirza."

The climbed into the car and Mrs. Dr. P. looked at Kim, "Ron's a jerk?"

Kim bobbed her head from side to side and sucked in her cheeks, "Well…He has his moments…The army has changed him….but he's still Ron underneath it all."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded uneasily, "Honey, sometimes the service makes a person better or it can also ruin them…You might want to keep that in mind in case Ron…becomes…troublesome for you."

"Mom we're talking about Ron." Kim said in a slightly tweaked tone.

They dropped off Monique at her house and headed for home, Mrs. Dr. P., looked at her again, "OK now that Monique's gone, how's Ron really doing?"

Kim shrugged, "He's adjusted to living there really well, he became close with Bonny…I should have kept writing him."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded as she left Monique's neighborhood, "How did he take your new look?"

She smiled and giggled, "He thought I was Shego."

"So how did he respond when you told him about the truth ray?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked.

Kim was silent for a long moment, "I didn't tell him about it…He was close to Bonny…Having me show up was…hard on the both of us."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head and then made the turn down the familiar street that led them back towards home, "So you chickened out."

Her temper flared, "I did not chicken out…I made a decision…I…I looked at the situation and…chickened out."

Once they were home Kim took her luggage back to her room and then pulled out her Kimmunicator and called Ron and to her relief the signal went through and Ron answered, "Ron…Just thought I'd give you a call and let you know we made it home alright."

Ron smiled, "Great glad to hear it, I wish you could have stayed longer or if it wasn't the end of January, we could have played on the beach or something."

"I had a good time; it was great being with you again…It was like old times." Kim said with a dreamy expression in her eyes.

He closed his eyes, "Yea, like old times."

Kim sat on the bed and crossed her legs, "So how's your new post?"

"Ahhhhhhhh I don't really know, it's the Sabbath and everyone is on leave, I'm by myself for now…I miss Sergei and Tirza." Ron said sadly as he looked around the empty barracks.

"You're not the only one that misses Tirza." Kim said with a big grin on her face.

Ron looked puzzled and then caught the meaning, "Ahhh ha, ha, yea, so I guess she really does like Tirza."

Kim giggled, "I'd say so, when she was on the plane that's all she talked about, Tirza this and Tirza that, and all the things they were going to do when Tirza comes to visit."

He nodded, "He's crazy about her too, he is trying to get off so he can come with me."

They looked at each other over the view screens and then Ron broke the uneasy silence, "Kim…You ever think about the future much?"

Kim leaned back against the headboard on her bed, "I do every once in a while, think about what I'm going to do for a living….Getting married having kids."

Ron frowned and shook his head, "I think about it a lot, I guess being over here and spending lots of time guarding stuff or doing boring jobs…makes you think about stuff like that…I…I wish…"

He never finished his thought but Kim knew what he was going to say, "Things could have different."

He nodded and looked away from the screen, Kim frowned and thought for minute, "Ron, your life is still your own…Do what will make you happy."

"If only it was that simple…I've found out there is more to it than I thought…I'm sorry Kim, I'm so sorry…I wish…things could have been different…that's all." His voice was barely above a whisper and this made Kim uneasy.

She shook her head, "What do you mean 'more to it than you thought?"

Ron caught himself and forced himself to be cheerful, "Nothing, just me feeling sorry for myself, everything's great…I'm sure your future will work out great for you."

Kim swallowed hard and smiled uneasily, "I think both of us will have good futures."

He nodded his head, "Sure…So what are you going to do on Monday?"

She exhaled and smiled, "I guess go back to school…Hard to believe the weeks over with so fast."

"It was good to see you again; you don't know how happy I was to hear you weren't marrying…that Danny guy." Ron told her with an exaggerated wink.

Kim blushed and chuckled, "Yea…I promise if I ever get married, you'll be the first to know."

"Fair enough…I love you." Ron said quietly.

"I love you too." Kim said gazing at the image on the screen.

Ron smiled, "I better get going, I won't have the place to myself for very long and I have to get a haircut…They say it's too long."

Kim laughed, "No way, I'll try and talk to you later then."

They said their goodbyes and ended the connection, Ron sat on his bunk alone and looked at the dark device, _"I've got to quit being so morbid, don't want Kim to worry…I wish there were a way…I wish things could have been…different."_

He stood up and walked out of the barracks to find the barber to get a haircut and from there he went to the Quarter Master to draw his battle gear, M16 rifle, helmet, body armor, tent, poles, stakes, mess kit, sleeping bag, ruff sack and a few added items to the normal battle issue, four books and a compass.

He looked at the worn books and smiled, _"Reading Topical Graphical Maps, Squad Command Basics, Night Maneuvers Made Easy, The Importance of Company Discipline, nothing like a little light reading before bed."_

* * *

Later more men started to arrive back from leave, Ron introduced himself and they gave him a hard time for being from the Golani brigade. The group was still fairly small, there was thin red headed Frenchman named Andre' Mecee, another American that was taller and more muscular than Ron named Eric Suggs, and South African named Peter Norwich. 

"So are you all chayal boded?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

Suggs nodded and smiled, "I am, so where are you from Stoppable…Weird name for a Jew."

Ron looked at him, "Suggs is a normal Jewish name? I'm from Middleton, Colorado."

"Well I suppose it's a little strange, my father converted when he married my mother…I'm from Tampa, Florida." Suggs said matter of fact tone.

Norwich looked at the two, "Well at least I'm not the only blonde one around here anymore, creep doing my paper work told me that the reason I was blonde was because my grandmother was raped by Cossacks…All I could do to keep from punching the no good blighter in the mouth."

Ron laughed, "We had the same guy, he told me that me too."

Andre' Mecee looked at the three, "Hebrew please, I don't speak English too well."

They nodded, and Norwich looked over to Ron, "Do you play poker?"

Ron laughed, "Do I play poker…Of course I play poker."

They quickly setup a makeshift table out of a footlocker, Suggs looked at Ron, "We're playing for chips, I spent all of my money in town on whores."

Norwich laughed, "I'm financially embarrassed as well, and my wife got my check."

Ron looked at him, "Your married…How long?"

"Let us see, I have been here a little over two years, met a nice Jewish girl fell in love, now she takes all my money…That was a little over six months ago." The other men laughed as Norwich shuffled the cards.

Norwich rolled his eyes in deep thought, "I think a game the Yanks will understand, five card studs, and because I love the ladies we're going to follow the queen."

Ron smiled and nodded as the cards were dealt, the cards were dealt to him and he looked down at them, _"four of spades, two of hearts, nine of diamonds."_

The next two cards came face up, this surprised Ron as he had no idea of how the game was played, the two cards that were face up was a jack of clubs and six of hearts. They anteed up two chips.

Ron tossed in his two chips and then began giggling and threw in a small stack of red chips. The other men looked at him Mecee and Suggs folded. Norwich matched Ron's wager and then Ron giggling more insanely than ever pushed his whole stack of chips into the pile.

Norwich nodded and said, "That is a bold move Ronnie."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Is it?"

Norwich looked at the other men, "Some would say you are bluffing, you know how to tell when a man is bluffing?"

He looked at the blonde South African and shook his head, _"This is starting to sound way too familiar."_

"No"

Norwich narrowed his eyes, "When a man is bluffing, you look for the signs, like he starts to touch his face."

Ron was rubbing his nose and then quickly dropped his hand down into his lap as Norwich continued, "Or he won't look you in the eye."

Ron began to look all over the barracks but not a Norwich, "You are bluffing, I call."

Ron looked left and then to his right and turned his cards over. The men began chuckling and Norwich shook his head, "You have no idea how to play poker do you?"

He shook his head, "No"

Suggs laughed, "Before you leave here Golani, you will learn how to play."

Norwich shook his head, "You had a hand full of shit."

They spent most of the rest of the evening discussing poker, Ron took in as much as he could as he had Suggs help him out with a couple of hands. He knew it would take a while to learn the finer points.

Ron's curiosity began to gnaw at him, "So how much have I missed…In the training class?"

Andre' Mecee looked up from his magazine, "You have only missed a week, we went through refresher training last week, tomorrow we start chain training, attacking a fortified position and so on and then next week we begin class room instruction."

This information made Ron feel better as he went to sleep.

* * *

Five o'clock came early and Ron awoke to reveille, he rolled out of bed and quickly dressed and made his bed for morning inspection, Sergeant Tsur entered the barracks and inspected the men, all the men had arrived during the night, Ron guessed there to be around 20 or so. 

Sergeant Tsur dismissed them for breakfast, "You have one hour report to the parade ground full battle dress."

Ron and his four new comrades went to breakfast, Ron looked at the men, "So we are assaulting a fortified position with full battle packs?"

Mecee shrugged, "Who knows, they like to throw us surprises."

Norwich took a swig of the strong tea, "We might end up field training…It's like basic all over again."

They quickly ate and Ron returned to the barracks and began to assemble his jawbreaker pack, it took him a while to remember how to do it, on the third try he got it right, _"Haven't done this for awhile."_

Ron donned his battle armor, slipped his pack over his shoulders and picked up his rifle and headed for the parade ground with the other men. They boarded an APC and headed out to the training ground.

Once they had arrived Ron looked over the layout, it was fairly straight forward, hill, position at the top of the hill, rocks to hide behind, _"I remember doing this, shouldn't be too bad."_

They continued to stand around and wait for orders but none came, Sergeant Tsur ordered the men to wait as he left to go find out what was taking so long. Ron looked at the others and shrugged and asked, "What do you think?"

Suggs shrugged, "Not sure…You know the IDF though, hurry up and wait."

Ron nodded and looked around, it was a grey overcast day, it was close to Febuary now and he began to think of Ned's wedding and how cool he was going to look with sergeant stripes on his shoulders.

His attention was broken as Sgt. Tsur returned. He motioned for the men to gather around, "It appears they have put one of the screw up companies in charge of setting up the course…They loaded the ammo into the machine guns with the belts in backwards and appear unable to fix the problem….We will return to the base for training."

The men loaded back into the APC and made the trip back to base, once they began to unload Sgt. Tsur stopped Ron, "You see this track that goes around this way and around the back of the barracks buildings?"

Ron nodded, "Yes"

Sgt. Tsur explained, "That is a thousand meter track, since you missed your refresher training last week you will run the track twice in full battle gear and then report to me. Is that understood?"

Ron nodded, "Yes sergeant."

He began to run on the track, the sweat exploded from his body because of the humidity in the air, _"I should have kept running, I'm not in the shape I should be for this."_

He was distracted by some of the Mahal female soldiers dressed in their PT gear, _"Ohhhhhhh man…They are soooooooo hot in those berets….I should have let Kim wear mine."_

Ron continued to run and was breathing hard, he was getting the sinking feeling that this was going to be his fate for missing the first week of training, an entire day of nothing but running in full battle dress.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N Warning Ron goes full metal jacket near the end of the chapter and uses some pretty course visuals...If you offended by this please do not read.

* * *

Monique opened her email when she returned home and was pleased to find about 3 messages from Tirza. She double clicked the last message since it was the first he had sent her. 

She giggled as she read the opening line, "Monique Baby" She shook her head, _"What a nut."_

Then she continued to read the message:

"_Monique Baby_

_I hope you had good trip home, I miss you much even though it has been only few hours since you left._

_Ronnie has left too, he is not sure when he will be back._

_Sergei is helping me write this letter to you so I will not say too much personal or he will make fun of me._

_I will be very good English, Sergei says I will say very good English by the time I come visit in May. _

_Ronnie gave me the dates he is to go so I can do same._

_You are very pretty and I think of you a lot. I have told my mother about you and she wants to meet you sometime._

_I will stop writing now, Sergei is getting tired and he needs something to fix his black eye that Bina gave him. She is very mean, nothing like you._

_Goodbye for now._

_Tirza."_

Monique closed the email, _"Oh man, he wants me to meet his mother, he is so sweet…I wouldn't mind him meeting mom, but dad?"_

She sat and stared at the screen, _"Dad isn't really Jew friendly, I think he'd stroke if he knew I was seeing an Israeli."_

Monique looked around her bedroom, she had only been gone a week but she felt like a new person upon her return. She enjoyed the feeling; she was totally infatuated with a man from another country. She smiled at the thought, a man from the other side of the globe that liked to dance and listen to Neil Diamond and thought that she was the most wonderful person in the world. She anxiously double clicked on the next email:

"_Monique Baby_

_I have fixed Sergei's eye and he says he will help me again on this letter. It took a long time to write the first one, so I promised him that I will be shorter this time._

_I can not stay writing long; I have to get up early and clean shitters. This is no fun and can be unpleasant. I will have help from Sergei so it will not last long._

_Please write when you are home, I do not know how long flight is, I am sure it is a long time._

_If it is too long tell me and when I come to see you, I will bring my CD collection of Neil Diamond, Jessica Simpson and the Aerosmiths…I like American music a lot._

_I like you a lot too._

_I have to go now._

_Goodbye for now._

_Tirza"_

Monique chuckled, _"The Aerosmiths"_ Then it was on to the last email:

"_Monique Baby_

_I will write again after you send me message, Sergei says that if I write you too much that I will make you insane and you will hate me. I do not want you to hate me._

_So I keep this message short as I think I am driving Sergei crazy, he wants to know if you have ever seen Ronnie glow blue and float in the air._

_Ronnie says Sergei imagined it, but he is not so sure._

_Was Ronnie good to you? He said he used to date you and that you were a good girl and lot of fun. I hope it doesn't mind you that I ask. If you and Ronnie were to get back together, I do not want to get in way._

_I probably should not have asked, now I have made me sad._

_I hope to hear from you soon._

_Goodbye for now._

_Tirza"_

Monique sat in her chair and gave Tirza's emails some serious thought, _"How do I feel about Ron? I still like him as a friend, I don't really want to date him anymore…He has changed since he's been in the army…He doesn't have that sparkle about him anymore, Kim hasn't spotted that yet…She's all wrapped up in keeping him away from Bonnie."_

She sat looking at the screen trying to decide how to start and then nodded and pressed the reply button. She stretched her arms out and cocked her head from side to side and began to type:

"_Hey Sweetie_

_I made it home fine, felt like I was on an airplane for weeks. I'm kind of jet lagged so I'll keep this email short._

_I have never seen Ronnie glow blue, Sergei is imagining things. Now enough about Sergei and Ron, let's write about us._

_I like Gwen Stefanie, Kenye West, John Legend, and a few songs by the Aerosmiths. I think Neil Diamond is ok too._

_I don't know if Ron told you but I work as an assistant manager at Club Banana a clothing store inside a large mall here in Middleton, I have to go back to work Sunday…Yuck, I'm not ready to go back to work yet._

_I don't even know what day it is?_

_I'm really tired and I miss my Tirza bear, you be careful over there and I'll see you when you come to Middleton with Ron. _

_Remember watch Ron he can be stinker sometimes._

_I miss you a lot_

_Monique_

_xoxoxoxox"_

She read the message over and hit the send button and smiled dreamily, _"Tirza bear, and the aerosmiths."_

* * *

He had been on his new post for two weeks and Ron had finally finished with his refresher training, and his classroom training on map reading and then his daylight reconnoitering and now the big test leading a platoon on a night march. 

Ron had happily sewn on the new corporals stripe and accepted the assignment of leading a platoon of female IDF soldiers on a night march over a predetermined route if he failed he would have one more opportunity and if he failed that he would lose the stripe and be sent back Tulkharm.

He had called his platoon to a halt, as he took out his compass and tried to get his bearings, he had to memorize the map and he carried a sealed map in his pocket incase he were to become lost, of course to unseal the map would be an automatic failed attempt.

Ron could hear the girls counting off behind him as he was looking for the next marker, once they were finished they began chattering and then one of the girls said in a very loud voice, "You are lost."

He turned to look at the platoon, "We are not lost, I know precisely where we are."

There were some soft giggles, "Alright Corporal Stoppable where are we?"

Ron smiled and looked at the female soldiers, "Israel"

That brought more giggles, and then another girl asked, "Why don't you ask for directions."

Another girl chimed in, "He won't ask for directions, men never ask for directions they would rather wonder around lost all night then ask for directions."

Ron turned glared at the platoon, "Oh and I suppose there is a petrol station around here that I can just walk into and say 'oh where is the next marker?' now you will observe night discipline or we will break out the stretchers."

This threat achieved what he had been looking for, silence. He continued to scan the terrain and then he spotted it, a small wooden stake buried in the ground with an orange flag on it. It was about 200 meters away. He smiled as he thought, _"I knew we weren't that far off."_

He ordered them up and continued to lead them towards the next marker from there he would turn the platoon 90 degrees and continue to the next marker 2,000 meters away. This was the hardest marker that he had to find on the 10 kilometer night march.

The rest of the march was uneventful an aerial flare caught his attention, _"Someone is lost…probably Mecee."_

They reached the gates of the camp and Ron saluted and presented the sealed envelope with the map in it to Lt. Glick. He nodded and dismissed the platoon and then turned his attention to Ron, "You will report to the Quarter Master and hand him this requisition at once, turn in your M16 draw a Negev, request 1,500 rounds of ammunition and then report to Sgt. Tsur with the 82nd infantry, 2nd platoon, 'A' company. They are on the football fields readying the APC's. We are going to war Cpl. Stoppable."

Ron quickly saluted and then ran for the Quarter Masters building and joined the line; there were about 3 others in front of him all jabbering away about what was happening. He tapped one of the privates in front of him on the shoulder, "What is going on, I was on night maneuvers."

The private shook his head, "We're going to southern Gaza, the PA have been firing rockets into Sederot continuously to the point the settlement is now empty and then they started raiding the border settlements and kidnapped two soldiers near Kerem Shalom."

"Wow, so we are heading to the south then?" Ron as they worked their way up closer in to the front of the line.

The private nodded, "Yes we will almost be in Egypt."

Another private joined the line, "I just heard off the radio that the Palestinians have blown a hole in the border wall separating us from Egypt and that they are pouring through and the Egyptian army can not stop them."

Ron blinked and was next in line he handed the attendant his gun and the three magazines that came with it and his paper work, "Negev and 1,500 rounds."

The man came back with a Negev and handed it to Ron, he looked it over and then looked back at the attendant who shrugged, "Last one, do you want the 250 round packs or the 300 round."

"I guess this will have to do, I will take the 300 round packs." Ron said looking over the rifle that had obviously seen better days.

The attendant nodded, "Glad you want the 300 round packs because we are all out of the 250."

Ron was getting ready to ask the man why he even bothered to offer them but thought better of it. Once he had his ammunition he quickly ran for the football fields to find his company and report to Sgt. Tsur.

He ran into other soldiers busily running around, he found out more information, a terrible mistake had been made, ten thousand IDF soldiers killed the Givati Brigade had ran. Ron searched for his new unit and finally found them and reported to Sgt. Tsur.

"What took you so long get those toilet soldiers moving on that APC over there." He ordered motioning towards a APC where there were soldiers walking around with their hands in their pockets.

Ron nodded and turned back to the sergeant, "Is it true?"

The sergeant shook his head, "Is what true?"

Ron licked his lips and leaned closer and whispered to the sergeant, "10,000 dead, Givati over run, massive casualties? I've been in the field all night I have no idea what is going on."

The sergeant laughed, "No we are on a build up in southern Gaza, if all that had happened we'd be loading up on helicopters and we wouldn't have waited around for you."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes sergeant…Good, I'm still not sure what is going on but I'll get those guys moving on that APC."

He moved towards his APC and walked inside and stowed his gear and returned outside and pointed at a soldier, "You there, what is the status of the vehicle?"

The man shrugged, "I do not know corporal."

He could feel his temper rising, he pointed at another soldier, "You, what is the status of the top gun?"

Again the answer was one that Ron did not want to hear, "Does anyone know if anything has been done to this APC?"

"We didn't do anything because we did not feel like it." The man said with a smile.

Ron glared at him, "What is your name?"

The man smiled and elbowed his buddies, "Penis corporal, Private Penis."

The tension was so think you could cut it with a knife, Ron nodded and motioned for the man to follow him to the dark side of the APC that could not be seen by the other, "Come with me Private Penis."

He looked over at his friend and he could hear him whisper to him, "The little corporal wants to show what a big man he is."

He smiled at the comment and walked to the dark side of the APC with the man, once out of sight of the other men Ron slapped the man on the side of the head as hard as he could knocking him to the ground.

The man was crawling around on his hands and knees, "You are not allowed to strike us, I will have you charged."

Ron picked him up off the ground and threw him against the APC and went nose to nose with the man and whispered menacingly, "I am a Golani shock trooper, I am a level 7 marksman, I am trained to fight wars not march in parades. I do not care about the chicken shit rules your brigade has and I do not care about your problems or needs, we are going to war and if I think you are going to screw up out there and get people killed….I will shoot you in the head myself. Do you understand me?"

The man nodded his understanding and Ron drug him around to the other side and put a foot in his butt to send him to the ground once again in front of his friends, "ALL OF YOU LISTEN UP NOW…I WANT EVERYONE TO GET YOUR PACKS AND STAND IN FORMATION WITH YOUR PACK AT YOUR FEET…MOVE."

The Nahal soldiers quickly ran into the APC and came out with their packs and stood at attention with the packs at their feet, Ron picked up the first pack and shook it hard, it fell apart, "This is shit, pack it correctly."

He went on to check the rest of the packs, most fell apart the ones that didn't he had them put their packs back in the APC and had them start working on other projects on the machine.

"Private Penis, let me see your pack." He shook the pack hard and it stayed intact the man smiled broadly, Ron nodded and sat the pack down, stepped on the sleeping bag and picked the pack up again breaking the sleeping bag loose as well as the rest of the pack.

He smiled at the man and threw the pack on the ground, "Awwww pack it again."

Sergeant Tsur had watched the whole scene unfold with a mixture of amusement and at times down right concern, _"Well he did get them moving." _

He then walked over to Ron's APC, "So you did get them moving."

Ron nodded, "Yes when do we pull out?"

"Anytime now, I put all the toilet soldiers with you to see how you'd handle them. You did a good job." The sergeant observed.

He smiled, "Thank you sergeant, I followed the manual picked out the leader, crushed him and the others now follow me."

The sergeant nodded, "How are you doing?"

Ron shrugged, "Good, wish I had time to work on my Negev, it is in pretty rough shape."

"There should be more coming out with the wounded once we reach Kerem Shalom, you get a chance switch weapons." Sergeant Tsur suggested.

Ron nodded, "I am a little confused about one thing, the difference between a Nahal and a Mahal?"

The sergeant chuckled, "Mahal is overseas volunteers, Nahal is the name of the brigade."

He smiled and nodded, "I see now I understand." Ron spotted Lt. Glick approaching, "Attention"

His small ten man unit snapped immediately to attention and Ron and Sergeant Tsur saluted. The lieutenant returned the salute, "Are we ready to move out?"

The Sergeant Tsur looked at Ron and he nodded, "Yes Officer."

The lieutenant turned and pointed across the way to another soccer field, "Key on that company over there when they begin to pull out, roll in behind them and we will start our trip to Kerem Shalom."

Sergeant Tsur turned to Ron and glanced behind him at the men standing at attention, "Once you have your toilet soldiers lined out see to your Achzarit, and fall in behind us for the trip."

"How far along are these men in training, have they had Achzarit training yet?" Ron asked the sergeant.

Sergeant Tsur smiled, "This Company was close to finishing so they have had Achzarit field training, if your toilet soldiers retained the training that is another story."

Ron closed his eyes, _"Oh great."_

"I see."

Ron turned and returned to his men, "Who here can drive this?"

Several hands went into the air, Ron looked them over and nodded, "How many of you with your hands up really know how to drive this without wrecking or getting us killed?"

Two soldiers had their hands up one was Ron's new friend Private Penis, Ron chose the other private, "What is your name?"

"Private Jonas Barak"

Ron nodded and pointed at the APC, "Get in and start it up."

He then went from man to man and had them tell him their names, until he reached Private Penis, "I know your name."

"Don't you want to know my real name?" The man asked.

Ron shook his head, "No you will be in a bag soon enough so it will not matter."

He continued to learn their names; there was a Private Katz, Private Hoffman, and Private Keinon. He finished up as he heard the Detroit Diesel of the Achzarit come to life, "Here is our situation, there have been border incursions at Kerem Shalom and have kidnapped two IDF soldiers, there has been a hole blown in the defense wall to the south on the Egyptian border, kassam rockets have been falling into Sederot so regularly that the settlement is now a deserted."

Ron looked at the men to guage the effect the news was having on them. His information was having the desired effect, they were paying attention, "We are going to head out to Kerem Shalom and join the build up there and then we will be moving into the Gaza strip, while we are traveling there I want you to look over your weapons and gear, DO NOT LOAD THEM UNTIL YOU ARE ORDERED TO."

Ron dismissed the men and ordered them into the APC, he then climbed up into position behind the 7.62 machine gun and put on his head set so he could communicate with the driver and the rest of the men, "Test, test, can you hear me Barak?"

He heard a voice come over the radio, "I can hear you."

Ron nodded and then watched as the other APC's of the company rolled out and fell into line, "Barak, fall in behind the Achzarit next to us and stay on them."

"Yes Corporal"

He looked up the road as they joined the rest of the convoy heading west, tracked vehicles and humvees as far as he could see traveling in pairs taking up both sides of the road. He turned in his seat and looked behind him to see even more Achzarits and Merkava MK4 tanks falling in behind them.

He shook his head and smiled he had never before seen so much firepower all headed in the same direction at once. He knew that once they reached Kerem Shalom they would meet up with other Nahal and Givati units, more tanks, helicopters, _"This is so cool, Kim would be raping me if she seen all this mass destruction headed to one place."_

He keyed the radio to be heard inside the APC, "You should have finished going over your weapons by now, we will be on the road for a while so try and get some sleep."

Ron followed his own advice and pulled himself low into the seat and tried to catch a nap as the convoy continued on its way to Kerem Shalom.

Sleep was difficult in coming, the bouncing and noise of the tracks on the pavement created quite a racket, Ron finally nodded off for how long he wasn't certain before the radio came to life, "This is Lt. Glick to all 'A' Company Achzarits at the intersection ahead we will be making a right and head towards Serderot, that is our new rallying point."

Ron keyed the radio again to talk to the driver, "Did you get that Barak?"

"Yes Corporal." the voice over the radio said

Ron checked over the machine gun once again to make sure it was loaded properly, it was, then he turned to look behind him and saw an armor unit turn with them, _"I wonder why the change in plans?"_

They rode for another couple of hours Ron spotted a road sign, _"Serderot 15km, getting close."_

The early morning dawn was beginning to break and he could see the large farm fields that lay off the two lane blacktop highway, he spotted movement off to his left, at the far ends of the fields that would be closest to the Gaza strip. Ron turned the knob on the radio to talk to the other APC's, "I have movement to the left around 800 meters."

The voice of Sgt. Tsur came across the radio, "We see that as well, we have settlers coming back into the village now that it is known we are returning but the people you have spotted are moving the wrong way….I will send up a flare."

The convoy came to a halt as Ron watched as the aerial flare arched high into the sky, it illuminated the shadows and he could just barely make out Palestinians in their black and white kafiya's in the distance. Then he saw the winking of gunfire being directed towards them, he quickly turned the 7.62mm machine gun towards them and opened fire along with the other Achzarits and tanks that were in the convoy.

He watched his tracers head towards the place he had seen the men and then he heard the cease fire command come over the radio and the convoy lurched forward once again towards Serderot. Ron quickly keyed the radio to talk inside the APC, "We have encountered Palestinian insurgents, load your weapons and wait for orders….Try not to shoot each other…In case you are wondering I am talking to you Private Penis."

They continued on for another ten kilometers and then Lt. Glick's voice came over the radio calling them all the vehicles to a halt and to have the men form up outside the Achzarits. Ron gave the necessary commands and then exited the vehicle.

The door opened and the men came out wearing their gear, Ron called them to attention and waited for orders. He could see in the early morning light that Sgt. Tsur and a few other men were in conference with Lt. Glick.

Sgt. Tsur saw Ron and motioned for him to join them. He jogged along side the vehicles until he reached the lead APC and saluted.

Lt. Glick returned the salute, "The residents of Siderot are starting to return since they heard we were coming…Have your men climb on board the Achzarits and ride on top into the town."

Sgt. Tsur could see that Ron didn't quite understand what was going on, "The good citizens want to see a show of power, nothing like lots of armored machines with men riding on top for a show of force."

"Yes, I see, I'll have them on of the Achzarit then." Ron said as he snapped a salute and turned to leave.

Lt. Glick held up a hand, "Just a minute, word of warning, the village has been deserted for a few weeks so tell your men to watch for suspicious activity or booby traps."

Ron nodded and snapped another salute and ran back to his vehicle. Lieutenant Glick laughed, "Do you think he is excited?"

Sergeant Tsur nodded, "He loves this, Golani's are good for wanting to see a good fight."

He ran back to his APC and relayed the information to the men they all looked very excited, "So climb up on top of the Achzarit have your rifles visible, magazines in the gun chamber a round and make sure your safeties are on."

One of the privates asked Ron a question, "We heard gunfire what is going on?"

Ron squinted trying to remember his name, "Private Keinon is it?" The private nodded and he continued briefing his unit, "We spotted bad guys out along the edges of the farm fields about 800 meters out and opened fire on them…There are hostiles around so watch for suspicious things and beware of booby traps…Do not get killed on the first day out."

The men scrambled on top of the APC and began looking around, Ron took his seat next to Barak and waited for order to move out, _"I have got to find a decent rifle once we hit Siderot."_

Once the order to resume was given they rolled on through more farm fields and then the village started to appear in the distance, it was bigger than Ron had thought and once they got closer he could see burned out buildings from the Kassam missile attacks that had caused the evacuation of the town.

Then he could see people starting to gather on the streets, women and old men, the occasional child cheering them as they rolled through the streets, the drove through to the outskirts of town where they ran into more armor that was yelling good natured taunts at the new arrivals.

Ron took off his headset as he prepared to exit the APC and yelled at the armor guys, "You no longer have to be afraid the infantry has arrived."

This brought about more jeers and he grinned as he hit the ground and turned to his men, "Wait here and do not wonder off."

He rejoined the Lieutenant Glick and Sergeant Tsur and Corporal Suggs to get orders, "Corporal Stoppable, Corporal Suggs, get your men over to the chow wagon and get them fed and wait for further orders."

Ron held up a hand, "Is there anywhere I can get a new rifle, this Negev has seen better days."

Sgt. Tsur grabbed the rifle from Ron and looked it over, made a face and handed it back to him, "I will see what I can do, now see to your men."

He left with Suggs, "Are you riding in the commander's seat in your Achzarit or on the gun?"

Suggs looked at him, "Gun…You?"

Ron smiled, "Gun…There are no other sergeants in this company?"

Suggs stopped in front of his APC, "Our company Golani, you are assigned to this company…Now to answer your question there is a Sergeant Ankiel he is real gung ho type until there is a fight, then he is always sick….Or so I am told."

Ron nodded, "I have to get back to the men, where is the chow wagon?"

Suggs pointed to a large truck where a group of men were gathered and he nodded and walked back towards his APC, _"I hope they don't have us standing around doing nothing all day."_

He spotted the men sitting against the Achzarit and he was going to yell at them but changed his mind, "Up, time to eat, we will now go and find a good meal at the chow wagon…All except Private Penis who will stay and guard the Achzarit."

"But…I am hungry." Private Penis complained.

Ron smiled at the man, "If I remember I will bring you something back, now remember no sitting down or sleeping on guard duty…I would hate to have to court marshal you for sleeping on guard duty."

He walked with the rest of the men and chuckled as he heard Private Penis yelling at his buddies to bring him back some food. A big grin came over Ron's face, _"I can be a sadistic bastard when I want to be."_

They walked to the truck that had the food, there was a field kitchen being setup and they were handing out MRE's, Ron took the ever popular taste treat of luff and eggs and grabbed a plastic spoon. He pointed at the soldiers from his APC, "Meet back at the Achzarit in half an hour. Make sure and take something back to Penis."

He left the men to find his own little corner of the world; he reached into the leg pocket of his fatigues and pulled out his Ronnunicator to give Kim a call. After a few tries Kim finally answered the call, "Hey, you know what time it is here?"

Ron smiled, "Nope, you look great sitting there in the dark…I assume its night…right."

He couldn't tell if she was smiling or not but it was good to hear her voice, "Kim…You awake?"

"Yea…I'm awake."

The voice was distant and Ron knew that he had woke her up, "Sorry about the late call, I haven't been able to write much and now we're in the field, looks like we're going to be in a fight soon….Thought I'd get a hold of you…in case…" He let the thought trail off.

"Oh, right…I've been keeping busy work and school, I got a 'B' on my first Hebrew test, Monique is pestering me to work with her…She'd kill me if I didn't ask about Tirza."

Ron laughed at the darkened image on the view screen, "I guess he's OK, haven't had much contact with Tulkharm since I was sent to Camp 80…I got my stripe, I'm a corporal now."

He heard her giggle and he smiled, "Well don't think you can start bossing me around."

Ron laughed, "Never"

There was silence and Ron was starting to get nervous, "Ummmm, If anything bad happens…Let mom know you talked to me and give them my love…OK."

He could see her head bobbing up and down in the darkness, "Yea…You be careful OK."

"When have I not ever been careful?"

He saw her moving around and then a light on her night stand popped on, "I'm serious Ron…I want you to come home in May."

Ron swallowed hard, "Yea, looking forward to seeing everyone again, I have to go…Love you."

"Love you too, keep in touch."

He ended the call and finished up his breakfast and made his way past all the other troops back to his APC, Sgt. Tsur was there with a gift, "Do not ask me where I got this but it will need some work cleaning it up."

Ron opened the package and there was a brand new Negev with a laser site, the gun had never been fired and still had a heavy layer of grease on it to keep it from rusting, "This gun will do nicely, do you need my gun?"

The sergeant shook his head, "No keep that one to turn in when we return to base….Report to the Liutenant's APC in one hour for orders."

He grinned and nodded then ran into the APC and retrieved his pack and quickly set about the job of cleaning the weapon to get it ready to fire. He ran a cleaning rod thru the barrel and pushed out all of the packing grease. He worked on the rifle for about thirty minutes and then went out to do some make shift target practice to sight in the gun.

"I am going to sight in this weapon; would anyone else care for some target practice?" Ron asked before he left the men to their own devices.

There were no takers so he shrugged and went out into a field and setup a make shift target and paced off what he believed was a 100 meters. Then he lay on the ground and loaded one of the three hundred round packs into the gun, set it for single fire and touched off five shots.

He walked back out to the target and saw the one jagged hole that could be covered by a dime but the aim was off, low and to the left of what he was aiming at. He removed the small torx wrench from the tool kit that came with the gun and adjusted the sights accordingly.

The gun that the sergeant had given him came with every option you could possibly want, shorter barrel, adapters for using the 30 round box magazines, cleaning kit, tool kit, laser site, Ron smiled and giggled as if it was his birthday. A shiny new gun, now he had confidence that everything was going to work out.

The next effort was closer, and then the third attempt the gun was dead on. Next he turned on the laser site and put the red dot on the bulls eye and squeezed off five more rounds, high to the right. The laser site could be adjusted with a coin, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a argot and brought the sight down and over to what he thought center should be. The second effort was closer yet and then the third was dead on.

He was finally happy with the results and quickly packed up his equipment and headed to the Lt. Glick's APC for orders. There were a group of officers and sergeants and a few corporals standing waiting for orders.

Lt. Glick came out from a large tent, "Situation has changed somewhat, PA gunmen have crossed the border and raided Kefar Azza and have captured an elementary school class of about 12 students and killed the teacher."

Ron shifted his weight and his mood changed as the full impact of what he had just heard sunk in, _"We just went through Kefar Azza on the way here; I wonder if that was the men we fired on before dawn?"_

"So as of right now we have 12 kidnapped elementary school children, and two missing IDF soldiers…The Palestinian Authority have guaranteed their release if we are withdrawn…This is not going to happen." The other men around Ron were muttering and nodding their agreement.

Lt. Glick let the murmuring die down before continuing, "We are sending our armor units to the south to meet up with other infantry units, we will be staying on here to secure this town, we still have reason to believe there are still hostiles in the area keeping tabs on our progress so we will search house to house."

A hand went up, it was Suggs, "With our armor gone we will not have any fire support should things get ugly."

Lt. Glick shook his head, "No, we still have armor in the area and artillery should be arriving within the hour, once evening comes we will have a detachment of cobra gun ships to discourage kassam missile launchs from across the border…We are in very good shape as far as conventional forcers."

Another hand went up from Mecee', "Will there be any paratroopers in the area?"

Lt. Glick eyed Mecee', "We have things in hand we do not need the paratroopers."

There was snickering coming from the other men including Ron, _"Mecee' is going to get so much shit for that."_

"Corporal Stoppable, Sergeant Tsur, Corporal Suggs, remain here with me, the rest of you have your orders and are dismissed." Lt. Glick said as he ended the briefing.

The lieutenant lay a map on a make shift table, "You see how the streets are laid out, there are houses on both sides of the street going back into the village. Corporal Stoppable your squad will be with my squad and we will be working the west side of the street…Sgt. Tsur and Corporal Suggs, you will be working the houses on the east side of the street."

Ron pointed to the map, "So we are going to work Yehuda Halevi Street, heading south, what we are looking for?"

The Lieutenant smiled, "Do not be in such a rush, I will get to that." The small group laughed and Ron shrugged before Lt. Glick continued, "We will work down Yehuda Halevi Street until we reach Alenby Street, there we should meet up with other infantry units that are searching other streets."

Lt. Glick stopped and took a drink of water from a Styrofoam cup, "Most of these houses are deserted and are locked up tight. We are looking for signs of forced entry, if you encounter signs of forced entry you will notify me at once and then proceed to enter and search the premises from top to bottom and we shall cover you from the outside, the same holds true for when we are checking over the houses…We will take turns every other house."

Ron nodded, "If we encounter any hostiles?"

"Try to take them prisoner, if you can not and are forced to kill them, I will not cry over it." Lt. Glick told him.

Ron eagerly listened to the same orders being issued to Sgt. Tsur and his buddy Suggs, then the briefing was over and the saluted the Liutenant and were ordered to assemble the men outside the APCs in twenty minutes to start the patrol.

He ran back to his APC and quickly assembled the men and did a head count, and came up one short, "Where is Penis?"

Private Barak pointed towards the latrine, "He has only been gone a short time."

He waited to brief the men until the private returned, "Private Penis did I give you permission to leave the Achzarit?"

"No Corporal Stoppable"

Ron got right up into the man's face, "You abandoned your post, if we were not about to go hunting I would have you brought up on charges….Did you wipe when you were finished?"

"Corporal?"

"I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE REALLY DOING IN THERE; YOU WERE MASTURBATING BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO WAR WITH A REAL SOLDIER, A GOLANI SOLDIER." Ron finished yelling at the man once he was assured he had everyone's attention. "I got some information for you Penis, while you were in that latrine dumping your children onto the ground, I was receiving our orders." Ron voice was still very loud and abrasive.

Ron turned from the red faced private and walked with his hands behind his back to the center of the group, "Earlier this morning a group of PA gunman crossed the border and attacked an elementary school in Kefar Azza, they took 12 children and killed their teacher. They have requested that we leave and they will in return send the children home. The Government had two clear choices in my mind, send for good Golani soldiers or work with what they have here."

Ron paused for effect, "They decided to work with what they have on hand…Pity, this is the kind of shit all good Golani's pray for, WAR…It is wasted on you but we will make due."

He was worked up and feeling his oats, "We are going out on a patrol, we are hunting bad men, and if we are lucky we will get to KILL BAD MEN, BOOYAHAHAHAHAHA."

Once he had calmed down he issued the orders, "Light packs, we may be crawling in and out of windows and the last thing you need is getting an entrenching tool hung up on a window sill…Two canteens, Rifles, round in the chamber, safeties on, fingers on the trigger guard not the trigger…Don't need to get all excited and start killing each other."

Then Ron spun to face Private Penis, "You are lucky Penis, you will not have to worry about shooting your friends accidentally because you are going to pull point duty…This should help fuel those fantasies for the next time you decide to dump your children on the dusty ground."

Private Penis glared at Ron but said nothing, Ron just grinned at the man, _"I think he really wants to kill me, better keep him on point all the time…This is great, I can handle sergeant duties when they come my way…I better tone it down some after the patrol, start pumping sunshine up their asses about what a great job they did yadda, yadda, yadda."_

He saw Lt. Glick's squad approaching and quickly called his to attention, the men quickly lined up and stood at attention, Ron saluted, the Lieutenant returned the salute, "Corporal Stoppable are your men up for a patrol today?"

Ron smiled, "Yes Officer, the men are eager for this patrol."

The Lieutenant smiled, "After you then Corporal Stoppable."

Ron quickly saluted and turned to the men, "Penis take point, the rest of you 5 meter intervals, remember rifles battle ready, fingers on trigger guards, MOVE OUT."

He fell in behind Private Penis and he made sure to keep his finger on the trigger, not the trigger guard. The men marched down the road back into Sederot, to sweep the abandoned houses to make sure that they would be safe for the residents of the village to return to live and work their farms.

* * *

Monique met up with Kim at the Student Union as was their daily routine. Monique was excited, she had received another email from Tirza and was happily telling Kim all about it.

"So he says he can come to Middleton with Ron and can't wait to see me." She gushed.

Kim smiled, "I heard from Ron last night, woke me up…Said he's being sent into a fight."

Monique nodded, "Yea, Tirza and Sergei are disappointed that their units are being left out…Doesn't bother me one bit."

Kim nodded, "Yea, I kind of wish Ron was being left out too."

"So you have the link with him, what's he doing?" Monique asked.

She shook her head, "I don't know what he's doing but I can tell he's excited…Hope this whole thing blows over and he gets sent back to Tirza and Sergei."

Monique nodded; she could see that Kim was worried about Ron. She was used to being in on the action and now he was in a sitch that she could do nothing for him. Monique put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure this will turn out to be nothing and he'll be back here in no time."

Kim nodded sadly, "Yea….I hope so too."

They finished up their break and then went to their next classes totally unaware of just how bad the violence was going to escalate on the other side of the planet, or just how involved Ron was going to be involved in the entire situation.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N A friend recently hipped me to the stats function on this site and was surprised to discover how many people actually were reading my stories. Thank you very much, I always thought I was just writing for an audience of two or three...I figured my stories were only appealing to a select few...Wow.

Thanks for reading.

* * *

Ron marched up the street, he noticed the large heavy steel shutters that covered the windows on the four family units that were lined up and down the street, he looked across the street and saw Sgt. Tsur and his buddy Cpl. Suggs making their way towards their first house, he could see other Nahal soldiers doing the same on other streets.

They approached the first four family unit and Ron reached out and put a hand on Pvt. Penis, "Do not stand in front of windows, peek in them and move under them, if there are bad guys in there they can shoot you threw the glass, do not give them a target."

The private nodded that he understood the advice and did as he was instructed. Ron to window next and took a quick peek inside. He saw nothing out of the ordinary just an empty room.

They reached the door and Ron called a halt. He saw Lt. Glick's squad break off and begin to envelop the property to cover the exits in case anyone was to try and sneak past the squad going into the house.

He quickly huddled the men together, "Have you had urban combat training yet?"

They shook their heads that they hadn't, Ron nodded, "Fine, Barak you will take Keinon, Katz, Stoil and Hoffman, take up positions on the stairs, do not stand in front of the doors, they can shoot thru doors and then you will be in a world of hurt…Make no move to go upstairs until I get there…Understood?"

Private Barak nodded nervously, Ron gave his orders to the rest of the men, "The rest you will form up behind Penis and myself and hold the lower floor, same warning, do not stand in front of the doors.

Ron folded the stock on his Negev machine gun decreasing it's length by nearly half, the 16 inch barrel and receiver was just under 30 inches long and combined with the 300 round nylon pouch that held the belt that fed the gun he had over whelming fire power at his disposal.

He motioned for Penis to enter the building and then he motioned his men to stand aside as Pvt. Barak and his small group quickly moved past to take the stairs. Ron then motioned for Penis to stand on the other side of the door, once he was in position he reached down and tried the knob he twisted it and found it to be locked.

He quickly examined the door for signs of forced entry there were none, he nodded and then slid quietly across the hall to the next door and found it like the first one, locked. Ron ordered the other men to stay where they were and he went to the stairs and took the other group upstairs.

They followed the same routine as they did down stairs, first door locked, no sign of forced entry, the next door the men got a surprise, the door was tugged open with Ron tried the knob.

Guns were quickly raised and Ron saw that it was an elderly woman, "GUNS DOWN, GUNS DOWN."

The woman looked at the men bewildered, "Yes, can I help you."

Ron let out a deep breath and smiled, "Sorry to bother you, we are going house to house looking for terrorists. Did you just return recently?"

The woman nodded, "Yes, me and Mr. Booboo came home last night; the rest of the building is empty."

He nodded, "Have you noticed anything suspicious in the other units?"

She shook her head, "No…But you need to do something about those rockets, we had to leave every morning 6:00 AM, nothing but rockets, day in day out."

Ron nodded, "We are trying to stop that, thank you for your help."

They walked back down the stairs, Barak was sweating, "She scared the hell out of me, I almost shot her."

He shook his head at the memory, "You are not the only one…Penis take point walk us right out the door we came in from."

Penis nodded and turned and walked out the door, once outside Ron was approached by Lt. Glick, "You were in there a very long time."

"The men have not had urban combat training yet, so we had to get organized, we also found a little old lady and her cat in unit 3." Ron told as he took a rag out of his pocket and wiped his face.

Lt. Glick nodded and looked towards the next house, "We will run across a few of the residents that have returned, we will take the next building."

Ron quickly gathered his men together again, "The lieutenant and his men are going to search the next house, and we are going to provide fire support in case it goes badly or someone gets by them…Barak take your group and spread out in front of the house to where you can see the sides, Penis go to the far side of the rear and we will key off you."

He watched as Penis ran to the end of the house and he held up a hand when he was far enough, then he send the next man and the next, and then one more, finally there was just himself and two other men. He took a knee and the others did as he did. Ron looked over at the two men, "I do not remember your names. What are your names?"

The one closest to him turned and said nervously, "Private Uzi Diamant, I'm from Jerusalem."

Ron turned and looked him over, _"OK he sort of looks like a mouse, long nose, sliver of a mustache…Diamant…Jerusalem…OK"_

"Jerusalem…Never heard of it."

Then he smiled, "Corporal Ronald Stoppable, I am from Middleton, Colorado…United States."

"So you are not only crazy but an American too?" The other private asked and then he suddenly wishing he hadn't said anything.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "And you are…who?"

The boy was almost shaking, "Private Gregory Ostrovsky…I am from Bat Hannah."

He nodded and looked back towards the house, "Russian?"

The boy smiled nervously, "Yes…My parents made Aliyah here in the 90's."

"I was going to look for a place in Bat Hannah with a friend of mine from Lithuania before I was transferred here…And for your information I am not crazy…just slightly insane." Ron said with a reassuring grin.

The two privates laughed nervously and Ron saw the Lieutenant walk out of the door, "Time to move out, it's our turn again."

Ron ran to the Lt. Glick and he motioned him past, "The building is empty."

He nodded his understanding and pointed at Penis, "Point, we take the next house."

Penis rolled his eyes, and turned to move out when they heard the crackle of small arms fire from up the street, Ron quickly turned to Lt. Glick who chuckled and nodded his head, "Take three men with you and check it out."

Ron smiled, "Penis, Ostrovsky, Barak come with me."

Penis looked green but fell in behind Ron and they ran crouched over towards the gunfire. At the end of the block he could see what was going on there were two men hiding behind a small stone wall that marked the outside boundaries of the village and they were firing at other IDF forces in front of them.

The two men would pop up and shoot, then Ron looked past them and realized they were just holding the others down as two more men about a thousand meters out worked their way around trying to catch the other soldiers in a cross fire.

Ron urgently whispered to the men, "Lie down on the ground and do not fire until I open up on the ones way over there." Ron pointed at the two that were closest. "Then kill those two."

Penis looked at him like he was crazy, "That is at least 1,000 meters you will never hit them."

He clicked the stock into place and deployed the bi-pod and turned the rear site as high as it would go, "Level 7 marksman, watch and learn."

Ron steadied his breathing and waited for a target to appear, the two men were now working their way down Yehuda Halevi Street, _"Penis is right, this is going to be a long shot and then once I shoot the two closest will realize where we are and turn on us….I hope these guys can shoot."_

One of the men finally stopped long enough to open fire on the other soldiers that Ron could finally get off a shot. He saw the man spin and fall, he wasn't sure where he hit him but knew that he had hit him.

His friend suddenly appeared to try and drag his buddy out of harms way and then Ron dropped him. Suddenly he heard three rifles open up and begin firing next to him and then there was silence.

Penis's eyes were bright, "You did get both of them, you were not just pissing."

Ron giggled wildly, "Level 7 marksman."

Lt. Glick and the rest of Ron's men came forward, the lieutenant was smiling, "I thought I told you to just take a look."

"Targets of opportunity?" Ron replied nervously.

"So who shot who?" Lt. Glick asked.

Ron pointed at the two bodies closest to them, "Penis, Ostrovsky and Barak shot these men and I shot the two further up the street…Penis what is your real name anyway?"

Penis brightened, "Daniel Karman"

"All right Karman, Ostrovsky and Barak shot these two; I shot the ones up the street." Ron said happily.

The Lieutenant squinted, "What two up the street."

Ron pointed to where the other soldiers had gathered, "The two way over there."

Lt. Glick shot him a look, "That is at least a 1,000 meters."

"At least…yes." Ron said happily.

They looked at the two bodies that were closest to them, Sergeant Tsur had joined them by this time, he had reached down and pulled off one of the men's kafiya, "He is not Palestinian, he is European."

There was a murmur coming up from the men around him. Ron shook his head trying to figure it out when the lieutenant spoke up, "He is a gangster, Russian mafia, smuggler or both."

Ron nodded at this new information, _"Wow, didn't expect this."_

His concentration was broken as another young corporal jogged up and saluted Lt. Glick, "Lieutenant Giladi was trying to find out who shot the European men over there."

Ron held up his hand, "I did."

The Corporal blinked, "Where did you shoot them from?"

Ron turned and pointed behind him, "From there by the second to last unit from the end."

The corporal looked at the spot and then turned to look up the road to where he had come from, "That was some good shooting, two shots, two dead."

He smiled and shrugged, "Level 7 marksman."

The Corporal straightened up, "Sir, Lt. Giladi would like a few words with this man."

Lt. Glick motioned with his hand, "Lead the way…I think we better come with you…In case you run into trouble."

Ron nodded nervously and began the long walk up the road he glanced at the houses they were supposed to have been searching; he noticed a few had large gouges in the masonry where the occasional Kassam had hit. He stumbled on a piece of brick and kicked it out of the way.

The two crumpled bodies were lying on the ground, Lt. Glick stepped forward, "Avner, I think you wanted to talk to my young Golani corporal here."

Lt. Giladi was smiling and clucking like a chicken, "Amazing, Europeans, I should have known, they didn't fight like Palestinian's, we had been flanked and before they could catch us in a cross fire they both fall down…Amazing….Golani you say…No wonder…You men are blood thirsty?"

Lt. Glick nodded, "Yes, shock trooper, he must have been 1,100 meters out when he made his shots."

"Really where were you at when you shot them?" The Lieutenant asked.

Ron turned and pointed, "Second house from the end of the street."

"Amazing, well your kill, you get first crack." The lieutenant informed him.

Ron looked at Lt. Glick who started to laugh, "You get to go first on looting the bodies."

Lt. Giladi frowned, "To the victor go the spoils it is not looting."

"Search the men and take what you want." The Lieutenant explained.

He fell on the first man and started to go through his things, he pulled out a Glock, _"Matching pair." _Then he pulled the man's wallet out of his pocked, no identification but there was 500 shekels in increments of 20 in the wallet, now it was in Ron's pocket, he picked up the man's AK47, it was new only been fired a few times. He rummaged around and came up with three magazines for the Kalishnikov rifle and three for the glock.

He handed the AK47 to Sgt. Tsur, "Thank you for coming up with my Negev."

The sergeant nodded and slung the gun over his shoulder and Ron went back to work, he found a large knife in a scabbard on the man's leg, now it was Ron's knife. He went to the next body and found the same items on it, _"Sweet now I have three glock pistols…Whoa what is this?"_

He pulled out the lighter and handed it to Lieutenant, "What does the emblem mean?"

Lt. Glick raised an eyebrow and pitched the lighter back to Ron, "GRU, Russian Special Forces."

Ron caught the lighter and then turned and looked at the two men he had shot, one he had hit in the chest and the other he had shot through the neck, "Ohhhhh…I see."

He finished going through the men's belongings, he took his pack off his back and began to load it up with his new booty, "I think I am finished here."

Ron stood up and slung his new AK47 over his shoulder, he heard a voice offer him three hundred shekels for the rifle, he laughed, "Kill your own guy."

They began to walk back to where they had come from; he could see Karman, Ostrovsky and Barak were anxious to get a crack at the men they just shot. Ron turned and looked at Lt. Glick and motioned at the three men, "Do they get a crack at the ones they shot?"

Lt. Glick frowned, "I do not believe in grave robbing but you can post a guard on the men and what happens…happens."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes Officer." Then he turned and looked a the three men, "Karman, Barak, Ostrovsky you will stand guard here with these two bodies while the rest of us resume our house searching."

The men smiled and stopped by the bodies, Ron had a big grin and winked at the men, _"Christmas….this is just like Christmas…A very Jewish Christmas."_

They were nearly finished with the house to house searches, it had been at least four hours since the mornings action, Ostrovsky and Barak had rejoined the squad and were busy comparing their war spoils when Ron looked up to the second story of one of the four unit buildings and spotted something strange he held up and hand and took a knee the rest of the men behind him did the same.

The former Private Penis, now Daniel Karman crept forward with a happy grin on his face, "More bad guys to shoot?"

"Maybe…You notice anything strange about that unit in front of us?" Ron asked.

He shook his head that he didn't, Ron pointed to the second floor, "Notice they have plastic covering the windows and the heavy steel shutters are not closed, looks like they are not afraid to have Kassam land in their living room."

Lt. Glick moved forward, "Why have you stopped?"

Ron quickly explained his suspicions and the Lieutenant nodded, "That is a good observation…Now go check it out."

He nodded and made motioned for Karman to move out on point. They began to move under the windows of the first unit when Karman quickly held up his hand and signaled that someone was on the ground floor.

Ron crept closer to the window and stuck his head to look inside. It was the kitchen and he could see a burner on the small white gas stove was lit and there was a pan on top of the burner. An older man in boxer shorts and an old t-shirt entered the kitchen and picked up a spoon and began to stirring something in the pot.

He gave Private Karman a hand signal to move forward and signaled everyone to stay under the window. The men did as he asked and they walked up the three concrete stairs to the front door.

Private Penis turned the door knob and silently crept inside followed by Ron and the rest of the men, Karman, Ron, Ostrovsky, Diamont, and Pvt. Hoffman held back for Pvt. Barak and his group to mount the stairs to the second floor.

Ron turned and pointed to the door of the occupied unit and signaled the men not to worry about it. Then he walked up to the door across the hall and tried the knob, it was locked.

He then went to the stairs and moved past Pvt. Barak and motioned for him and his group to follow him, he went up to the door on the right and tried the knob it was locked. Now it was time to try the door for the unit that had caught his attention outside.

He walked over to the door and saw that the door frame had been been damaged, it appeared that the door had actually been kicked in at one time. Ron licked his lips and tried the knob, it was locked.

He stood there thinking it over and then he made his decision, he turned and whispered to the group, "I am going to kick down the door and roll left, you will follow men and roll to your right." Then he pointed at the other two men, "You will follow me left, you will follow Barak to the right…Is that clear?"

He leaned back and kicked the door there was a loud crack as the door splintered around the knob fell to the ground off its hinges. The door had just fallen to the ground and Ron had already entered the room with his weapon ready to fire.

Barak followed and moved right an then the other men came in soon after, the apartment appeared to be deserted, Ron silently crept through the hallway and looked into a bedroom, nothing empty, he saw the bathroom, nothing there.

The next door was closed he reached for the door knob and turned it, the knob turned and Ron eased the door open except for the large cache of machine guns, bullets, rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades, land mines, remote detonators, plastic explosives and hand guns it was empty.

Barak caught up to him and stood next to him in astonishment looking at all the implements of war and shook his head, Ron turned to the man and whispered, "Dibs on the RPG's."

Ron sent Pvt. Keinon to find Lt. Glick and bring him to the room; he looked at Barak and smiled, "Spoils of war."

He began giggling and quickly took his pack off and began shoveling grenades, boxes of bullets, two more glock pistols, three RPG rockets; he shoved another glock into the waist band of his pants when the Lt. Glick walked in.

Lt. Glick shook his head and in a loud clearly angry voice he announced his presence to everyone in the room, "Corporal Stoppable…What do you think you are doing?"

Ron quickly stood up and saluted, "Helping myself to the spoils of war."

"Put back everything that you have taken this is evidence and needs to be cataloged."

He blinked, "Everything?"

Lt. Glick nodded, "Everything"

"I can not keep any of the pistols, no RPG's…no rifles…grenades, I can keep a few grenades?" Ron was desperate for a souvenir.

The Lieutenant shook his head and Ron began putting all of the stuff back, "I can not keep anything?"

Lt. Glick began to feel a small amount of pity for Ron who had only hours earlier learned of the grand tradition of looting the dead; he picked up a piece of paper off one of the crates, "You can keep this."

Ron rolled his eyes and reached for the paper only to have Lt. Glick snatch it away quickly, "Just a ininute." He began reading the paper and then looked up in astonishment, "This is big, all of this contraband came thru Haifa."

He shook his head, "Sooo…I can have the RPG's then?"

Lt. Glick shot him a look, "No, it means those men that you and your men shot down may have been coming to town to try and recover all of this."

"That was my next guess." Ron said as looked at the stash of goodies that he knew he could use back at Tulkharm.

"What are you going to do with all that stuff anyway?"

The question took a while to register, then a broad grin came over his face, "I figure I could use it for when I get shipped back to Tulkharm…Base mafia, get a couple of pairs of those tybus fatigues, I can get a car loaned to me for leave, really good cuts of meat…and favors from the lady soldiers that participate…although I am told they will not sleep with anyone lower than a second lieutenant, but I can always dream."

Lt. Glick stared at him, "You participate in this black market?"

"No, I never had anything good enough to trade before….With this stuff I could live like a king on base." Ron said happily.

The lieutenant shook his head, "Golani's are a different breed…I will inventory this contraband personally and then seal the room. Your men will spend the night in the living room to guard this in case anyone comes looking for it…Is that clear Corporal Stoppable."

Ron noticed the shift in tone and knew there was no arguing he snapped a quick salute, "Yes officer…Ostrovsky, Keinon, get the plastic off these windows and close those steel shutters…I do not want to worry about a stray kassam blowing us to bits while we sleep."

Karman pulled Ron aside, "I know where you can get those tybus fatigues, may cost you a knife though."

Ron looked around to see if anyone was listening, "We will talk later."

"_Tybus fatigues, real tight cut through the crotch, show off the Ron Man's package…oh yea."_ Ron thought happily as he helped prepare the small room for the men to sleep in overnight.

When things had calmed down Ron sent a couple of men back to the chow wagon to grab a selection of MRE's for their evening meal. When they returned he settled down in a corner of the room and began to look over what he had taken off the men he had shot.

He picked up the lighter and twirled it around in his hands, opened it up and turned the sparking wheel and watched as the flame appeared, then he closed the lid and put the lighter aside, _"If I smoked this could be useful…Kim will like it."_

Then he picked up the knife he had two they were the same both the same model, _"Boker Applegate Fairbairn…Shiny, sharp…the knife just screams deadly."_

Ron looked up, "Who took the knives off the other men?"

Karman raised a hand, "I have them, two Gerber knives…blade is about 150 centimeters, black."

He handed the knife to Ron and he looked it over, "This knife looks pretty cool, I will trade you one of my Boker…Applegate Fairbairns for the Gerber."

The man shook his head, "The penis in me says no…Maybe for a pistol."

Ron smiled, "The penis in you is thinking too highly of the knife…How about the glock for the knife and 300 shekels?"

"Knife and 200 shekels"

Ron smiled, "Knife and 250 shekels…I will throw in two spare magazines."

"Done" Karman said as he pulled out his wallet and handed Ron the 250 shekels.

He quickly retrieved one of the glock model 19 pistols from his pack and two magazines and handed them to Karman, "I do not know why but I think I got the bad end of this one."

Ron examined his new prize, _"Gerber Silver Trident…Cool"_

Karman smiled, "Now I have something to trade back at Camp 80 with the mafia there."

"Did you get a rifle?" Ron asked as he picked up the AK47 and laid it on the ground

Karman shook his head, "No I can get those all day long, Ostrovsky bring us your rifle."

Ostrovsky smiled and brought over his new prize, "Romanian made good quality."

They began field striping and cleaning the weapons; Ron had never handled the AK47 before and was watching Ostrovsky dismantle his, "No rotate the bolt clockwise and it pull it out of the carrier."

Ron nodded and did as he was instructed, once the gun was apart he took out his cleaning kit and gave the gun a good once over and then began to reassemble it, making sure to watch Gregory to see how he was doing it.

Ostrovsky finished his gun and pulled out a cigarette, "Corporal let me borrow that lighter of yours."

He fished it out of his pocket and tossed it to him, Ostrovsky eyed the light and then smiled, "Trade you for the lighter…What you want for it?"

"I don't know, what do you have?" Ron said absent mindedly as he began examining the short stubby 7.62mm round the Russian gun fired.

Ostrovsky grinned, "I will let you screw my sister."

Ron looked up and grinned, "How do I know it would not be you in a wig?"

Karman began laughing, "He do not miss much Gregory."

Ostrovsky chuckled, "Seriously, I can get you a pair of those tybus fatigues."

He nodded and held out his hand, "Pants first, then you get the lighter."

Ostrovsky nodded and pitched Ron his lighter, Ron looked at Karman, "Never did find out where your from and what the hell your problem was."

Karman smiled, "I am from the T and the A."

Ron nodded recognizing the hip hop lingo for Tel Aviv, "And"

"And, the IDF is such bullshit, defend the homeland and all that, it's nothing but poor guys that can not get work and who did poorly in school…You get your draft notice and if your rich and well connected, you go and plant flowers and bushes for a couple of weeks for the next three years." Karman explained as he was becoming angry as he thought about the draft.

"So what are you, poor or poor in school?"

Karman eyed him, "Both"

Ron chuckled, "Me too, not good with school, nowhere near rich, came over here from the United States, joined the Golani before I could be drafted."

Karman began laughing, "They do not draft you lone soldiers anymore."

He looked up and nodded, "Now you tell me."

Ostrovsky began laughing, "So you volunteered…You are crazy."

"I told you, I am not crazy, just slightly insane." Ron reminded him.

Karman looked at him, getting the measure of Ron, "So if you had it to do over again would you?"

Ron finished cleaning his Negev and thought about it, "Yes, I made good friends in basic…They are at Tulkharm…or they might be out here somewhere, not sure now. If I did not do this, I just do not know what I would be doing…Making shit money working in a store, cookingor something…At least here, I make shit money and get to carry a gun."

Karman nodded, "Subliminal fan?"

"Oh yea, I only have one CD, but I heard enough to know that he gets it." Ron told him.

There were nods from the other men in the room then Ron called an end to the festivities, "It is time for sleeping, 0600 comes early and then we will get to dodge kassams before Shabbat Services."

* * *

Six o'clock in the morning came sooner than he expected, he awoke to the missile warning alert tone coming from the villages PA system, the alarm droned on and on and in the distance Ron could hear the muffled thuds of kassams landing somewhere far in the distance. 

Ron quickly scrambled to his feet, "Everyone up and head downstairs, we do not want to be here if that room gets hit."

The men quickly awoke and began scrambling around gathering their gear and heading for the stairwell where they met a group of soldiers heading up the stairs.

Ron recognized Cpl. Suggs and smiled, Suggs returned the smile, "Lt. Glick has ordered me to relieve you and your men of guard duty, you are ordered to the field kitchen for food and morning services."

"Good, the room is your headache now." Ron said as she started to push past him.

Suggs laughed, "Why so nervous Ronnie? Those Palestinians never hit anything."

Before he could finish his statement there was a loud explosion that was very close to the building they were in, the ground shook and the lights flickered off and on again. Ron turned and looked at the man, "Cpl. Suggs, we stand relieved." Then he and his men ran from the building.

After breakfast and services Ron and the rest of men were laying around the Achzarit, they had received mail, there was a letter for him from Kim and a package from his mother. He shoved the letter in his shirt pocket to read when he was alone and then opened the package from his mother.

He opened the letter and read it:

"_Ron_

_I talked with the Oester's and they said that you were complaining about the lack of good candy in your PX so I went to Smarty Mart and boxed up a care package for you, inside is candy and other goodies, I also sent you some toilet paper."_

Ron smiled, _"MOM YOU ROCK!"_

He looked at the package and smiled and returned to the letter.

"_Your sister is starting to get a mouthful of teeth and gnaws on stuff, I put her latest pictures inside the box. _

_Your father and I are doing well, we both miss you very much. You need to write more often. We look forward to seeing you in May._

_I saw crazy Kimmie the other day in Smarty Mart, she is a brunette now...I'm so glad you became engaged to Bonny and forgot about Kim."_

Ron looked up from the letter, _"What?"_

He shook his head, _"Sounds like something I'll have to straighten out later."_

He smiled and closed his eyes, _"Bonny sure is persistent…Hope Kim don't hear about this or she'll be back wanting to fight her again."_

Ron looked at the package and saw that it was postmarked after Kim left and then looked at the letter again:

"_Your father has turned your room into an office so when you come home in May you can either stay in the basement or if you bring Bonnie along I'm sure the Rockwaller's can find room for you._

_I hope you can bring Bonnie, she's such a pretty girl. _

_Her mother and I are already planning for the big day, so don't keep us in suspense any longer, when are you two getting married?_

_I bet your getting aggravated with me so I'll leave the subject alone for now. I have been watching TV and things are looking bad over there again, please be careful. _

_We'll be looking forward to seeing a letter from you SOON._

_Love_

_Mom"_

Ron laughed and opened the package, _"Looks like I'll be making a trip to Netanya when I get some leave."_

Once the package was open he quickly stashed the toilet paper in his pack and started to rifle through the candy and munchies, _"Hershey, Payday, Blow Pops, Beef Jerky, Booyah."_

Ron looked up and smiled, "Hey I have a box of candy from home, you guys want any?"

Suddenly Ron became the center of attention as he was handing out candy bars and other goodies that were in the box, his cheek stuck out a ridiculous angle as he sucked on a blow pop and soon the men were sitting around trying the candy and enjoying their new found discoveries.

He looked up at the Achzarit and pointed to it, "You know this thing looks awfully plain, desert tan and all…I think it would look cool with a set of sharks teeth on the front."

Karman was savoring his payday candy bar, "I think we could get into trouble if we paint the APC."

Ron nodded, "Yes, I don't think they would do anything until after the crises is over though."

Lt. Glick was inspecting the APC's, the inspection was completely informal as the Shabbat was still in effect he saw the last one on the end and shook his head, "These guys kill a few men and they think they are Sayeret Matkal."

"What do you think, pretty scary stuff, eh'" Ron asked the Lieutenant.

Lt. Glick chuckled, "I hopethose shark teethwill wash off easily or there will be some very angry motor pool people looking for you."

Ron bit his lower lip and lifted his eyebrows, "Never thought of that."

"Be at my Achzarit at sundown, we will be moving into Gaza shortly." The lieutenant said suddenly sounding very tired.

Lt. Glick turned and walked away shaking his head. He ran across Sgt. Tsur, "Sergeant, who is the bad influence with that APC, Cpl. Stoppable or the men…Who is influencing who over there?"

Sgt. Tsur smiled, "Golani's think differently."

Lt. Glick chuckled, "I feel like I'm living the movie the Dirty Dozen…are you familiar with that one?"

"Yes, Charles Bronsan…Not a bad comparison…Most of those guys were headed back to civilian life, Karman to a military prison…I think it fits well." The sergeant observed.

Lt. Glick turned and looked at Ron's APC one more time and shook his head at what was painted on the side other than the sharks teeth, "Death Machine...I hope this is a short war."

* * *

Wade thought that he had taken all the possible precautions when he arranged Kim and Monique's insertion into Israel. He thought he had covered all his bases and all of his tracks. Unfortunately for him the credit card companies want to get paid. So they billed the real Christy Carlson Romano and Raven-Symoné before Wade could log the cards as paid and have them cancelled. 

Christy Carlson Romano was having the worst day of her young life; she had just received a Master Card statement in the mail for close to $18,000 and she was not happy about it and wasn't shy about letting her agent know about it, "No David, I did not run up these charges, I was never in Israel, I most definitely do not shop Club Banana."

She stopped to listen to her agent David Monroe with Creative Artist Agency, who is currently representing her, "Look Christy, I think it's obvious you are the victim of some sort of identity theft, let me make some calls and I'll get back in touch with you."

"Yea alright David, but I want answers not excuses, I work for Disney I don't make anywhere near this kind of money for the minimum payment…You know the routine, call me, beep me…if you want to reach me." She reminded him as she ended the call on her cell phone.

"Girl did I hear you say Israel?"

Christy was startled by the voice, she had thought she was alone, "Yessssss…Raven someone stole my identity and rang up a bunch of charges on a Master Card."

Raven-Symoné nodded, "You too, they got to me for a little over $14,000, including a week in the wedding suite at the King David Hotel in Tel Aviv."

"Raven, I have no idea what I'm going to do, I'm getting married…This isn't happening." A much stressed Christy told her friend.

"Tell me about it, I'm going to be singing in amusement parks till I'm 30." Raven said sadly.

Christy's cell phone rang and she looked at the caller idea, it read 'Not Available' so she decided to answer it, on the other end she thought she could hear a young teenage boy trying to disguise his voice, "Ummm…Is this Christy Carlson Romano?"

She hit the mute button and looked at Raven, "My day just keeps getting worse, now I got an obsessed fan on the phone." She hit the mute button again, "Yes it is."

"Ummm…This is Mister…Mann with the…Ummm Master Card Company…We seem to have made a mistake in your billing." The voice told her over the phone.

"Ohhhhhh Good, you caught the error, I was getting so stressed out about this…So I don't have to pay the bill then?" She asked just to make sure.

The voice on the other end was trying to remain calm, "Is Raven-Symoné with you by any chance."

Christy looked at the cell phone and handed it to Raven, "He wants to talk to you now."

Raven had a puzzled look on her face as she accepted the phone, "Hello?"

"Ummm…Yes…Is this Raven-Symoné?" The voice asked.

"Yes" She said as she looked at Christy and pointed at the phone, Christy shook her head and shrugged.

The voice on the phone began to speak again, "We've caught the error on the Master Card so you won't be held responsible for the large bill that you received."

Raven let out a deep breath, "Oh that is great news, thank you…I don't have to sing in amusement parks till I'm 30 now."

On the other end of the phone fifteen year old Wade Load decided to go for broke on his first real major crush, "You know Ms. Symoné …I'm a really big fan of yours and it would mean a lot to me if I could get an autographed bra from you."

Raven's jaw dropped, "Ewwwwwwww…STALKER, STALKER"

She threw the phone back at Christy who hung up on the caller, "What was that all about."

"The creep wanted an autographed bra." She explained.

Christy rolled her eyes, "So you thought about that part?"

Raven shook her head, "No…I don't know, explain it to me again."

"OK, You know that Steve guy that does those cartoons…Jakie Chan Dragon Master or something like that…He's got this idea for a cartoon show featuring a cheerleader that saves the world with a goofy side kick."

She shook her head, "I can't do it, I've got my own show, I can't play the lead."

Christy narrowed her eyes, "I'm the lead your part would be the token African American female friend to Anna…Anna Conda, and we'll call your character Marion."

Raven made a face, "The name sucks, besides I don't think I'd feel comfortable just doing the show and being the only black girl on it."

Christy had a look of deep concentration as she thought it over, "We'll create a 10 year old computer genius that sends them on secret missions and stuff, call him Bobby or Chips or something."

She shook her head, "So what is…Anna's sidekick named?"

"Biff Badger and he'll have a cute pink flamingo named Rodney as a pet." Christy told her with a big grin.

"Biff Badger…Flamingo?" Raven said in an uncertain tone.

Christy was taken aback for a moment, "Well yea, he even has a religious preference…Scientology."

Raven shook her head, "Christy, no offense but I think you two need to develop the idea a little further, otherwise your going end up cancelled like…my show."

Wade hung up the telephone, picked up a Beuno Nacho napkin and wiped his forehead, _"Damn it, I meant to say picture, what was I thinking about…OK, one problem down now who is insanely rich enough I can dump these credit card charges on them and they won't even notice?"_

It was a pleasant Tuesday afternoon for Tom Cruise, who with his beautiful new wife Katie Holmes were lounging around the swimming pool at their palatial 80,000 square foot weekend house, doing what any self indulgent mega superstars do when they're bored, buying they're very own third world country.

"Senegal, do you think you'd like Senegal?"

Katie Holmes adjusted her sunglasses and looked up from her lounge chair, "That's the country that has an 'S' in it…Right?"

Tom laughed and nodded to his wife, "Yes, there are lots of countries that have the letter 'S' in the name."

Elliott Rogers, the Cruise family's English butler, valet, chauffer, and household business manager approached his none to bright employer, "Sir, we have just been notified of a Master Card that is in your name that has a $32,000 worth of charges on it all from inside of Israel, sir."

Tom sat up in his chair, "That's amazing, do you know what this means Elliott?"

"That someone has stolen your identity sir?"

He laughed and shook his head and looked towards his wife, "No, It's a sign that we need to purchase Israel." Tom looked towards Katie, "Honey the country has an 'S' in it."

Katie looked up at Tom again, "Don't all the people there practice Scientology or something?"

Tom shrugged and smiled, "Well if they don't, they soon will."

Elliott Roger's closed his eyes and shook his head, "Sir, if I might make a suggestion."

Tom was laughing and jumping up and down on his lounge chair, "Go ahead Elliott, your on fire today."

"It might be prudent to have the lifeguard rescue your daughter from the swimming pool since she has been floating face down in the water for quite some time." Elliott said in a flat monotone voice showing neither alarm nor any real concern.

"Oh wow, yea, HEY RENALDO, WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING YOU FOR? RESCUE THE BABY ALREADY." Tom yelled at the sleeping life guard.

"Right away Mr. Cruise." He yelled from the other side of the pool as he quickly dove into the water.

Renaldo quickly plucked the baby from the water and administered CPR and mouth to mouth and the baby choked up a little water and began to breathe again, Katie looked on nervously, "Oh I am so glad she is OK, I was worried that I may have to have another one."

Tom patted her on the shoulder to console her, "Now, now Katie, we'll just buy another one next time."

Katie looked adoringly into her husband's eyes, "Oh Tom, I just love being stupid and rich."

Tom smiled at his wife and then looked towards Elliott with a smile on his face, "Elliott contact Senor Senior Junior and his father again…What was his name…I forget…They did such a great job on selling me Boston, Israel should be a piece of cake for them."

Elliott gave Tom a half bow, "Of course sir at once."

He then turned and walked into back into the house, once he was out of earshot he rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Cretins"

Wade sat in front of his computer screen and breathed a sigh of relief as he watched one of Tom Cruise's many bank accounts silently absorb the $32,000 worth of credit card charges, _"I have got to come up with something better next time."_


	38. Chapter 38

A/N : These next two chapters were actually one really large one so I decided to split them up. Ron contiunes his adventures in the IDF, learns how to wheel and deal and picks up a new inflatible friend.

* * *

The sun had set marking the end of the Shabbat, Ron reported to Lt. Glick's APC for orders, Sgt. Tsur, Cpl. Suggs, Cpl. Mecee, Cpl. Norwich; they waited for Lt. Glick to return from the field head quarters. 

"Hey Ron you really shoot two guys at 1,800 meters." Norwich asked in his heavy South African accent.

Ron enjoyed having his marksmanship arousing so much interest; it appeared that when ever anyone had asked him about it the distances always got longer and longer. He was waiting for the day when someone would ask about the two shots that dropped the Europeans and 15 kilometers, "No Pete it was closer to 1,500 meters."

Sgt. Tsur laughed, "I seem to remember yesterday it was only 1,000 meters."

"You are putting us on Ronnie." Mecee added.

Ron shook his head and waived a hand at the sergeant, "Ahhhhhh, Hey when we were doing the night maneuvers the other night, who sent up the flair?"

Norwich raised a hand, "That was me, I was not far off. I just let those girls get to me. You had a company of girls how did you do it? They really threw me off with all the chattering."

"I just told them if they were real good, I would introduce them to my Golani trouser snake." Ron laughed along with the other men.

"No seriously how did you do it?" Norwich asked again.

He shrugged, "My gals were chattering away, I told them if they did not start observing night discipline then we would break out the stretchers…That got their attention."

"Ahhhhh I wish I would have thought about that." Norwich said as he scratched his chin.

Lt. Glick entered the tent and Sgt. Tsur called the group to attention and they saluted, Lt. Glick returned the salute, 'We are moving out, army intelligence believes they have located the missing school children. They believe they are being transported north in an effort to reach Gaza City."

The Lieutenant pulled out a long rolled up map, "We are here in Sederot, we are going to cross the border here." He pointed to an area on the map. "We will be making a feint towards Gaza City before heading south to link up with the armor and more infantry companies coming up from the south from Nahal Oz."

"So once we cross the border we will be following Salahdeen Road, Highway 4, south till we meet up in Al Qubbah. Once we link up in Al Qubbah we shall envelop the village and prevent them from moving their hostages to Gaza City." Lt. Glick explained as he drew a circle around the village.

Lt. Glick looked up, be ready to move out in twenty minutes, we will be the last company in line, Cpl. Stoppable you will be last in line with your….Death Machine, do you know what that means."

"If we get repulsed, I will be the first one out." Ron said with a big wide grin.

The Lieutenant began rubbing the bridge of his nose; he could feel the familiar pounding of a tension headache starting to set in, "You Golani's make my head hurt, no it means you will be watching our rear, so stay alert."

"You all have your orders now return to your Achzarit's." Lt. Glick ordered as he began to roll up the maps.

Ron made it back to the Death Machine, "Mount up we move out in 15 minutes."

"Corporal"

Ron turned and saw Karman handing him hand grenades, "They had us draw these while you were off with the big shots."

He took the grenades and secured them, "They must be expecting some fighting soon."

They company began to prepare for movement once again, Ron and Barak went over the Achzarit to make sure it was still in good order. They heard the engines start coming to life on the other Achzarit's, "Time to get rolling."

Ron took his seat behind the medium machine gun, he saw the APC next to him join the line and he put on the radio head set, "Time to go hunting."

The Death Machine roared to life and they moved out to join the line headed to Al Qubbah. It didn't take long for them to reach highway 4 and begin their drive to the south. Ron could finally appear out of the hatch now that they turned onto a blacktop road and he wouldn't have to eat sand and dirt from the farm fields and desert that they drove through as they breached the border Once in the open air he realized that he was last in a long line of Achzarit's as they drove in a long line down the road, he thought how from the air it must appear that they were a big long snake moving slowly down the road.

They came to their first intersection was more of a fork and they turned to the right and took a road that headed south west towards Gaza City, _"This must be the feint the lieutenant was talking about."_

The column came to another road that headed back to the east towards highway 4 and turned left on it and then made a right to continue south on highway 4 again. They rode for another few kilometers and Ron could see two large dunes in the distance and the road ran right between them.

Suddenly there was a large flash of light and he could see a Achzarit lift several feet into the air before exploding. He immediately dropped into compartment and closed the hatch as he could hear small arms fire and RPG rounds striking the APC's up in front. Ron was on the radio telling the men in back to quiet down and get their rifles ready, then he tried to raise Lt. Glick but there was too much traffic going back and forth between the other APC's, "Lt. Glick this is Corporal Stoppable, awaiting orders."

He was trying to keep his voice as calm as he could, "This is a delaying tactic, they are only attacking the APC's to the front, get your men together and meet up with Sgt. Tsur…You will clear off the hill to the right, Mecee and I will take the hill on the left side of the road and leave Norwich and Suggs as rear guard."

"Yes Officer"

Ron turned to the radio to talk to the inside of the machine, "We are going to link up with Sgt. Tsur and clear that hill on the right side of the road, Barak take my seat and operate the overhead weapon station, Karman bring me my pack and rifle out…Time to move."

He climbed out of the turrant and let Barak take his place to guard the APC, the door lowered on the back of the vehicle and eight men came scrambling out. Pvt. Karman handed Ron his pack and his rifle.

"We will work forward till we meet up with Sgt. Tsur, night discipline, no talking anything that can rattle or make noise take it off now." Ron told them as he began to move forward.

They moved forward in the in dark, the only light visible was from the burning Achzarit and the explosions from the RPG rounds bouncing off of the APC's just behind it in the column.

Ron could see Sgt. Tsur getting his men ready to take the hill, "Sgt. Tsur we are here."

"We need to get off this road and into the brush, once in the brush we will work our way over to the backside of the hill and try and cut off their escape route…If we draw fire, we attack and forget the plan." The sergeant had his battle blood up.

Ron had his up too, a wild mulish feeling that saw him with a big toothy grin and wild eyes, eager to have at the people on the hill, "We will key off the end of your line."

The Sergeant had a broad grin, "No, key off of me and move parallel and attack the far right when we make our move."

"Booyah"

Ron quickly turned to his men, "Good news, we are now going to kill bad guys, I will key off the sergeant, you will spread out in a line towards the far right, and we are going to push our way up that hill."

He linked up with Sgt. Tsur and began to move forward trying to remain low, he heard fighting from the other side of the road, _"Lt. Glick is hitting the hill."_

From the hill they were assaulting they could see a change in the firing, it wasn't towards them and it wasn't towards the APC's it was across the highway, _"They don't know we're here?"_

Ron looked over at Sgt. Tsur who was grinning before he gave the command, "FORWARD"

They began running up the hill, now they had been spotted, Ron touched off a few rounds in the direction that he had seen someone shoot at him, they were now nearly to the top of the small rise

He could see that there were about six Palestinian's firing across the road, he flipped the lever for full auto and kept running and shooting. The gunfire broke the men up and they started to run back down the hill and met up with the tail end of Ron's squad who quickly began firing at them Ron seen one man fall, he wasn't sure who had shot him.

One of the escaping men tried to fire an RPG but Ron shot him just as he launched the round sending it in a high lazy arc before coming back to earth harmlessly landing in the desert.

Another man turned to face Ron bringing his rifle up and firing wildly. He could hear the tiny sonic booms of the bullets as they flew well over the top of his head before he stopped running took aim and put a round in the center of the man's chest.

This took the fight out of the other men and they threw down their weapons and held up their hands, Ron screamed in his broken Arabic, "On Ground, On Ground"

The men quickly complied, then Ron turned to look back at the top of the hill, he had run up and completely over and down the backside, he could hear sporadic shots but no sustained shooting.

He ordered the other men to search the prisoners. After the fighting was over, silence fell in the desert. Ron walked up to the man that shot the RPG, he smelled of body odor and blood. He shook his head, _"Palestinian, no cool stuff on this guy." _Then he made a search of the man anyway and came across a large shiny dagger that was shaped like an 'S", _"I'd rather had another glock." _

Ron continued going thru his personal effects and found a poster, he unfolded it. It was a picture of the man holding an AK47 in front of some Arabic writing, _"Suicide Bomber?"_ He wadded the poster up and bounced it off of the man's head, _"No virgins for you."_

He searched the other man and came across a pipe, nothing else of interest that he could trade later. Sgt. Tsur's voice caught his attention; the sergeant was standing on top of the hill yelling at him, "What is your situation?"

Ron quickly surveyed his men, "All my men are up, I have 3 dead unfriendly and 3 prisoners."

"March your prisoners up here and we will take them off your hands." Sgt. Tsur called from on top of the hill.

"Karman, Stoil, Katz, Hoffman, escort our lovely new prisoners to the top of the hill." Ron ordered as he looked around to see the faces of his men.

He could still see that Private Keinon still kneeling over the man he shot, he walked over to him and quietly told him, "We need to leave now."

Keinon looked up at Ron, "I…I never shot anyone before."

"You can dwell on it later, now we must move out." Ron said as he grasped the man's shoulder.

Private Keinon stood up and began walking with Ron, "How do you deal with it?"

Ron chuckled and shook his head as they climbed the hill, "I do not know, I used to really think this stuff would bother me…So far it hasn't as least as far as I can tell…I guess it is a Golani thing."

Keinon smiled, "It must be."

There was a unit of border police at the top of the hill that had taken their prisoners in tow, Ron found Sgt. Tsur, "Any one hurt?"

Sgt. Tsur smiled and shook his head, "That was some good fighting we did, shame they didn't fight harder instead of trying to pull out."

Ron nodded as they walked back down the hill towards the flaming Achzarit, "I thought these things could with stand an RPG round, what happened?"

The sergeant shook his head, "I am not sure, we need to find Lt. Glick."

Ron turned to his men, "Return to the Achzarit, make sure to give Barak plenty of warning your coming or he is likely to shoot you."

They found the lieutenant briefing the other officers, and then he turned to face Sgt. Tsur and Ron, who both saluted quickly. He returned the salute, "Casualties?"

Sgt. Tsur stepped forwards, "None from either squad, may I ask the Lieutenant how he made out?"

Lt. Glick smiled, "Mecee took a round to the chest but the body armor stopped it, he will be telling his story for weeks."

"I thought the Achzarits were almost indestructible, what happened to that one?" Ron asked quietly so as not to offend any members of the company that just lost a lot of friends.

The lieutenant looked around to make sure no one else would over hear, "They were carrying all the special purpose explosives, so when they rolled over that mine a piece of hot shrapnel punctured the skin and set off the explosives. At least that is the theory so far."

The lieutenant was called away for a moment, Ron and Sgt. Tsur watched as men from the other company searched the side of the road for body parts. Lt. Glick returned, _"New orders, we are to turn back and head for Gaza City, this delaying tactic worked pretty efficiently."_

Ron looked back at the flaming wreck of the Achzarit and shuddered, _"Turning around means that we're on point now."_

Lt. Glick broke Ron's concentration on the destroyed vehicle, "I will leave you to see to your vehicle, it will take some time to turn the army around, do not think about sleeping tonight."

He quickly saluted the lieutenant and began the long walk up the road to find his men. When he was finally able to reach the APC he found the men laying up against it and standing around. They turned to look at him. Ron stood there for a moment before thrusting his right hand in the air and began to shout, "UP TO BATTLE, UP TO BATTLE, UP TO BATTLE."

The men continued to stare not quite certain what to do, Ron smiled, "That is the Golani battle cry, for there has been a change in orders. Since we and the Death Machine here are feared killers, the officers in charge has now decided to send us to Gaza City…Since we are last in line, once the turn is complete we will be the first in line for killing more bad guys."

The men looked back up the road at the flaming wreckage and then turned to look back at Ron, "I knew you would all be as excited by this opportunity as I am…Mount up, we need to turn this big beast around."

Once loaded up Private Barak began to turn the Achzarit around, they drove a few feet and wait for the next one to turn around and then the next until the whole army was behind them and then the order came to move out.

Ron was on the radio receiving directions and instructions from Lt. Glick on the radio, "We are not to enter the city, we are going to build up on the outskirts before driving in…Make a left up here."

He nodded and switched the radio to the driver, "Make a left up here."

"I remember"

"Just passing the directions along." Ron told him before he switched back over to Lt. Glick.

The sun was starting to rise off to his left, _"Pretty Sunrise."_

They drove for another hour until Lt. Glick's voice snapped Ron out of his thoughts, "Drive off the road here and continue to your left until I tell you to stop."

He switched frequencies again, "Barak, drive off the road here and head to the left until we are told to stop."

The order to stop was finally given and the other Achzarit's pulled up and stopped behind him. He ordered the men out of the APC and to stand at attention, he was afraid they would fall asleep otherwise.

Lt. Glick called the Sergeant and the Corporals all forward, "Have your men set up camp here." He said pointing towards a large flat area 100 meters from the APC's. "Post guards on the Ashzarits as well as perimeter guards…We will get some sleep and then we will probably be moving out tonight."

They saluted the lieutenant and Ron returned to his men and pointed to the clearing, "We are going to set tents up over there, we will also be posting guards, on Death Machine I want Karman on first watch, Hoffman on second watch and on third Barak….Perimeter guards, I want Ostrovsky, Keinon, first watch Diamant, Stoil second watch, third watch will be Katz and…Hanegbi?"

The man smiled and nodded, "Yes Corporal, Hanegbi, just like it is spelled."

Ron blinked, "I was never good in spelling. Set up your tents, find a partner."

"Remember we are in hostile environment, if you fall asleep on guard duty, you will most likely die and take a bunch of us with you…Do not sleep and do not sleep through your shifts." Ron reminded the troops.

Once the camp was functional, Ron posted his guards, he found Karman, "After you are relieved wake me up, I want to make a few rounds."

Now with the sun high in the air Ron finally pushed his way into a tent and curled up in his sleeping bag and fell asleep.

* * *

Monique awoke and jumped out of bed to check her email, she had a routine setup with Tirza. She would write him in the mornings when it was night in Israel then he would answer them before he went to bed when it was morning in Middleton. 

She looked forward to each email and when there wasn't an email in the box it would ruin the whole day for her. Today she didn't have to be disappointed because there was an email waiting for her.

_"Darling Monique _

_My English is getting goodly, Sergei says he no longer needs to help me with writing but he sometimes has to help me with word meanings. _

_I am fine, I told mamma the last time I was on liberty for Shabbat that I will be going to United States to see you in May and she is happy. I showed her your pictures that you sent in letter and she says you are very pretty. _

_I think you are very pretty also. _

_I am getting so good at English that I look forward to being able to just sit and talk to you and have you understand my feelings for you. _

_Sergei says that I should not do this because you might laugh at me. _

_I hope you do not laugh at me. _

_I wish you could come over to visit me in the summer. We could go to the Dead Sea and I could see you in a bikini. _

_I hope you are not upset about the bikini, I have strong imagination and bikini is one of my favorites. _

_I hope you are doing good, have you told your father about us? _

_If you do not I understand. _

_I miss you so much that Sergei tells me to shut up already. _

_We have had no word from Ronnie since he left. Sergei thinks that he is with the army close to Gaza. There is lots of fighting going on there, I wish I could go and fight with them. _

_We are stuck here where it is boring and nothing exciting ever happens. _

_What do you think I will need to bring with me to wear in May, is it cold or warm where you are? _

_I hope that it is warm so that I can see you in a bikini. _

_I wish it were May. _

_Tirza"_

Monique hit the print button on the browser and waited for the email to print out, and then she read it again and clutched it to her chest, _"Yes girl this one is another keeper."_

She read and re-read the email and giggled, and then she broke out her pictures to see her man once again. He sent a picture that he had taken with his mother; it was easy to see that he was close to his mother.

He wasn't an overly tall man; he stood only 5'8 if that not overly muscular, angular face, large nose, brown skin, black hair, and a pair of brown eyes that she could look into forever. He was still trying to grow a mustache but it was very thin but very black.

It was strange to her that she would feel an attraction to him. He was unlike the other guys that she normally was attracted to, maybe it was that he wasn't an American, maybe it was the uniform that attracted her. He just had that certain something.

She changed pictures and there was a picture of Tirza with Ron and Sergei, she giggled, maybe it was his warm smile, his goofy love of Neil Diamond or how much he liked to dance.

Monique shook her head and smiled, she didn't really quite know the reason for the attraction but she knew that there was something and she was enjoying the feelings she was experiencing and hoped the feelings would never go away. She was starting to fall in love with a man from the other side of the planet and she wished that it was May too and that he was with her.

She sat back down at the computer and hit the reply button and prepared to send her special man an email.

_"Tirzabear _

_I haven't told my father about you yet. Daddy can be a hard man concerning such things. _

_I have told my mom about us and showed her your picture; she thinks you're a honey. _

_So tell me about what kind of bikini you picture me in? You are must have a very powerful imagination. _

_You are my little IPBF, Imagination Powered Boyfriend. _

_In May it should be warm here, not quite bikini weather yet but shorts weather. _

_I have feelings for you and eagerly wait to hear you tell me about your feelings. You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything, and you can tell Mr. Sergei to mind his own business and keep after that weird Bina girl. _

_I miss you too, I tell Kim about how I can't wait for May. She doesn't tell me to shut up, she just tunes me out. _

_She is all about Ronnie. _

_Now as far as that fighting is concerned I want you stay right where you are. I don't want anything to happen to my Tirzabear. _

_You stay safe and stay out of trouble. _

_Thinking of you always _

_Monique" _

* * *

"Corporal, Corporal, time to get up, they are looking for you." 

Ron scrambled out of his sleeping bag, "Wha…What time is it?"

Karman looked at his watch, "It is nearly 14:30."

"What, I told you to get me up after first watch." Ron said angrily as he scrambled to get himself together.

Karman shrugged, "Sorry, I was tired and forgot, you are not in trouble, they are just looking for you."

He grabbed his rifle and ran out of the tent into the afternoon sun, it was March and the temperatures were beginning to get very warm during the day. He put his hand up to shade his eyes from the bright light until his eyes could adjust to light.

He ran down the long line of Achzarits until he reached Lt. Glick's vehicle, he spotted Cpl. Mecee and waived. Mecee motioned urgently for him to follow him, "You slept late, we are receiving orders for tonight."

Ron smiled, "So tell me, how was getting shot?"

Mecee laughed, "Not much to tell, I was running up the slope of the hill, felt something slap me in the chest and knock me backwards and knock the wind out of me. Body armor stopped the bullet, I have a bruise. Want to see it?"

"Seeing you without a shirt is not high on my priority list." Ron said chuckling as they reached the APC.

They joined the group of men around a table where a map of the city was spread out. Lt. Glick eyed Ron, "Let me guess you are a level 7 sleeper as well."

Ron winced, "My apologies, I did not mean to keep everyone waiting."

Lt. Glick nodded, "This just came down to us from HQ, there will be an air strike tonight by the IAF on the power plant just outside of town….Once the power is out we will head into the city and capture and hold the following streets."

He leaned over the map and began to point, " Salahdeen Blvd. to El Batie over to EL Gemmayze, you should expect heavy fighting here, intelligence says this particular neighborhood we are going into is controlled by the Al-Aksa Brigade."

Mecee raised a hand, "They have women suicide bombers?"

Lt. Glick nodded, "Yes they have women suicide bombers so keep your eyes open and be prepared to shoot regardless of gender...So far the paratroopers have captured the downtown financial and business district, that wasn't too difficult…The real fight is in the outlying neighborhoods that are controlled by various factions."

The lieutenant swept his hand across the map on the far end, "Over hear these neighborhoods are controlled by Hamas, this one over here Islamic Jihad, next to the neighborhood we are fighting in is Hizbullah, then spread out around the city we have the old PLO, PLF, and so on."

The lieutenant stood and thought for a moment, "The buildings we will be going into are quite large so the whole company will go from building to building till we have our section secured."

"I want you to return to your squads and be ready to roll out in two hours, we won't be needing the full battle packs so do not have the men carry the jaw breakers, the field packs should do for this…I will try to have one of the psychiatry officers come by your units and try to get you ready for what your about to see…I was in Jenin a few years back, and I know I was not ready for what I saw." Lt. Glick told the men, it was plain to Ron's ear that he could hear the weariness in his voice.

Ron swallowed hard; he knew could see the change in the demeanor of the lieutenant. He could feel the nerves, _"I hope I am ready for this?"_

Once they were dismissed he made his way back to his squad, "Strike the tents, clean your weapons thoroughly, we will be moving into Gaza City tonight. Expect heavy fighting…Where is the medic?"

"I am the medic."

Ron turned and looked, "Pronounced exactly as it is spelled… Hanegbi?"

"Yes Corporal"

Ron motioned to the rear of the column, "Go and requisition more bandages and other supplies…We will be doing much urban combat tonight."

He heard booming sounds from the distance, _"Looks like the artillery guys found something to shoot at."_

Now it was time to help break down the tent and get his equipment ready. He kept running everything over and over again in his head, do we have enough ammo, do we have enough grenades, and do we have enough stretchers?

"Are you Corporal Stoppable?"

Ron jumped at the sound of the voice, "Yes"

He turned to see a Lieutenant was addressing him, he quickly saluted, "Yes Officer"

The lieutenant returned his salute, "I am Dr Wasserman, I am a member of the IDF's Psychiatric Unit attached to this brigade and I was wondering if I might address your squad before they see action on what to expect?"

Ron nodded and gathered the men around to listen to the psychiatrist, then sat on the ground with his rifle and began cleaning it while he listened to the speech. His own mind was a jumble, they had urban combat training back at Bezeq but he was unsure how much he had actually remembered.

He squinted trying to remember how things were going to go when something Dr. Wasserman said caught his interest, _"What did he just say, he had come up through the ranks so he knows what we are going to be facing…I better pay attention to this."_

"You are going to face the most brutal form of combat any of you are likely to ever witness. Those people down there are entrenched in their homes and they mean to fight, they will be relentless and they will not hesitate to use women and children as shields if they think it make you hesitate so they can catch you off your guard." Dr. Wasserman explained.

Dr. Wasserman stopped talking to let his message sink in, Ron had put down the rifle and was paying strict attention, "They will pretend to be dead, hide behind bodies, booby trap bodies for souvenir hunters. When I was in Jenin refugee camp I had to shoot a young man with a rifle in his home…His sister emerged from a hiding place, got on her hands and knees and began to lap up his blood as if she were a cat…I will carry this memory with me forever. In short you will come across things that will challenge every aspect of your morality that you have been taught from a child onward to who you are now."

He paused once again for effect Ron and the other men began looking at each other, "So you will be forced to make decisions based on what you encounter out there, sometimes those decisions are hard ones and our minds do not respond well to them. That is why we are here…to help you. If you are showing signs of battle fatigue or shock, we will take you off the line and help you cope and then return you to service with your unit as soon as you are able…We want you to come out of this battle as normal and productive citizens of Israel."

_"Damn, now I kind of wish he wouldn't have talked to us."_ Ron thought as he surveyed the men trying to read how they took the talk.

The lieutenant left to go talk to the next group, there wasn't a lot of joking and playing around now. Ron finished cleaning his gun and then searched through his pack till he found the Gerber Silver Trident boot knife and sheath and then he attached down by his right ankle and pulled his boot up to partially conceal it.

He practiced pulling it out of the sheath once or twice and then pulled down the pants leg of his fatigues to cover the rest of the knife. He stood up and finished packing his gear and decided on one more trip to the rear to secure more ammunition and grenades.

."Karman, keep everyone together I will be right back, I need more ammo." Ron headed towards the supply area he saw a line at the portable bathrooms that had just arrived.

He saw one man pacing frantically, Ron smiled, "Problems?"

"Yes, I have the runs and there's no toilet paper and I am about to crap all over myself." The man answered angrily.

Ron smiled, "Ahhhhh that is a problem, today is your lucky day, I just happen to have a roll of toilet paper."

The man stopped pacing and looked at Ron, "How much?"

"What do you have?"

"I am in the artillery; I have field glasses, real nice ones he said taking them out of the case on his belt for Ron to examine.

"You may need these."

The man shook his head desperately, "I will just go and requisition another pair."

"I want the case too."

The man undid his belt and quickly stripped off the case and handed it to him.

Ron took his pack off and handed him a roll, "Primo, American toilet paper, Charmin…soft…Will not chafe your butt."

The man grabbed the roll and ran for the open portable toilet. Ron laughed and shook his head and then examined his new find, _"Zeiss 10x42…I guess that's good?"_

There were soldiers milling around everywhere hawking all sorts of necessities, Ron shoved the field glasses in his pack and pulled out the 'S' shaped dagger that he acquired the night before and held it up.

No one was immediately interested until a soldier came up that appeared to Ron to be from another galaxy, "Shalom, I really would like that knife."

"What do you have?"

The man smiled, "I have some really great Thai Sticks, they will help you think deep thoughts."

Ron smiled, "Ahhhh ha, I understand…Is it any good?"

"Do you know your head looks like a giant football?"

Ron narrowed his eyes, "American or European?"

The soldier giggled and shrugged.

Ron looked around cautiously, "Yes, fine."

They made the trade and Ron shoved the small plastic bag full of the hand rolled deep thoughts to the bottom of his pack, and walked quickly away, _"What am I going to do with this stuff?"_

"Hey Corporal, you don't look like you get enough."

Ron spun and looked for the voice and finally found the owner, "What?"

The man held up a box, "Sex doll, in case you get lonely out there."

Ron still wasn't quite getting it, "What?"

"It is an inflatable sex doll…Many soft holes for your pleasure and if you add batteries here." The soldier pointed at a small box on the back of the doll, "She will vibrate and moan…She never says no and when you are finished with her she deflates for easy storage." The man explained.

He blinked, "What the hell am I…" Ron had an idea, he looked around to see if anyone was looking, "I have a plastic bag of Thai Sticks, good shit…Trade you for the doll."

The soldier looked around, "Good shit?"

"You will not feel anything for a week."

"Yes, I will take you up on this." The soldier said looking around nervously.

The soldier handed him a new doll still sealed in the box, "I have a dozen of them."

Onece the trade was made Ron ran back to the Achzarit laughing and giggling. He threw the doll at Ostrovsky, "Blow this up."

Ostrovsky looked at the sex doll face with the big round mouth to accommodate all sizes, "You are surely kidding me."

"No, no, every great ship needs a figurehead, now we have one…Decorate our lovely lady up…I am headed up top to have a look." Ron told him as he scrambled to the top of the APC.

Ron pulled out his new field glasses and started to survey Gaza City, he could see people heading out from the outskirts in large numbers, _"I think these people are getting out of the area before the fighting starts…Looks like women, children…old men…hmmm."_

He heard the loud booming off to his left, it was a sustained artillery barrage. Every time a big gun sounded it made the ground shake. He put the glasses to his eyes again to see where the shells were falling, _"Deeper inside the city than where we're going."_

"Where are we going?"

Ron turned and saw Karman standing down in front of the APC; they had to yell to be overheard from the artillery that was opening up. He pointed to a spot off in the distance, "Those buildings over there."

Karman let out a breath, "Something tells me this will not be an easy night."


	39. Chapter 39

A/N : Adult content alert about Ron's new inflatible friend and for the violence content. Kim finds out that having Mystical Monkey Power may not be all that cool after all.

* * *

Kim had returned to work at the space center, cleaning out the rat cages, and now she had been trained to take blood samples and to dissect the rats when they died. She hated the dissection part but a job is a job. 

She hadn't sat in the chair in weeks and was getting the itch, she knew it was time because she was craving a cigarette and she could feel that Ron was excited, nervous and on edge. Which she figured meant that Ron was blowing things up and not telling her about it.

"Any new developments with the rats Kim?" Doctor Wong asked.

Kim blinked, "Not that I can see, they're still happy little rats…I think I could use a trip to the chair though."

Dr. Wong smiled, "Ahhhhh feeling the urge for a smoke are we."

She smiled and nodded as they went into the room where the chair and workstations sat humming away. She sat in the chair and attached the headgear, "I'm ready up here."

"I'm gong to try something new…Been trying to make this thing work…I'm going to try and record images of what you are seeing." Dr. Wong told Kim as she brought all of the workstations online.

Kim looked at her nervously, "I'm not sure that's a good idea…I mean, some of the things Ron thinks about are pretty personal between us."

Dr. Wong nodded, "If he is going somewhere that you are not comfortable with you can let me know and I will stop recording."

"Oh…well…OK." Kim said nervously as she lay back.

She willed herself to relax, _"Recording this stuff would be fine but Ron is so…unusual that I never quite know what to expect."_

The image came into clear focus in Kim's mind; it was of the sex doll, "RON?"

Ron was in a crowd of soldiers laughing at a blowup sex doll, "Well what she we call our lovely figurehead?"

Ron put a finger to his lips, _"I think Kim would get mad if I called her the Kimmie Cub."_

Kim sucked in her cheeks, _"Damn right I would."_

Ron began chuckling, _"I know, the Bon Bon…Yeaaaa Bonnie will like that."_

He turned towards another soldier, "Our girl shall be known as Bon Bon proudly showing off her charms as she rides the Death Machine into battle."

Kim shook her head, _"Ron you are a nut."_

"You know, she kind of reminds of my dear fiancée Bonnie…That is what her mouth looks like when she is trying to swallow the old Ron Dog." Ron told the men as he grabbed his crotch..

Kim narrowed her eyes, _"Ron what did you do?"_

Karman looked at Ron, "You are engaged?"

"Well Bon Bon's been running around telling everyone back home that…She just failed to ask me…I might decide to play hard to get." Ron said with a smile.

Kim smiled and breathed a sigh of relief, _"Well at least he's not really engaged to Bonnie."_

"Corporal Stoppable, what is that?"

Ron jumped and quickly saluted, "Attention"

"What is that thing on that Achzarit?" Lt. Glick demanded.

"Lt. Glick, that is Bon Bon our figurehead and role model for all things feminine." Ron said nervously.

Lt. Glick rolled his eyes and shook his head, "You are very lucky this crisis is going on or I would have you up on charges."

"Orders?" Ron asked hoping to change the subject.

Lt. Glick sighed audibly, "We will be moving out soon, and when we exit our vehicles leave two men with your Achzarit, one in the driver's seat and one in the weapons station…Real men not blow up dolls."

Ron nodded, "Yes Officer."

"The air strike is coming in soon and then we will follow in a specially outfitted Mekava battle tank into the city…We will all be going in as a company going from building to building." Lt. Glick explained.

The lieutenant motioned for an aide to come forward and he started issuing radios to Ron and the men, "We will use these so we can communicate inside the buildings, you might want to leave them on for the trip inside the city…Keep me informed about Bon Bon."

Ron could hear all sorts of chattering from his men coming through the ear piece, "SILENCE"

The soldiers stopped talking and the lieutenant motioned for another soldier to begin handing out day/night vision goggles, "Our supply lines have caught up to us…fix these to your helmets and do not turn them on until it is dark and we are getting ready to secure our buildings."

Ron nodded and fixed the device to his helmet, "When is the air strike expected?"

Lt. Glick looked at his watch, "Should be inbound now, be here in about 15 minutes…So mount up and fall into place once the company begins to move out…You and Bon Bon will be last in line."

Ron addressed the men after the lieutenant left and let them know what was going on. Then Ron pointed at the top gun, "Ostrovsky take the top gun, Barak drive and I will ride in the commander's seat….You two will remain and guard the Achzarit while we are gone…Stay alert and kill bad guys if they threaten the vehicle."

He handed Karman his pack, "Bring this out when we disembark "

Karman took the pack inside the APC and Ron climbed on top of the machine and made sure Bon Bon was well secured for the trip. He stood up and opened the hatch to the commander's chair, _"I wish the artillery was still firing…Noise made me feel better."_

There was a rumbling noise in the air coming from behind him and then it became a loud roar, two Israeli F15's streaked overhead towards the city, "Barak start the engine we will be moving out shortly."

He next heard booming noises and flames way off in the distance from where they were, a thud, thud, thud, thud and then the lights in the city flickered and then it went dark, Ron keyed the new radio and tried it out, "Well they got the power plant, knocked out the electricity…We will be moving in soon…Can everyone hear me?"

He flinched as all of the squad started to talk at once, "I hear you already, now be quiet." He took the earpiece out and slipped on the headset to talk to Lt. Glick, "Lt. Glick, I have a question."

"No Corporal Bon Bon stays with the APC and you can not rent her out for parties." The voice came back over the headset.

Ron laughed, "You are scary it is like you are psychic or something…Sir I can only hear my men on the radios how do we communicate with each other?"

"You are on channel 23 correct?" Lt. Glick asked.

He took off the radio and looked at it, two knobs on top, one was power and volume the other was channels. He nodded and looked at the front, _"Motorola" _

"Yes I see the channel knob."

The voice from the radio burst to life again, "The tank is on channel 24, you are on channel 23, Norwich is 22, Mecee is 21, Sgt. Tsur is 20, Suggs is 19 and I am 18…Just turn the knob if you need help or for questions….We are rolling off now, our Merkava tank just showed up."

Ron nodded and looked up ahead; he could see nothing so he pulled the night vision goggles down over his eyes and turned them on, _"Whoaaaa, those things are cool."_

The images in the eerie green light looked as they should except for the Merkava, it was outfitted with a large ram on the front and wire mess skirts over the tracks, flared side armor to deflect RPG rounds and a heavily armored under belly so that land mines would not pierce the skin and hit the ammunition and blow the tank to bits.

Ron nodded happily at the sight of the big tank, _"I want a tank."_

Kim giggled in her chair from the other side of the world, _"I want one too."_

The column rolled out towards the city, Ron looked out to the horizon and saw other columns moving in the same direction as theirs headed to different parts of the city, _"Looks like it's going to be a busy night."_

Dr. Wong looked up from the workstations, "Everything all right up there?"

"Yea, not much going on…Looks like they might be doing some fighting soon…Hope Ron doesn't get…hurt." Kim said nervously.

As the column approached the city he could see the tell tale winking of gun fire off in the distance. Ron did a final radio check and ordered Ostrovsky and Barak to close their hatch's and seal themselves in. Once that was done he did the same pulling the hatch cover down on top of him.

He heard something slap against the side of the Achzarit, _"Bullet"_

Now they were moving into the section of the city they had been sent to secure. There was a loud bang and Ron and Kim both jumped, Ron looked around and saw the offending object, _"Cinder block, someone threw a cider block at us."_

"I think a man over in the left building is getting ready to throw a petrol bomb at us." Barak said over the radio.

Ron looked over that way and could see the man trying to light an old gas soaked rag that served as a fuse, "Ostrovsky you get a shot at him do not be shy about shooting him."

He watched as the gun swiveled over in the direction Barak had said, he could see the man come out from around the corner with the Molotov cocktail, Rob began screaming into the radio, "SHOOT HIM, SHOOT HIM."

The gun began firing one of the rounds shattering the bottle and a tracer igniting the gasoline, the man had already fallen to the ground dead and now was burning, "Good job…No virgins for him"

Ron looked further up the column and saw much the same thing, except in front of the tank there was sustained heavy caliber machine gun fire bouncing off the armor; he could see the sparks as the bullets bounced off. Then the gun lifted and took aim on the building with its 120mm smooth bore gun.

There was a "BOOM" and a good portion of the building disappeared in a bright orange flash of an explosion, Ron was elated, "BOOYAHHHHHHHH"

Kim back at the space center pressed her thighs tightly together and squirmed in the chair, her face was flushed, _"Ohhhhhhh, what I couldn't do to a lair in one of those."_

The gun turret began to turn to acquire a new target and then "BOOM" another explosion in a building further up the street. Lt. Glick's voice came over the radio, "We must form up now before they can regroup."

Ron keyed his radio, "Drop the door, and form up on the right side of the vehicle."

He popped his hatch and scampered out, just as he turned to close it bullets began to rain down on him. Ron toppled backwards off the vehicle, as he was falling he noticed that Bon Bon was deflating after being hit with a round, _"NO, they got Bon Bon."_

"Head in the game Ron, quit worrying about the damn doll." Kim said out loud and then immediately wished she hadn't.

Dr. Wong looked up, "Doll?"

Kim giggled nervously, "It's a long story."

Ron hit the ground with a thud and then pulled himself as close to the vehicle as possible, "I think I know what building we will be going into first." He told Karman as he took his pack from him.

He looked up at Karman again, "Anyone hurt?"

Karman smiled and shook his head, "No we got out while they were all shooting at you."

Ron threw up his hands, "Christ on a stick Ostrovsky, put some fire in that building."

The top gun began firing at the apartment building, Ron pulled himself off the ground and took a fragmentation and a concussion grenade from his pack and placed them in his body armor to get to them more quickly. He looked at Karman, "They got Bon Bon."

Karman laughed and pointed at a tear in the nylon of Ron's body armor, "They almost got you too."

A voice came from over the radio, "Watch your heads, the tank is going to put one into the third story middle window."

There was a loud "BOOM" and Ron could feel the Achzarit vibrate from the concussion of the large shell hitting the building. Then it began to rain stones and bricks and the occasional body part, "Ouch, don't want to get in the way of one of those."

Ron peeked out from around the front of the APC, the fire from the building had died down and much to Ron's amazement it appeared that the front of the building had been sheared off and he was looking into people's darkened living rooms, "Whoaaaaaa"

Kim kicked her feet against the chair excitedly, _"Ron entered me in a contest to win one of those…Ron bring one back for me in May."_

The radio crackled to life again, "Stoppable, there are two entrances into that building, you and Mecee will work the rear and head to the second floor, Sgt. Tsur and I will work go in the front and work the first floor, Norwich and Suggs will be held in reserve and to guard the Achzarits."

Ron nodded, "Yes Officer." as he watched Mecee's squad approach.

"Sorry about your sex doll." Mecee said with a grin.

Ron smiled in return, "I was going to charge you 5 shekels to use it first."

Mecee looked at Ron, "So how do you want to do this?"

"HOW DO I WANT TO DO THIS?" Ron said is surprise.

Mecee laughed nervously, "You are the Golani door kicking shock trooper."

"Well…Fine, we need to move out now, key off of…" Ron began to look around, "Hanegbi...Pronounced exactly as it is spelled, he is our medic."

Ron crouched in front of his men, "We are going to go to that side of the building to a back exit and take a stair well to the second floor…Remember 5 meters between each man, if you encounter fire from long range move quickly, no stopping to fire back, we need to get into that building as quickly as possible…Understood?"

He turned to look at Mecee, "Put your radio and the radio of all your men on channel 23 so you can hear me."

Mecee nodded and pulled his radio out and made the changes along with his men, Ron watched and made a quick radio check to see if they could hear him. They nodded and gave the thumbs up.

Ron nodded, "I am on point, remember 5 meters."

Then he broke out from behind the Achzarit in a crouched run across the narrow street, he received very light gun fire, just enough for him to know there were still some bad guys remaining.

He ran to a point that he believed was half way and then turned and waited for the rest of the men to catch up to him, he watched in the eerie green light of the night vision goggles as the last man scampered across the street and then he got up and began to run again.

Ron made it to the glass door and opened it, he could hear a commotion from the front of the building. He knew that Lt. Glick and Sgt. Tsur were making their assault now. He found the stairs and began to climb them slowly with his gun in battle ready position.

He spotted movement at the end of the hallway and froze, he keyed the radio, "Mecee, call Lt. Glick…I have movement end of the second floor hallway, make sure it is not them before we engage."

Ron was sweating the weather was unusually hot and muggy for March, he wiped his eyes of the sweat that was getting in them, the radio crackled, "Lieutenant says it is not them…They are all on the first floor."

"Fine, Karman, Stoil, Katz, Hoffman…On me." He ordered as he started to move quickly down the hall.

They moved down the hall slowly, they pressed themselves as tight as they could to the left hand wall because the right side was a wrought iron railing that served as a terrace that over looked where the column had just came from. Ron took a look at this and frowned, _"Glad there's nothing to our backs over there."_

He reached the end of the hallway and took a quick peak around the corner and let out a breath, there were two small Palestinian children huddled in a corner, he keyed the radio and whispered into the mouth piece, "Mecee, I have two kids huddled in a corner, boy is only wearing a shirt, I'm sending them back to you now.

Kim let out a breath, the tension starting to get to her, _"I thought he was in for it."_

He motioned for Stoil to come forward; he leaned forward and whispered to him, "Take the children down to where Lt. Glick is."

They made their way back down the hallway, the other soldiers made a hole to let Stoil and the two children thru, "Mecee, we have six doors down hall, no right side wall, it is open for a terrace or something…Around the corner the tank shell took out the railing and most of the walk way on three is now laying on two."

Mecee nodded trying to make a mental picture of what Ron was talking about, "Yes, I understand…So what do you think we should do?"

"There are too many apartments to go one at a time, we are going to have to go in side by side till we reach the end of the hall way and then one at a time from there with the other group providing cover for the entry people." Ron explained.

Mecee nodded, "So I will have to work the apartments next to you down this hall and then either be the entry team or the cover team going down the next walkway?"

Ron could see that Mecee was quite pale, "This is the best I can come up with, unless you have some better idea?"

Mecee shook his head, "No, we need to get started."

Mecee picked three men and started towards the second door, Ron motioned for Hoffman, Karman and Katz to follow him. He let out a deep breath and raised his foot into air and kicked the door as hard as he could.

It didn't give way so he kicked again and then a third time before the door flew open then he ran in and moved to his left, Karman came thru moving towards his right, Hoffman and then Katz.

The apartment appeared to be empty, they did thorough search and left the unit, Mecee met them outside, "Ours was empty."

Ron nodded, "Ours too, next two."

They went up the hallway until they reached the end finding only empty apartments, now came the tricky part trying to do the same maneuver with their backs exposed to an unknown enemy across the street.

Ron looked at Mecee, "You guys take the first unit, and we will cover you."

Mecee was feeling much more confident now and was starting to get into the groove of how the job was to be performed, "We have it under control."

Ron smiled and had his men take up kneeling positions well away from the first door, watching the building across the street. Ron switched on the laser sight on his rifle and pointed it at the building across the street. It showed up wonderfully with the night vision goggles.

He heard Mecee kick in the door and then he heard screaming and yelling before things calmed down, Mecee's voice came over the radio, "Non combatants."

"Send them downstairs to the Lieutenant." Ron told him calmly.

_"Damn all that screaming damn near made me wet my pants." _Ron chuckled softly.

He began to look around, at the building and what it must be like with lights and not having a bunch of heavily armed soldiers scouring through it, "Hanging flower baskets, I bet these are nice in the summertime."

Then a chill ran up and down his spine, "Everyone back around the corner…NOW."

Mecee looked surprised, "What?"

Ron shook his head, "I will know in a minute."

They moved around the corner and Ron turned to Mecee, "What do you see down that walkway that isn't on this walkway?"

Mecee looked around the corner again and then down the walkway they just came, "Plants?"

Ron keyed the radio, "Ostrovsky are you there?"

The radio crackled in his ear, "I hear you."

"Hold on a second." He then reached down and turned the radio frequency to 18, "Lt. Glick what is your location?"

Lt. Glick's voice came in over the radio, "First floor getting ready to head to third floor."

"Hold your position; I think we may have some booby traps here on two." Ron told him.

There was silence for a long moment, "Check it out and let me know."

Ron switched back over to channel 23, "Ostrovsky do you see the hanging potted plants on the second floor."

"Yes"

Ron nodded and wiped his face, "Shoot one of them."

He heard a short burst out of the top gun on the APC and heard the first hanging flower pot shatter, "Try the next one." The same result happened.

"Again"

The third hanging flower basket exploded sending debris and shattering windows down the entire front of the building. Ron rubbed the back of his neck, "Any flower baskets left on our floor?"

"Not anymore."

Kim smiled, "Good catch Ron."

Ron turned the radio to channel 18, "Lt. Glick, the hanging flower pots are booby trapped."

They moved on and searched the rest of the second floor and then moved on to the fourth floor, they would stop from time to time and listen to sporadic gunfire coming from the third floor.

The fourth floor was empty everyone on the floor had fled or went down to three to fight with the soldiers on the floor. They had to walk carefully on four as most of the walkway on the front of the building had been sheared off from the tank shell that ripped through it earlier.

"Stairwell to the roof, I am going to head up." Ron told Lt. Glick over the radio.

Lt. Glick's voice came back over the radio, "Secure the roof."

Ron picked three men and took him up the stairs, once on the roof they found it empty. Ron keyed the radio, "Roof secure."

"We are going to continue to the next building. You are to keep your squad here and keep this building secure." Ron nodded as he heard the orders for the lieutenant.

He walked back downstairs to the fourth floor, "Mecee"

Mecee waived, "I got the orders…We are finishing up down here and then we will pull out."

Ron keyed the radio to talk to his squad, "Hoffman, Katz, Diamant, Stoil, secure the first floor, two men each entrance. Karman, meet me on four."

There were many empty apartments but there was one that stood out to Ron, only because it had a large bed in one of the bedrooms. Karman found him, "What is going on?"

Ron sat down on a couch, "We have been ordered to keep this building secure…This is my head quarters, I need you to organize guard shifts, relieve Barak and Ostrovsky in the Achzarit."

Karman lifted an eyebrow, "ME? Why me?"

Ron shrugged, "Why not, if you need me…I will be on the roof watching what is going on."

Kim smiled happily, _"He's got his head in the game."_

Karman left the room and Ron left for the roof. He walked up the stairs and stood on the roof he heard a noise behind him and three cobra helicopters zoomed over head going to their target.

The helicopters opened up on a target across town and Ron shook his head, _"Hate to get caught in front of one of those."_

Kim grinned as she could see a large explosion caused by the helicopters, _"The tank is still cooler."_

A bullet hit a few feet in front of Ron and he fell to the ground, _"Where did that come from?"_

He crawled towards the edge of the roof and looked around with trying to spot movement; the city was a weird greenish black color coming from his night vision goggles. He turned the laser sight on the Negev and deployed the tripod and continued to scan the neighboring buildings.

Another round smashed into the brickwork a few feet away from him and that gave away the gunman's position. He was on the roof of a building several blocks away. He was hiding in the covered stairwell and he would expose himself only long enough to get a shot off at Ron.

He put the laser dot where he thought he would be emerging from and waited, the man popped out and Ron pulled the trigger. The man fell backwards and Ron shook his head, _"I don't think I hit him."_

He waited several more minutes and a head popped up from the stairwell and Ron shot again. The head disappeared quickly, "Missed again…Laser site is junk."

His radio crackled to life with the voice of Sgt. Tsur, "What are you shooting at over there?"

He saw the head pop up and Ron fired again. He was sure he missed and it was becoming frustrating to him. He keyed the radio, "Gunman on the roof several blocks over…I can not seem to get a good shot on him but at least I have got him pinned down."

Movement again on the stairwell caught his attention and Ron fired again, _"I wish I could see where the bullets were hitting."_

This went on for another twenty minutes and then the man quit coming out. Ron figured he got bored with it and decided to go fight one of the other IDF squads that was going through the house, _"Time to go back to my HQ and try and get a little sleep."_

Ron stood up and began to walk towards the stairs and descended them to the fourth floor. He heard a nose in one of the apartments that had already been searched, "Karman?"

There was not answer, Ron clicked the fire selector to auto and stepped in through the doorway. He could see no one immediately when he entered the room, so he began to search the room carefully.

A man emerged from a closet behind Ron that he hadn't seen and struck him viciously on the head with a pipe. The pipe bounced off the helmet but managed to connect with his collar bone which produced the desired result.

Ron screamed and lost his grip on his rifle; Kim screamed and grabbed her right shoulder, "RON, LOOK OUT."

He fell forward and crashed into a table and fell towards his left side just before another blow just missed him and smashed into the table. His helmet and the night vision goggles went flying off his head and then Ron heard his rifle clatter to the ground, the man then dropped the pipe and went for the rifle.

Ron grabbed him and pulled him away from his rifle and began wrestling with him, he could see that he was trying to pull something out of his pants, _"GUN, KNIFE…KNIFE." _

They fell backwards into what Ron thought was the kitchen, where they continued to wrestle. His eyes were now becoming more accustomed to the dark and he could tell indeed that man had a knife.

The man broke his grip on Ron and he saw something shiny flashing his way in the darkened apartment and was able to back up just far enough to avoid the first slash. He wasn't as lucky on the return trip as he felt the blade slash across his body armor.

Ron punched the man in the jaw sending him backwards out of knife range for a moment, _"Hair, this guy's got a beard." _Ron reached for his boot knife but wasn't quick enough about pulling it out as the man lunged at him again.

Ron grabbed something that he believed to be a pot and hit the man with it as he moved to his left. The man's momentum carried him past him and into a wall. This allowed Ron to finish pulling out his knife.

The man turned not knowing Ron had a knife and flung himself into him sending them both backwards over more furniture. Ron was beginning to panic because he couldn't see the man very well in the dark, so he shoved the knife where he believed the man was.

The man let out a cry and Ron knew he had stabbed him, they were both scrambling trying to get the upper hand on each other when Ron saw the man's blade heading dangerously close to his eyes.

He pulled back quickly and felt the blade just skim the bridge of his nose, he could feel blood running down his cheek and he screamed and lunged on top of the man who he could see quite clearly now as he was illuminated by the blue light coming from Ron's eyes.

He took the man to the ground and trapped the man's knife hand under his knee and began stabbing the man over and over again. He began to scream, "YOUR NOT KILLING ME, YOUR NOT KILLING ME."

Kim put her hands over her face and screamed as she saw blood being slung all over the walls and all over Ron as he plunged the blade into the man over and over again. She threw the headgear off and began to sob.

She had never seen anything so horrendously violent in her life and the person carrying out the attack was none other than her best friend for life and her current love, _"He…he had to do it…The man was trying to kill him…He had to do it."_

Dr. Wong rushed up, "What happened? Are you all right?"

Kim stood up from the chair weak in the knees and nodded her head, "I'm alright…I just…saw something…awful…I think I need a break."

She left the lab and went to a small kitchenette and retrieved a soda from the refrigerator, _"Ron…hacked that man to pieces…he tried to kill him, he had to do it…I never seen him so desperate to survive….I wish he never would have left here…I wish I was still watching out for him…I would have been able to take him…He never would have had to kill him."_

Her hands shook as she took a drink from the can, _"He will come home in May and I will take care of him…Everything is going to be alright." _

Dr.Wong walked into the kitchenette, "You alright?"

Kim nodded, "I just…saw something that…I wasn't expecting."

"The video failed to record, I'll do some more tinkering on it." Dr. Wong added.

Kim wiped her eyes, "I don't know if his is a good idea…It just seems…wrong."

Dr. Wong shrugged, "It is neither right nor wrong, it is only science."

She let out a deep breath and tried to calm herself, she was still sick to her stomach, _"I'll try to contact him later…Maybe that will make him…me feel better."_

* * *

The blue light from Ron's eyes died away and now he was sitting up against a wall looking a brutally mutilated body that had been the man that only moments before was trying to kill him. He was mentally and physically exhausted, he continued to stare at the body and only one thing came into his mind, "W_ow"_

His arm felt like it was made of lead, he lifted his hand and looked at his knife, wiped the blood off and placed it back in it's sheath. A voice crackled over the radio, "Corporal, what is your Stoppable do you copy?"

Ron continued to sit in a stupor, on the third try Ron answered, "I am on fourth with a dead man."

"What?"

He keyed the radio again, "I'm somewhere on fourth floor with a guy that I just killed…Unit closest to the stairwell leading to the roof."

"You alright?"

"No I think I might have a wound or two…Not sure." Ron said as he reached up and touched the bridge of his nose.

He stood up; his muscles ached from the fight, _"How did we miss this guy."_

Two men entered the room and he heard a gasp as they saw the body on the floor, he heard Karman's voice, "Corporal?"

"Over here…I lost my rifle." Ron said as he began to look around.

"I found it."

Ron recognized Barak's voice, and nodded as he took the rifle from him, "I need my helmet and night vision goggles."

They found the rest of Ron's gear and they left the apartment, Karman looked at him, "You look terrible."

He laughed, "I feel terrible."

His radio crackled again, "Corporal Stoppable, Sergeant Tsur tells me you were firing on a gunman several blocks over?"

Ron keyed the radio, "Yes, I shot around six times, could never quite hit him."

The radio crackled again, "An officer working that building has been calling around trying to find out who was doing the shooting…It seems that when they reached the stairwell the bodies were stacked six deep….I think you hit the men every time you shot at them."

Ron blinked and keyed the radio, "Great"

Karman broke into the conversation, "Lt. Glick, Corporal Stoppable has been wounded in fight here in the building."

"How badly are you injured Corporal Stoppable?"

"Ohhhhh not bad." Ron told him absently.

Private Hanegbi came into the room and made Ron sit in a chair, "You have a nasty gash on the bridge of your nose but I do not think you will need stitches."

Ron nodded, "Great"

"Do you know you are covered in blood?" Hanegbi asked.

He blinked and nodded, "It is not my blood…I found it in there."

Hanegbi nodded and took a small pen light and shown it in Ron's eyes then he pointed the light at the man on the floor and saw the white of ribs sticking out of the man's chest. He turned the light away quickly, "Corporal Stoppable…I need you to go to the rear area, I believe you are suffering from shock."

"No…I will be alright, I just need my nose bandaged and a little rest…It was a hard fight." Ron said trying to sound confident and not quite pulling it off.

Private Hanegbi nodded and bandaged up Ron's nose, "Are you sure."

"Ohhhhh…Yes, I am fine...Karman, where are the men at?" Ron asked as his mind was begining to try and function.

"I have them all together on one." Karman told him.

Ron nodded, "Good idea, I will transfer my HQ from this floor to one, when daylight comes we will make a more thorough search of the building to see if we missed any other stragglers."

They got Ron's pack for him and helped him down stairs, once on the first floor he made the rounds. The men were curious about why he was covered in blood and he told them that someone tried to knife him and he wouldn't let them.

Then he listened to their stories and looked at their minor wounds. Then he found him a spot on the floor where he could watch the door and there he sat until day break replaying the fight over and over again in his head and it always came back to one question, _"Where did he come from?"_

Lt. Glick and Lt. Wasserman entered the building, Ron quickly saluted, "Building is still secure."

Lt. Glick took one look at Ron's uniform that was covered in dried blood and then into his vacant eyes, "Corporal Stoppable, I am told you were advised to head back to the rear area."

Ron blinked, "Office, I am fit for duty, I have been treated and…I forgot what I was going to say."

Lt. Wasserman nodded and tried a different tact, "You can at least report to the rear and get a shower and a clean uniform."

"I…I think I can do that." Ron said as he continued to blink.

Lt. Glick looked at him, "Get your things and store them in the Achzarit and then Lt. Wasserman will take you to an aid station."

Ron did as he was told and Lt. Wasserman followed him out the door. Then Lt. Glick turned and looked for Karman, "Show me where Corporal Stoppable killed this man."

They returned to the apartment on the fourth floor, there was now a blanket over the dead man. The lieutenant lifted the blanket and winced in the early morning sun he could clearly see that the young Golani corporal had hacked the man's face to the point that it could barely be recognized as human and he had nearly severed his head from the body as well. The chest cavity was split open exposing ribs and vital organs, _"As vicious as this looks no wonder he is in shock."_

"Where did this man come from?" Lt. Glick asked Karman.

Karman pointed towards a closet, "The best we can figure is he was hiding in the closet and when Corporal Stoppable found him….He attacked him with the pipe." Karman pointed towards the piece of pipe that was lying on the ground.

"From there the fought into the kitchen and back into the living room where it ended there on the floor in front of you." Karman pointed to the body as he finished the story.

Lt. Glick shook his head and then turned to Karman, "Corporal Norwich and his squad will relieve you, and then you will report to your Achzarit. There will be a truck coming by soon with food and ammunition for re-supply. You will hold there and await orders."

Karman saluted and left the room to go tell the rest of the men. Lt. Glick walked out and climbed up the stairs to the rooftop. He found the spent 5.56mm rifle cases on the ground where Ron had been firing at a rooftop several blocks away.

He looked off in the distance to the building where another man was standing and waiving. Lt. Glick returned his greeting and keyed the radio, "This is where the Corporal Stoppable was firing from."

He could see the man shaking his head, and then his radio crackled, "I just do not believe it that has to be at least 1,500 meters."

"I think that is why the Corporal believed he was not hitting his target?" Lt. Glick offered.

The radio crackled again, "He hit the target alright, these idiots kept running up the stairs to see who was shooting their buddies and he just kept shooting them down…Took us the better part of a half an hour to get all the bodies down from the stairwell."

Ron rode in a humvee back to the rear area aid station where he was ushered inside and told to undress. He took off the old uniform and dropped it onto the ground, Lt. Wasserman came into the tent carrying a clean uniform, "Take a shower and then put these on."

Ron walked into the makeshift shower let the water flow over him, it was barely warm enough but it was better than nothing. He took the soap that was provided and began to scrub at the blood on his hands. He was becoming upset, it appeared to him that the blood wasn't coming off.

He sank to his knees and started to scrub as hard as he could, "IT WON'T COME OFF, IT WON'T COME OFF."

Ron closed his eyes and opened them again and realized that his hands were clean, they were red from scrubbing, but clean. When he saw they were clean his breathing returned to normal, _"I have to get a hold of myself or they will think that I am crazy."_

He regained his feet and cleaned his blood off his face from the cut and washed his hair and then finished up his shower, _"OK, get the new uniform head back to the squad."_

Toweling himself dry outside of the shower he looked at himself in the mirror, the gash was a small one It wasn't a cut but a gash, Ron shook his head _"That's going to leave a scar, looks like that guy's knife was a little on the dull side."_

Then he turned his attention to the large bruise that was just to the right of his head. He touched it and it hurt, he moved his arm around, _"Sore but at least nothing is broken."_

He put on the uniform and saw three stripes sewn on the arm of the shirt, _"Have to have them get my stripe off the old uniform…Don't want to get in trouble for impersonating an officer."_

Ron walked out of the small room and saw Lt. Wasserman waiting for him, "Feel better?"

"I feel better, but I'll have to get my stripe off my old uniform, I don't want to get into trouble for impersonating a sergeant." Ron explained nervously.

Lt. Wasserman smiled and explained, "You have been brevetted the rank of sergeant for the remainder of the crises, Sgt. Tsur has been brevetted to the rank of second lieutenant and Cpl. Suggs has been brevetted to the rank of sergeant….High command finally realized your company was short on sergeants."

Ron looked at the sleeves he was clearly enjoying the novelty of the new stripes, "I think I need to report back now."

"How much sleep did you get last night Sergeant Stoppable?" Lt. Wasserman asked.

"I…I did not sleep at all last night." Ron told him nervously.

"Why not?"

Ron looked around the room, "I think I was too…worked up over what happened on the fourth floor."

"What happened on the fourth floor?"

"A man took me by surprise and I had to kill him." Ron said quietly.

"Have you ever had problems sleeping before? I am told that this is not the first man you have ever had to kill."

Ron shrugged, "No…I have never had problems sleeping before…the fight was not an easy one."

"Do you feel better now that you are clean and out of the bloody uniform?" Lt. Wasserman asked.

Ron thought about it, "I do feel…Human again…It was a very tough fight…very tough."

Lt. Wasserman pointed to a cot at the other side of the tent, "Try and get some sleep and then I will return you to your company."

Ron nodded and lay down on the cot; he did feel better now that he was clean. _"I am a temporary sergeant now."_

He put the previous nights fighting out of his mind and thought how great it was going to be when he was able to go back to Middleton in May. He thought of all the great things he was going to do with Kim and about being best man at Ned's wedding and then he was asleep.


	40. Chapter 40

A/N : I wrote a huge chapter so I decided once again to break it into two chapters...Thanks for hanging in there with me on this story.

Bubba

* * *

Ron awoke some six hours later; he had good sleep and felt much better than he had in a few days. He walked outside the tent he was in to see what the booming sounds were that had woken him up. 

He could see smoke rising inside the city, _"Artillery at it again."_

"So how do you feel?"

Ron jumped and turned around to come face to face with Babbette Shangra, "YOU…Yes, I feel much better, thank you."

Babbette smiled, "You are a long way from Tel Aviv…You need to roll up your sleeve so I can give you a shot now."

Ron smiled, "I was hoping to meet you again…Under more favorable circumstances."

"I have wanted to see you again as well." Babbette told him while she got the hypodermic needle ready.

Ron rolled his sleeve up, "Sadly, I am in a relationship now…I think."

Babbette frowned, "What does 'I think' mean?"

"Ouch" Ron jumped as she stuck the needle in him, "What are you giving me anyway?"

"Tetanus shot…What does I think mean?" Babbette asked him again.

He smiled and shook his head not quite knowing how to explain his relationship with Kim to her, "Well…I don't know, I have a girlfriend back home and…I have a girlfriend back home in the states…"

Babbette shook her head, "What? Two girlfriends?"

"No, just one…It was great seeing you again…I really enjoyed our dance…It seems so long ago now." Ron said sadly.

"Yes it does…I enjoyed the dance as well…You take care now and try not to get hurt." Babbette told him sadly as she packed up her medical kit and prepared to leave.

He nodded, "Yes…You do the same."

"Ready to head back."

Ron saluted Lt. Wasserman, "Yes, I need to get back…We are liable to lose the whole thing if I am not where I need to be."

Lt. Wasserman escorted Ron to the humvee and drove him back towards Gaza City, Ron kept his eye on the smoke rising up from the city. Then he let his mind wonder towards girls, _"Good to see Babbette again, but she is such a tease…She probably only vaguely remembers me."_

He spotted a line of Achzarits and he smiled, he was looking for one familiar one that was painted up and then he saw it, he sat up taller in the seat as they approached his APC. Lt. Wasserman pulled to a stop in front of the death machine and Ostrovsky spotted him first, "Lazy Corp…Lazy Sergeant is back."

Ron hopped out and leaned back inside the humvee, "Thanks for the lift back." Then he turned to the few men around the Achzarit, "Alright what have you been doing while I was fondling nurses?"

Hoffman pointed to the front of the machine, "We have been busy."

Ron walked around front and then smiled as he saw a comforting figurehead, "You have healed Bon Bon…The old girl weathered the fight well."

"Karman is a corporal now." Barak told him.

He smiled and shook his head, "I tell you they will promote anyone, I had better go report in to the lieutenant…Tell him we need to go find more bad guys or we may become bored."

Ron walked up the line and found Lt. Glick's APC, Karman seen him coming and shook his head, "What did you do to me, they gave me your stripe….I do not want to be in charge…Tell them it was a mistake."

Ron laughed, "You are telling me…Look at like this at least you will no longer have to do KP or clean toilets."

"I never thought about that….Well come along Sergeant Stoppable we are needed up front." Karman said as he scratched his two days worth of stubble on his chin.

Ron followed him as they worked their way forward through soldiers going every which way getting ready for another night of activity. The reached the front of the Achzarit's and found Lt. Glick, "So how are you feeling? Feel like doing some hunting?"

"I am feeling much better, stripes are a little heavy on my arms but other than that a little night hunting is just what the doctor ordered." Ron said happily as he looked over the map of the city the lieutenant had spread out before him.

The briefing began, Ron's squad was to go with Lt. Tsur's to arrest some Palestinian Authority officials; and a couple of fugitives they were given addresses of their hiding places that were provided by army intelligence and the Mossad.

Ron looked at the map and shook his head, "That is pretty far into the city, it looks like…maybe twenty to twenty five city blocks from where we are now, has this been all secured since last night?"

Lt. Glick shook his head, "Not all of it, most of the neighborhoods are quiet, most of the action today has been in the refugee camps on the other side of town."

Second Lt. Tsur smiled, "It should be fairly routine, looks like your little fight last night has made you cautious."

"I am just not anxious to be hit in the head with a pipe again." Ron said glumly as he looked at the map.

Lt. Glick shrugged, "Go get your men ready, you will be moving out in 30 minutes."

Ron quickly saluted and he and Second Lieutenant Tsur left the briefing, Tsur filled him in on what to expect, "We will be primarily working in and around single family residential houses…Stone walls surrounding the premises, two three stories tall."

"Sounds different, I take it these officials probably have body guards or big dogs or something?"

Second Lt. Tsur began laughing, "Oh at least, I will give you the honor of taking point tonight in your Achzarit."

Ron shook his head and saluted, "Yes officer."

Tsur was about to reprimand him and then returned the salute, "Hold on a minute, take one of these."

Tsur handed Ron a cigar and he took it and looked it over. Tsur bit off the end of his and Ron did the same before lighting his up. Tsur smiled, "Congratulations on your temporary promotion."

Ron borrowed Tsur's lighter and fired up the cigar and chuckled, "Here is to temporary promotions."

He made it back to the death machine and gave the men their orders, everyone began getting their equipment ready and Ron retrieved his pack. He could hear the faint jingle of the Ronnunicator from inside, he dug the device out and answered it, "Hey Kim…What's the sitch."

Kim's worried face was on the little view screen, "I…was just checking to see how your doing…It …The TV news makes everything sounds…so scary."

Ron chuckled as he began to break down his rifle for cleaning, "Well it has its moments…Hey look." He held the Ronnunicator over his sergeants strips. "They said I did such a good job of not dying last night that they would go ahead and let me be a sergeant."

Kim smiled weakly, "Congratulations...Ron...are…you know…you alright?"

"Well…I got hit in the head with a pipe last night…I learned a lot from that little incident…I don't think that will happen again…So how's things back home?" Ron asked clearly trying to change the subject.

"Ohhhh everything's fine over here, Monique is still nuts about Tirza…Tirza this and Tirza that…You're being careful…right?" Kim asked trying to bring the subject back around to what she was worried about.

"Rufus alright?" Ron asked clearly not wanting to talk about last night.

Kim laughed sadly, "Yes, Rufus is good…Nice cigar you got there…Your not smoking are you? Ron are you…alright?"

"I'm alright…Oh I got a letter from mom, seems everyone back home thinks I'm engaged to Bonnie…I'm not…I think Bonnie is trying to yank your chain….and NO I'm not smoking…Just a celebratory gift from an officer." Ron said in a rather bemused expression on his face.

"Oh I know all about Bonnie…Why doesn't it make you mad when she does this stuff?" Kim asked more than a little curious.

Ron looked at the device, _"What do you mean you know all about Bonnie?"_ He looked away from the device, "I don't know Kim, I guess its big thing if you have nothing else on your mind…Once you get shot at…It just doesn't seem like a big deal anymore."

Kim giggled sheepishly, "Right…never thought of that."

"So how's school going?"

Kim himmed and hawed, "Well…It's a lot harder than high school…Hebrew is a hard language to learn from scratch…I'm getting a gentlemanly 'C' in the class."

Ron stopped what he was doing and looked at the Ronnunicator, "A 'C'…You…a 'C'…Your kidding right?"

Kim gave him a fleeting smile, "I'm…not the student I used to be in high school…I think someone being so far away…distracts me a lot."

Ron grimaced, "Yea…Never thought about that…Sorry."

Kim shrugged, "Your still coming back in May right?"

Ron shrugged and put his helmet on his head and began reassembling his rifle, "I think so…I think it will depend on how everything plays out here."

Kim clearly looked sad, "You will be careful…right."

Ron chuckled and loaded the gun for the nights activities, "I'll be careful…I have to go now…Have to do a few things before we go out again tonight…Love you."

"Love you too Ron."

Ron ended the transmission and put the device away in his bag, took another drag off of the cigar and exhaled, _"Weird call, I guess the TV back home is painting a pretty bleak picture…I don't know." _

Once he finished with his gun he propped secured the rifle and his pack in a corner, picked up his AK47 and played with it a little and put it down with a smile, _"Going after big shots, maybe they will have cool stuff to make my own." _

He walked out of the APC, "Corporal Karman are we ready to roll, there are more bad guys that need a good killing."

Karman turned and smiled, "I thought we were going to take them into custody?"

Ron frowned and gestured with his cigar, "Awwww don't remind me…If we are lucky there will be many bad guys to kill…Last night was not much fun, all the action was on the third floor."

Hoffman was listening to the conversation, "What about your friend on four."

He looked at the cigar, "That was not much fun either…Time to mount up…Show time…Barak, drive, Ostrovsky, behind the gun."

Ron climbed up into the command seat, turned his Motorola radio on and put it on Tsur's channel, "Lt. Tsur are you there?"

"I am here we are almost ready, what is your situation?"

He looked around and then checked on Bon Bon, "We are ready to move out…Where are we going first?"

The radio crackled again, "Ahhhh…We are going to arrest a Waheed El Rafei, over in the Sheikh Radwan quarter…Actually we have two individuals over there to pick up…a Dr. Mohammed El Saloul...A few houses down the street."

"So you want us up front or following you?" Ron asked.

"We are pulling out now, fall in behind us…Should be an easy night…What could go wrong." He could hear the sarcasm in Lt. Tsur's voice. It came as no surprise because he was not feeling too comfortable with the whole operation either.

He put on his headset for the Achzarit, "Barak fall in behind the APC to the right and follow him out."

The large armored vehicle lurched forward and Ron switched the dial to talk to the whole Achzarit, "We are heading out to go hunting, hopefully we will have many bad guys to shoot."

Ron got as comfortable as he could inside the APC, _"If there are plenty of bad guys to shoot, that'll mean there are plenty of bad guys to shoot back at us…I don't think this plan is a good one."_

The two Achzarits pulled away and started to drive through the city, they passed buildings that had white flags hanging from windows and they passed other IDF units that were nearby.

The sky was starting to darken as they left the neighborhoods they controlled and passed into neighborhoods that were still fighting. It didn't take long for the two APC's to be spotted, Ron could hear bullets start to bounce off the armor skin as they drove by a tall multi-family apartment complex.

Next came a loud thud that made the armor ring like a church bell, "RPG…I don't think this is a good plan."

He saw one RPG round after another hit Lt. Tsur's Achzarit and then he saw his machine begin to accelerate. Ron turned the knob on the radio to talk to Barak, "Keep up with them."

"If they do not go faster I will pass them."

Ron laughed nervously, "That may be a good idea…Just do not lose them."

They continued on and the firing died down as they went into a fancier residential neighborhood. They made a left down a street and he could see a large twelve foot wall surrounding a large house. There was a driveway going up to a double iron gate, Tsur's Achzarit picked up speed and crashed thru the gate knocking both sides down and continued on towards the house. Ron keyed the radio, "FOLLOW THEM"

They followed Tsur's Achzarit thru the opening, Tsur began to unload the men from his APC and Ron jumped on the radio, "LET'S GO…Barak, Ostrovsky, stay here and guard Bon Bon."

Then Ron climbed out of his seat and slid down the vehicle and took his pack and fished out his night vision goggles before taking his rifle from Karman, he motioned for the men to follow him as they ran for Lt. Tsur, "What are our orders?"

Lt. Tsur smiled and began jogging for the back door, "Once we kick down the door, take your squad to the second floor and round up everyone you can find and bring them to me."

He keyed his Motorola radio, "Once they have gone in the front entrance we will assault the second floor, remember we are here to make an arrest so do not fire unless fired upon."

_"I wonder if that was a good order to give?" _He thought nervously as he waited for the front door to be kicked open.

The front door was kicked in and Lt. Tsur's men began to steam into the house, Ron ran thru the door and located the stairwell, and waived for his men to follow him, at the top of the stairs a very stunned looking man came out of a door. Ron grabbed him and pushed him behind him as he entered the room from where the man had come from.

There were no other people in the room and they went to the next and the next and then he found a woman hiding in a closet, Ron tried to communicate with what little Arabic he knew, "You are downstairs."

It was clear that he wasn't making any headway so he pointed at Karman and he drug her out of the closet kicking and screaming as he tugged her towards the stairwell, "Clear on this floor, we need to head downstairs."

They walked downstairs, Sgt. Tsur nodded and pointed at a handcuffed man, "We have El Rafei, time to load up and head to the next house."

Ron keyed the radio, "Back to the death machine, time for our next stop."

They ran out of the house as quickly as they entered, they destroyed statues and a small fountain as they turned their machines around before heading out the gate they had driven thru a few minutes ago.

He looked at his watch, _"Twelve minutes, not bad."_

They continued up the Salah Khalaf Street to their next objective. Sheikh Radwan quarter lies at the northern edge of the city, was settled in the early 1970's to house Shati Camp that was destroyed by the Israeli Occupational Authority.

The project was close to failure as it was believed by many of the Palestinians to harm their case as refugees if they were to take up permanent residence in the city. For the first few years Gaza City refused to even provide utility or sanitation services to the quarter which aided in keeping the population down to around 22,000 people.

They pulled up in front of another large manor house and crashed thru the gate into a compound and disembarked from their Achzarits, Tsur yelled at Ron, "SAME PLAN"

Ron nodded and followed the group thru the front door only to find Dr. El Saloul waiting for them at the door, "You have no right to do this, I have done nothing to warrant such treatment."

Tsur growled and had one of the new corporals put the cuffs on him, "Tell it to the U.N., I do not care."

Ron let out a sigh of relief and keyed the Motorola, "Let's load up and get ready to get out of here."

They turned and walked back to the compound, he watched Dr. El Saloul being loaded up in Lt. Tsur's Achzarit when all hell broke lose, the Palestinian Authority Police had responded and began to open fire on the two Achzarits.

Ron turned to give the order to take cover inside the APC when he seen a hole appear in Stoil's neck and felt a bullet slam into his chest knocking him to the ground, he had the wind knocked out of him as he began to crawl around on the ground.

He saw Hoffman grab Stoil and pull him into the Achzarit and then he heard Ostrovsky begin to spray the attackers with the 7.62mm machine gun from up on top of the machine. Ron began scrambling to the top of the APC which did nothing but make himself a target as all the gunfire became trained on him.

A bullet slammed into his chest and knocked him back to the ground, he saw Lt. Tsur's Achzarit begin to roll out Ron keyed the Motorola and screamed as best he could with the searing pain in his chest, "MOVE OUT"

He tried to run along side his Achzarit but the gunfire was too heavy so he ran for the front entrance of the house. He felt a bullet skim across his butt which only convinced him to run faster, _"No body armor back there."_

Once inside the house he brought the rifle up and bowled thru the people blocking door, he could hear the family cursing him and felt a few slaps and punches as he made his way to the stairs to run to the second floor, _"Got to get away...God my chest hurts."_

The firing outside had ceased and a large group of around 12 soldiers moved into the house the family pointed them towards the stairs and they gave chase, one of the soldiers spotted something on the ground, it was a wallet, Ron's wallet, they now knew who they were pursuing.

Ron ran into a bedroom at the far end of the house and began to look for a way out, there was a walkout terrace, he peaked out the doorway and saw two soldiers guarding the rear of the building looking up at him.

He quickly shot them and then jumped and grabbed the low overhang of the roof and pulled himself up and onto the roof and made his way to the other side of the house. The other soldiers had heard the shots from the back room and burst in to find it empty.

They ran to the terrace and saw the two dead soldiers on the ground and made their way back down the stairs to try and catch their man on the street. Meanwhile Ron had scampered to the front of the house and waited for the men to come out.

Ron flicked the switch to go from single shot to full auto and waited for the men to come out from the entrance. He didn't have to wait long, as they spilled into the courtyard he began firing into them.

He dropped three immediately and the rest took cover and began to return fire, the gunfire was not aimed and the bullets were well over his head. Ron took his time and squeezed off three shot bursts until there was no longer any gunfire directed towards him, _"No virgins for you."_

Ron hopped off the roof and ran out of the compound and into an angry mob that had gathered outside and began to hurl rocks at him, he managed to stay just ahead of the crowd and the rocks as he searched for an alley to duck into. He found one and quickly turned the corner.

The crowd followed and turned the corner just behind him. They came to a complete stop as the Israeli soldier that they had been chasing had simply vanished. They began to search the alley to hopefully find his hiding place but they found nothing.

_"This is not good, this is not good."_ Ron thought as he finally found a place to hide. He found himself behind a restaurant. He could smell the food and it was begging to make him hungry.

He turned on his night vision goggles and looked around the alley and found what he was looking for. A fire escape he made his way cautiously towards it. He jumped and grabbed the bottom wrung of the ladder and pulled himself up to the first level.

Then as quietly as possible he made his way up to the roof off the building. He found a maintenance shed on the roof that was unlocked and he quietly took refuge inside and began to take stock of his situation, _"OK, OK, chest is sore hurts to breathe…Hopefully there is nothing broken."_

Ron took his pack off and sat it on the ground next to his rifle, and felt his butt he looked at his hand and saw blood but not much blood, _"Oh great, I've been shot in the butt."_

He turned off the night vision goggles and tried to relax, he was in trouble and he knew it, _"I'm alone, cut off from everyone, I have a very determined enemy who would like nothing better than to kill me and drag my body around on the ground behind their cars as their friends beat my body with shoes, they have lots of guns and RPG's…and I've got nothing."_

Then as if he were hit from a bolt from the blue it occurred to him, _"I've not got nothing, I have a whole bag full of ugly at my disposal."_

He took off his pack and dumped the contents out on the ground, picked up the two glocks and set them aside, set aside his ammo pouches for the Negev, he found a package of peanut butter crackers, set them aside, fresh socks, 2 fragmentation grenades, 2 flash bang grenades, extra magazines for the glocks, two canteens full of water, _"OK, I can make due with this for a while."_

He packed up the rest of the stuff that he didn't think he would need right away and then placed the items he felt he would need at a moments notice closer to the top and then sat the pack aside.

One glock he tucked into his body armor, the second glock he thrust into the waist band of his pants, the extra magazines went into different pockets and he hung two more grenades on his body armor, _"OK….Now I feel a little better."_

* * *

Lt. Tsur arrived back where they started their trip at, he quickly exited his Achzarit and ran back to the death machine, "Where is Sgt. Stoppable?" 

Barak quickly exited from the driver's seat, "He fell off as we were leaving, he ordered us to leave him."

The back door opened and Karman exited the vehicle, "We have one dead, what happened to Sgt. Stoppable?"

Tsur stomped the ground, "See to your casualties and I will go see if there is any information on what has happened to him."

He then turned and left Karman to his work and then he went to his APC, "Turn those pieces of dung to the military police."

There was a collection of officers heading his way and he quickly saluted, Lt. Glick spoke first, "Where is Sgt. Stoppable?"

Lt. Tsur shook his head, "We encountered heavy resistance on our last stop. During the fight he fell off the Achzarit as we were leaving and he ordered his men to leave without him."

Lt. Glick put his hands on his hips and nodded, "All missions are on hold, I received a call from HQ inquiring about his status…AlJazeera is broadcasting a photo of him…Hamas is claiming to have in custody and will execute him if we do not pull out of the Gaza Strip and release all our political prisoners."

Corporal Karman approached the two and saluted, "Once we are refueled we will be ready to head back and search for Sgt. Stoppable."

"Stand down for now, we are sending in gunships broadcasting on his frequency on the chance that he is not captured?" Lt. Glick informed him.

Karman shook his head, "Captured?"

Tsur looked at Karman, "Arab television is broadcasting a picture of him claiming that he is their prisoner."

A soldier ran up to the group and quickly, "Lt. Glick, Lt. Tsur you are both needed at Battalion."

Lt. Glick returned the salute and nodded to Tsur, "I have the feeling they are going to want to know what happened."

The both walked to the Battalion HQ, the large tent loomed in the distance and Lt. Tsur wasn't wild about having to go with Lt. Glick. He knew tough questions would be asked, and he knew the big one was going to be why he had no knowledge that one of his men had gone missing.

Lt. Glick pulled one of the flaps aside and let Tsur into the tent and then he followed him inside. They met a sergeant just inside the tent, "Lt. Glick and Second Lt. Tsur to see Colonel Amidror."

The sergeant nodded, "Yes, he has been expecting both of you."

They followed the sergeant to the back of the tent to where Colonel Amidror was talking with several other officers, "Ahhhhhhh Glick, Tsur there you are…Come over here and tell us what happened out there."

Lt. Glick and Lt. Tsur saluted and then Lt. Glick nodded at Lt. Tsur, "Second Lt. Tsur was in charge of the mission, I think it best that he give the after action report."

Lt. Tsur took a deep breath and recounted the story about what had happened and what he believed went wrong and how they were unaware of Sgt. Stoppable's disappearance until after they were several kilometers away.

Major Amidror scratched his chin, "Damn bad luck Tsur, AlJazeera is running all kinds of stories about Stoppable…We have of course contacted Tel Aviv and they are attempting to reach his family."

"On the brighter side, there was a long range patrol by a company of paratroopers were sent to do reconnaissance of the area Stoppable disappeared in…They report that there is a high level search taking place, so they are theorizing that he has evaded capture." Major Amidror informed them.

"He…" Tsur began but cut himself short so he wouldn't appear to be foolish if his idea had already been suggested.

Col. Amidror looked at Tsur, "Yes…Go on."

"I believe he still has his radio with him…If we sent out a gun ship to cover the area people may be able to get in contact with him." Tsur stood quietly as his plan was chewed over.

"That is a good plan, we will do as you suggest along with patrols by Paratroopers and maybe we can find him and effect a rescue." The Colonel announced hzppily.

* * *

The next morning Bonnie Rockwaller answered a knock on her apartment door and suddenly was illuminated in the bright light of television cameras as they pushed past her and into her and began setting up in her living room. 

Bonnie was becoming alarmed, "What is going on, what is happening?"

A lady with a pad and paper fired off a question, "Tami Jacoby, Israel National News, We have received word that you are Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's fiancée'?"

Bonnie backed up slightly and answered meekly, "Y…Yes"

Another reporter shoved a digital voice recorder in Bonnie's face, "Hi Bonnie is it not? Joyce Isenberg, Jerusalem post, AlJazeera television is broadcasting your fiancée's photograph claiming to have taken him prisoner, are you worried for his well being?"

Bonnie shook her head becoming alarmed at the latest news, "I…I have not heard…Is Ron alright?"

A nicely dressed woman in a black suit and bleached blonde hair pulled Bonnie in front of one of the many television cameras, "How does my hair look Yosef?"

The man holding the camera answered, "Fine Debbie"

Bonnie looked at the camera and went into full vanity mode, "How does my hair look?"

The lady reporter patted her on the shoulder, "Now, now all you need to do is stand there and look pathetic and scared can you do that for me?"

Bonnie looked at the camera nervously, "Yes…I think so."

The man holding the camera held up a hand, "We are live in 4, 3, 2.." and then he pointed at the two women.

"This Debbie Ratner reporting for Infolive. We are here with Bonnie Rottweiler who is Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's fiancée who has just been informed that her fiancée has been captured while fighting with his unit in Gaza City."

Bonnie interrupted her, "It is Rockwaller not Rottweiler."

"Of course it is, so tell our viewers Bonnie, how long have you and Ron been engaged?"

Bonnie looked around nervously, "Uhhh…I…For about a month now."

"So you both are on aliyah and you became engaged as he was being called out to war…Can we see your ring?"

Bonnie's eyes went wide, "We…uhhhh…have not had time…It was so…sudden."

"Are you worried that your fiancée has not been captured but in fact may have been shot in the back of the head and thrown in a drainage ditch?"

Bonnie shook her head in disbelief and began to cry, "Ron's dead?"

The cameras from the print media began taking pictures and Bonnie was illuminated by one camera flash after another as she began to sob.

"Well Bonnie we have no real way of knowing this, but it is as we say always a possibility."

Bonnie was starting to shake, "I…I will have to call his parents…He has a baby sister he has never seen."

"Bonnie Rottweiler...is it true that you are pregnant with Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's unborn child?"

"WHAT...NO..." Bonnie answered defensively

"Ron Stoppable, an American Citizen, thousands of miles from home, hasn't seen his family in so long he has a sister he has never seen and now he may be lying in a ditch…dead; this is Debbie Ratner for Infolive."

Yosef the camera man turned the camera off and nodded, Debbie turned to Bonnie, "That was great, we have to leave now."

Bonnie's eyes bulged as she began to panic, "YOU ALL HAVE TO LEAVE NOW…GET OUT, ALL OF YOU, OUT."

She began to feel sick to her stomach as she made sure all the reporters left her apartment then she closed the door and began to cry, _"Ron what did you do?"_

She grabbed her cordless phone from the cradle and called home to her mother, she knew it was late where they were at, but it was an emergency, the phone rang and rang and finally on the sixth ring she heard her mother answer, "Mom, something bad happened, I don't know if it's on TV or not but Ron's been captured by the terrorists."

"W…What, are you sure honey?"

Bonnie curled up on the couch and began to bite her thumb nail, "Mom the TV and newspaper people just left, the TV lady keeps dropping hints that Ron is dead…I freaked out and ran them all out."

"Do the Stoppable's know?"

Bonnie broke down and began crying, "I don't know…I'm scared to call them…I don't know what I would tell them?"

"Your father and I will call, I'm sure they've heard by now…How are you holding up baby?"

She could hear the concern in her voice, "I'm trying to stay in control but…I'm scared."

"You go to temple and pray…We'll get in touch with the Stoppable's…You have to stay strong honey, Ron would want that."

Bonnie wiped tears from her eyes, "Yea…You're right…I'm going to get changed and head off to temple…Let the Stoppable's know I'm going to do all I can to find out about Ron."

"OK honey, you take care and becareful."

Bonnie took a deep breath as she hung up the phone, _"OK, try to relax…Ron is OK, and when he comes back and finds out that I've been telling everyone I'm his fiancée he is going to kill me…I only wanted to mess with Kim's head…and now this."_

* * *

Ron found an old tarp and hid himself as best he could on the rooftop and he managed to take a small nap. He awoke to the sun raising and the call for morning prayers playing from loudspeakers all over the city. 

He took a sip of water and realized his hands were shaking, he then felt his head and discovered he was running a fever, _"Must have an infection from where the bullet grazed my butt."_

Ron crawled out of his hiding spot and glanced around he could see armed gangs going from one building to another, _"They don't know where I am…Game plan…Stay hid in the daylight…Wage what ever kind of havoc that I can during the night….Yea that sounds good."_

_"Let's see…I need food, that restaurant down there will come in handy during the night…I think the people running it live on top of the place…Have to move carefully when I sneak in there."_ Now his mind was beginning to layout an operational plan of action, number one priority on his list was staying alive.

He heard a noise behind him, someone was coming up the stairs to the roof, Ron quickly snuck back into tool shed and closed the door behind him. He spread his feet apart and placed them on the door frame, and then with his hands he grabbed the door knob and leaned his weight back to try and hold the door closed.

Ron could feel his heart beating hard in his chest, _"This will only work if it was just a casual search of the premises, the person checking would just turn the knob and pull on the door if it appears locked they will simply move on…If it is a man with a key…I will have to shoot my way out."_

He could hear the voices on the roof now, he didn't speak Arabic but thought he picked out the word 'Go' and 'Door', the foot steps came closer and closer and then he felt a hand on the knob. There was a twist of the knob and then a jiggle of the knob and then the voices stood outside and began talking.

The voices didn't sound upset or even remotely animated; Ron's mind began to scream, _"Come on damn it leave. _

Ron was really beginning to sweat, _"I could open the door quickly and kill both of them, hide them in here….NO, during the heat of the day they would begin to stink…Not a good time to start my own private morgue."_

Then he smelled something odd, _"They're smoking cigarettes…DAMN...Guys you have till I count to 10 to go away or I will kill both of you."_

There were only two voices that Ron could make out, then a third joined in on the conversation and now a fourth, he swallowed hard and began praying, _"God if you let me out of this…Please get me out of this…I know I could take 2 but not 4…Help me lose the white guardians… Let me wake up in my own bed at home and make me 15 again and this is all just some sort of horrible nightmare."_

He heard the men laughing and then voices began to fade, they were leaving. After a period of time Ron took a deep breath and slumped to the floor of the shed. When twenty minutes passed he braved a glance out side, he quietly opened the door and peaked out.

He was once again alone. He leaned back in the shed and wiped the sweat from his face and settled in as best he could for a nap, _"Need rest before I go out and wage war tonight."_


	41. Chapter 41

* * *

Kim Possible had just walked in from a night class that she had at Upperton University, she was met at the door by her mother, "Kim…I think you need to watch the news with us." 

She looked at her mother, "Why…What happened?"

Her mother motioned for her to follow into the living room where her father and the twins and Rufus were waiting for her. Kim shook her head, "What happened?"

The TV was playing commercials and she looked at her watch it was 9:00 PM, then the CNN logo flashed on the screen and the news anchor began to read the news;

"_Our on going coverage from the crises in the Middle East, AlJazeera television is reporting that Hamas has captured a soldier from the Israeli Defense Force._

_The soldier is also an American; Sgt. Ronald Stoppable was on a patrol last night when his unit came under hostile fire from Palestinian Police forces. _

_Sgt Stoppable was from all reports wounded and ordered his armored personnel carrier to leave the area leaving himself behind._

_We now have a live feed to Netanya a city just north of Tel Aviv, Debbie Ratner is there following another story, Debbie would you please inform us of the story you have been covering today?" _

Kim shook her head in disbelief as the bleached blonde reporter began her story in front of an apartment building that she had been in a little over a month ago, _"Bonnie what are you doing?"_

"_In the apartment building just behind me currently resides Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's fiancée Bonnie Rottweiler…A young college student who followed her boyfriend to Israel_."

The footage started to roll that was shot earlier in the day and Kim shook her head, _"Bonnie you are so dead."_

She watched Bonnie speaking in Hebrew to the reporter, _"Bonnie is so double dead."_

Kim got up from the couch and walked out to the front door and looked up the street to the Stoppable's house, there were many cars over at the house and it appeared that every light in the house was on, and every news crew in the state waiting out front in the street,_"This has got to be killing his mom and dad."_

Her cell phone rang; she looked at the number it was Monique, "Hey"

Monique's voice sounded breathless, "Girl have you watched the news?"

Kim bit her lower lip, "Yes"

"They think he's dead Kim." Monique was becoming upset.

She shook her head, "No…Ron's not dead…I would know."

There was a pause, "I'm going to try and get hold of Tirza and see what he knows?"

Kim nodded, "I'm going to get to work early tomorrow and sit in the chair and try to see if I can learn anything."

Monique had an idea, "Call him on the Ronnunicator."

She thought about it and then shook her head, "No, if he is hiding it could give him away…If he's captured he won't receive it…If he's dead…He's not dead."

Jim and Tim walked over to Kim and held up Rufus, "He says he wants to go with you to save Ron."

Kim took Rufus from Jim, "Let's go see Ron's mom and dad…I'll get Wade working on transportation when we get back."

The Kimmunicator in her purse started to ring, "Monique…I'll be in touch."

She hung up on Monique and took the Kimmunicator from her purse, "Hey Wade…I know the sitch."

Wade's face appeared on the view screen, "Kim, I'm starting to work on a ride for you to over and get Ron out."

Kim smiled, "Please and Thank You…Wade…I'm going to check on Ron's mom and dad, can I call you later?"

Wade nodded his head, "Sure Kim, call me; beep me if you want to reach me."

Kim smiled sadly, "Good one Wade."

The screen went dark and Kim walked out the front door and began what she thought was the longest walk of her life, she knew Mrs. Stoppable didn't like her, Mr. Stoppable appeared to like her but Mrs. Stoppable ran the show.

She walked through the police barricade ignoring all of the camera crews from and other media that the police were keeping to the street to give the Stoppable's some Privacey, "I'm Kim Possible…I would like to see the Stoppable's."

The officer looked over a list, "The Stoppable's gave us a list of people to let inside…Yep, you're on the list."

Kim was allowed thru and when the media heard the name Kim Possible the questions began coming her way, "Kim are you planning a rescue mission? Kim how does it feel to know your old sidekick might be dead? Kim is the dying of your hair black a form of protest or morning?"

She shook her head and rang the door bell, Mr. Stoppable opened the door, "Kim, come in, come in."

Kim smiled relieved it was he who answered the door, "Thank you, I just heard about Ron."

Mr. Stoppable looked tired and she believed he looked as though he had aged at least ten years, "Rabbi Katz and the Rockwaller's are over along with some other friends from the temple, and a Ms. Rosalyn Cortez from the State Department."

She nodded politely, _"The Rockwaller's…Great…Bonnie's a no good lying bitch but we'll fight that battle another day."_

Mrs. Stoppable was in the living room holding Kaley, she smiled a tight smile and nodded politely, "Hello Kim."

'Hi…I was just coming dropping by to see if there was any word on Ron? Rufus was…is worried." Kim asked nervously as he held up the mole rat..

Mrs. Stoppable smiled at Rufus and shook her head, "No…We have very little information, just what we see on television….It is good to see Rufus again…Makes me think…"

Superintendent Rockwaller came over to Kim and extended a hand, "Kim Possible, Elliot Rockwaller how are?"

Kim shook his hand, "I'm worried for Ron but other than that I'm doing fine."

Mrs. Rockwaller came over and put a hand on Kim's shoulder, "Kim, we've met before, I'm Joanie Rockwaller, Bonnie's mom."

"Oh yes, I remember…I saw Bonnie on television a little earlier." Kim said nervously as she accidently squeezed Rufus to hard making him yelp, "Sorry Rufus."

"Poor Rufus must be worried sick, Bonnie's taking it hard; she quit giving interviews and has locked herself in her apartment and isn't seeing anyone." Mrs. Rockwaller was fighting back tears.

Once composed she continued, "It's so hard, her and Ron just becoming engaged…Now this…The engagement took us by surprise, they never appeared to get along well in high school…Funny how two young people can find each other when they are in a foreign country."

Kim smiled stiffly and lifted an eyebrow, "Yea…funny…So have they set a date yet for the wedding?"

Mrs. Rockwaller shook her head, "No…no it was all so sudden, he hasn't had the time yet to purchase an engagement ring yet."

Kim shook her head sadly, _"Bonnie you are so dead."_

Rosalyn Cortez approached Kim and held out a hand, "I don't believe we've met before?"

Kim shook the hand, "I'm Kim Possible." Then she glanced at the Rockwaller's, "I'm a friend of Ron's."

"Rosalyn Cortez, I'm with the State Department, I'm acting in advisory capacity for the Stoppable's…When was the last time you heard from Ronald?" She inquired.

Kim looked around nervously, "A…a few days ago."

"So you heard from him before they pulled out for Gaza City?" She continued with her line of questioning.

"I…I think so…Yes." Kim was now becoming highly nervous, she had come to the Stoppable's to offer support and not to become the center for attention.

Rosalyn Cortez nodded, "So you were the last known person in the United States to have spoken with him before he vanished."

Kim was trying to find a way to the door but now the whole room was looking at her, "I…I don't know."

"Did he sound upbeat, depressed, sad, what was his state of mind the last time you talked to him?" Rosalyn was digging for as much information as she could and Kim was becoming more and more nervous as the woman's stare never left her eyes.

"He…He was in a good mood…He received a box of snacks from his mom and he wanted her to send more…Sol…he was ummmm…upbeat I guess…I mean he was…Ron." Kim replied as she tried to back away from the woman.

Ms. Cortez nodded her head, "Thank you for your help Kim."

Kim smiled weakly and moved towards Ron's mother, "Sure…No big."

Ron's mother looked at her, "So you have actually talked to Ron while all this madness is going on?"

She nodded and tried to reassure Ron's mother, "He…He is alright, I can't explain it, I just know in my heart of hearts that he's OK."

"Well…I hope so…" She began to break down, "I don't want to bury my son."

Rabbi Katz and Mr. Stoppable came to her side, Rabbi Katz took her hand and Mr. Stoppable took Kaley, "I'll put this little one to bed."

Mrs. Stoppable began to regain her composure, "Rabbi Katz…I never would have let him go if I knew this would happen."

"Now, now, he may be alright, just unable to contact his unit, we must pray that he is able to come home in May just as he planned on doing." Rabbi Katz said quietly.

Kim looked at the floor and turned to leave, she was worried enough and this wasn't helping ease her fears, _"I have to get into work early tomorrow and try and see if Ron's alright…I know he is…he has to be."_

"I don't think there is much we can do here Rufus, let's head home."

Rosalyn Cortez followed Kim out the door and handed her a business card, "If you should hear anything about Ron you will be sure to give me a call won't you."

Kim nodded, "Yes…I will."

"I know these are tough times, but if I were you…I wouldn't be planning a rescue mission…They play by different rules over there." She told Kim as she climbed into the back seat of the Cadillac Escalade to be driven to the airport.

Kim stared blankley at her as she closed the door and the SUV began pulling away from the curb. The news media began hounding her again and she just waived them off, _"Who is that woman…She gives me the creeps…Almost like she can see right through me."_

Rufus looked up at Kim and shivered, "She's creepy"

Kim walked quickly back down the hill, "You said it Rufus; I think it's time to start planning a rescue mission."

Rufus had a broad grin on his face, "Uh Huh"

Rosalyn kicked off her shoes and began to massage the bridge of her nose, she was starting to feel the tell tale signs of a stress head ache coming on. She pulled the blackberry from her purse and placed a call, "Channel 3 secure."

The voice on the other ended greeted her warmly, "Rosalyn, how are things looking in Middleton?"

Rosalyn smiled, "Well sir, they don't have much more information than the networks, apparently Mr. Stoppable hasn't been to regular with his correspondence with his parents."

The voice on the other end was silent, "We have information from our sources inside the IDF that Mr. Stoppable may not be captured, lots of armed men moving methodically around Gaza City as if they were searching for something….or someone."

Rosalyn nodded, "I just talked with one of Mr. Stoppable's old girlfriends, Kim Possible, she won't come right out and say it…but I believe she has had contact with him recently…I'd say within the last 72 hours."

Once again there was silence, "How soon can you be back at Langley, I need to brief the President in the morning."

"I'm heading back to the airport now." She told her boss.

"Great, I'll look forward to reading your report in the morning."

"I will have it ready for you, sir." She promised as she ended the call.

Rosalyn Cortez in fact did not work for the State Department but in fact was a case officer for the CIA; she had degrees in Economics and Politcal Science from Harvard University, a Masters degree in Public Administration and International Development from the John F. Kennedy School of Government as well as a Doctorate in Public Policy.

Upon graduation Doctor Rosalyn Cortez was attempting to gain a job in the State Department when she was approached by the Central Intelligence Agency to become an analyst.

She was unimpressed with the offer and passed on the offer, that is when she received a late night visit to her home from the Director of the CIA, General Wellington Sinclair. He had pegged her as a raising star for whatever field of government that Dr. Cortez chose to server in and he was intent on making sure that she was going to server in the intelligence community as part of the CIA.

Doctor Cortez became intrigued as she learned more about what the job was to in tale, she would spend a number of years working in an embassy overseas learning the trade of spy craft and once her tenure was over she would be brought back to Langley to CIA Headquarters to head up the Middle Eastern desk.

She accepted the offer and was assigned to the American Embassy in Amman Jordon where she spent the next two years learning the trade of spy craft and learning about the Middle East up close and personal.

From there she was assigned to the embassy in Tel Aviv for six months and then to Damascus Syria for the next two years. The job while exciting and fulfilling had come at a price, her marriage failed and she had to return home to take custody of her four year old son Bobby.

She continued to work as an analyst on the Middle Eastern desk until six months ago when her superior Dr. Morgan Chase resigned to accept a position with Halliburton. She had been with the agency just under six years and was now in charge of the intelligence gathering apparatus dedicated to monitoring one of the most dangerous regions of the world .

Now in her late thirties she was on the short list to one day succeed the man who recruited her, General Wellington Sinclair as the next director of the CIA. It was not a job she wanted anytime soon, she was comfortable remaining in the background but was not fully comfortable with having to become a public figure should she be nominated one day for the top spot within the intelligence community.

All of these distractions she had to push out of her mind, she had to provide General Sinclair with a solid briefing for the President in the morning. She closed her eyes and retrieved her Power Book from the shoulder bag and began to compose her briefing;

"_Sgt. Ronald Stoppable, 2007 graduate of Middleton High School. Does not have a close relationship with his parents, there is also a record of a past relationship with Kimberly Anne Possible also a 2007 graduate of Middleton High School. It is believed that the relationship with Kimberly Possible ended when he discovered that she had him secretly micro chipped in order to track his whereabouts at all times. See file on Kim Possible for further back ground data._

_It is believed that she was involved with Sgt. Stoppable in the distruction of a bomb making factory in the Tulkharm refugee camp a little over a month ago. A woman matching Kim's description was seen with then Pvt. Stoppable._

_Kim Possible has stated that she believes that Sgt. Ronald Stoppable is in good spirits and has been in contact with him recently. I believe that she knows more than she is willing to share with us or his parents at present time._

_Sgt. Ronald Stoppable is currently engaged to be married to Bonnie Rockwaller, another 2007 graduate of Middleton High School. There is not much known about the engagement which may indicate that it is a one sided arrangement._

_Below are a few of the more likely scenarios to offer during the briefing if he is held prisoner by Hamas. There are also indications from within the IDF Army Intelligence group to suggest that he may not have been captured. _

_Possibilities on whereabouts of Sgt. Ronald Stoppable are as follows;_

_1. Has been captured and is being held in order to negotiate a prisoner exchange._

_2. Was killed the night he went missing and Hamas has disposed of his remains or will turn remains over in return for prisoner exchange or monetary exchange.._

_3. He was not taken prisoner but is in fact hiding._

_4. He is in hiding and is wounded._

_5. He was wounded from the initial fighting and is in hiding and has since passed away from his wounds._

_Suggestions on how best to help the Israeli Government rescue Ronald Stoppable or recover his remains as follows:_

_1. Encourage Jordan to act as third party Intermediary_

_2. Encourage Israel to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and negotiate with Hamas in good faith._

_3. Work with assets within the Red Crescent to find possible areas where Sgt. Stoppable may be held._

_Suggestions for Internal Agency operations:_

_1. Deployment of a Naval Seal Team to the Marine air craft carrier Iwo Jima to work with Israeli Special Forces should he be located and force be necessary to aid in the extraction._

_2. Continued surveillance by DIPLO 385X satellites of the area in which Sgt. Stoppable was last reported._

_3. Assigning two or more Federal Agents to provide round the clock surveillance of one Kimberly Anne Possible._"

Rosalyn Cortez saved her file and closed the power book, she rubbed her eyes and let out a tired sigh, it had been a long day and now she was at Upperton International Airport for her return trip to Washington DC, _"Truth be known, there really isn't much we can do…The ball is in the Israeli court right now."_

_

* * *

_

Ron awoke from his nap, he was hungry and still running a fever, he peaked out the door it was dusk. He pulled out two of his peanut butter crackers and ate them slowly, _"Need to find food; I won't last long on peanut butter crackers."_

He peered out the crack in the door, he saw movement on the rooftop of the building next door, _"They're still searching."_

Regaining his feet he took a drink from his canteen and checked over his rifle, _"Gun is good, pistol is good, grenades are handy…Time to sneak out and wage war…If I can cause enough damage maybe the army can find me."_

Ron slid out the door into the night, the men on the rooftop didn't see him but they were unarmed so he didn't fire on them. He made his way to the stairwell and began to descend it to the ground..

On the third level he saw people in the halls and he made his way back up to the roof, _"Better use the fire escape."_

So far he had managed to not make his presence known, he moved as silently and as quickly as he could down to the ground. He was back in the alley way behind the restaurant.

He fought the urge to pick through the trash and moved on, the streets were fairly quiet on the streets, he could see men standing guard on various street corners, _"Well…where do we begin? I need to maneuver far enough away that I can return to the roof top and use that as a base of operations."_

He heard a voice in his ear piece, "Owl 3 to Sgt. Stoppable…Do you copy?"

Ron grinned and found a place to hide as he keyed his radio, "I copy."

"We need some proof of identity, what is your Unit and IDF Identification Number?"

He pulled out his dog tag and looked at it and relayed the number, "I am a Golani on loan to the Nahal, I am currently assigned to the 82nd infantry, 2nd platoon, 'A' company, my IIN is S016-5678-6139-8150"

"Your Achzarit had an unusual mascot, what was the name of the mascot?"

"Bon Bon" Ron whispered trying not to giggle because he was elated to hear a friendly voice.

"Good to hear you Sgt. Stoppable, what is your current location?"

His face went slack, "I am not sure, I have no map and I am unsure of where my location is as related to where we were at."

There was a long silence then the voice returned, "We have paratroopers in the area, have you seen them?"

"No"

"Are you able to move, what is your health situation?"

"I have been shot in the butt, I have a fever, I have a few bruises and a pain in my chest from taking a bullet there last night." Ron whispered sadly.

"So you are mobile, can you get a visual fix on us?"

Ron was looking around in the sky and finally saw a helicopter over him, "Yes, you are right over me now."

"We now have a fix on your location."

They had a fix and so did others, he saw a group of men running towards him, then stop and take aim on the helicopter, "GET OUT OF HERE." He screamed as he ran to the center of the alley and began firing on the men.

He knocked down three men in quick succession the other two lost interest in the helicopter and took cover to fire at him. Ron looked up and saw the helicopter had left.

The men at the other end of the alley were still firing wildly until they ran out of ammunition.

When Ron heard them reloading he closed on their position and when one of the men sprang up he simply shot him down, the last man turned to run and Ron shot him in the back sending him to the ground.

Ron quickly ducked into a door way and listened to the noises of the neighborhood he could hear people yelling and the sound of many men heading his way, _"Can't stay here."_

He turned into the door way and stepped inside the building and began to move up the stairs holding his rifle at battle ready he moved to the second floor and knocked on a door. The door opened a crack and he kicked it in.

There was a family inside and they quickly raised their hands and began jabbering in Arabic, Ron didn't understand a word but he was sure it translated into _"Please don't shoot us."_

"OUT" Ron screamed in Arabic and the family quickly ran out the door. Then Ron began to run around the apartment building looking for a fire escape, he found one on a far wall. He poked his head out and began taking fire from a building across the street.

He turned the laser sight on and took air at the building where the firing was coming from, he spotted the gunman and shot him the man spun and fell off the roof to the ground. He stepped out onto the fire escape and looked up and down the alleyway, he saw a man on the ground lifting a rifle to fire at him, he snapped off a quick shot killing him instantly.

He heard loud voices coming from behind him inside the apartment; he decided to go up rather than down. He pulled a grenade from his body armor and tossed it into the apartment and began to climb up the ladder the grenade exploded and he heard screams coming from the room he just left.

"_That should hold them for a bit."_ He thought as he gained the roof and began to look around. He spotted a small two story stone building off in the distance, there was a lot of movement around it and this caught his attention, _"Head Quarters maybe?"_

He heard voices from a stairwell and knew it was time to leave. He made for the stairwell and made his way down to the next floor; the men coming up the stairs spotted him and began firing at him.

Ron went through a door into a hallway and the men followed, once they were through the door they found the hallway empty. The leader of the men motioned for the other men to begin checking the doors. They moved down the hallway finding locked door after locked door.

The man in charge was ready to give up the hunt when he saw a man come through a wall and begin firing on them. He didn't have much time to figure out what had happened before he and his men were shot dead.

Ron made it out of the building and into the street, he ran as hard as he could to put distance between him and the building that he had just been in. He heard an explosion off to his left and felt pain in his right arm, _"RPG…I'll have to stop and look at the wound later, need to find a place to hide."_

So he kept moving towards the building he had seen from the fire escape. He chanced a quick look over his shoulder there was pursuit but it was far behind him. He quickly ducked into another building.

It was a commercial laundry and the women that were working in there that saw him began screaming, Ron spotted a bed sheet and grabbed it on the way out the other side. He stopped in a back alley way unsure of which way to go until bullets started to hit dangerously close to him.

He ran away from the shooting and found another four story apartment building, he made for the building, ran inside and worked his way to the roof. It was a bad choice there was no place to hide.

Ron was becoming light headed from his arm wound and needed a place to hide, There was a large television antenna that looked like it could reach the roof of a neighboring building.

"_They're coming…I don't have much choice."_ He thought as he shouldered his rifle and ran at the antenna as hard as he could. He jumped on the antenna and it bent towards the neighboring building.

The was a loud 'snap' as the antenna broke but it had broken Ron's fall enough for him to land on the rooftop hard. He rolled from where the landed and struggled to his feet, _"Hide, have to hide."_

_

* * *

_

Kim arrived early for work, she was upset, and she had a fierce pain in her right arm and knew that Ron was hurt. She burst into Dr. Wong's office, "I need to sit in the chair, Ron's been capture or killed or something and I need to know he's alright."

Dr. Wong held up a hand, "I've been waiting Kim, I've seen the news."

They quickly made their way into the lab and Kim sat in the chair. She was shaking as she put on the head gear, "I'm ready up here."

"Kim I'm ready here." Dr. Wong informed her.

This was the most intense session they had ever had, it had the atmosphere of life and death hanging in the balance. Kim swallowed hard and closed her eyes and then gasped, the first image to come through was of Ron's arm with a piece of metal sticking out of it.

Ron looked at the wound, _"I should never have left that roof top…I was stupid."_

The door on the roof was locked, so Ron used his Yamanouchi ninja skills and walked through it. He quickly descended the stairs of the building; he was finally in luck the floor was nothing but storage for boxes and old furniture, _"Finally a place to hide."_

He turned his night vision goggles on and made his way to the back of the floor; he quickly arranged the boxes to where he could remain hiding from the stairway. Then he turned his attention back to the wound.

In the eerie green glow it didn't look much better, he gently touched the metal shrapnel that was sticking out of the arm, it hurt a little so he grasped the piece of metal as best he could and yanked it out.

Kim screamed and covered her arm, Dr. Wong came running to the chair, "Are you all right, do you want to stop."

"No…no…I'm OK, Ron is hurt." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Ron was crying and wrapping the bed sheet around his arm as best he could, the pain was intense, _"I…I'm going to die out here….I'm not going home in May…Sorry Kim, sorry Ned…Sorry Mom…Ohhhhh God what…am I going to do now."_

His right arm shaking from the pain Ron began to tear the bed sheet from the laundry into strips, _"Hell of a time to leave my first aid pack in the achzarit."_

He dressed the wound as best he could and then sat in the dark, _"What now, wait for daylight and then explore this building? I'm starving, I only have two peanut butter crackers left and some water…I'd kill for a ham sandwich."_

The pain was easing in his right arm and he flexed his hand and thought sadly, _"Long sleeves for me for the rest of my days."_

Kim's breathing returned to normal, _"Don't worry about sleeves Ron…I've got to find a way to get you out of this."_

Ron looked up from his hiding spot to see the beams two flashlights pointed at the ground and a conversation in Arabic. They were looking at the floor and then it dawned on him and he closed his eyes, _"They found my blood trail."_

He slid his pack back on and slung the rifle over his shoulder and pulled out his glock and began moving away from where he was hiding all the while making certain that he kept the two men where he could see them.

They followed his blood trail to where he was hiding and began talking excitedly to each other, _"Can't let them go for help."_

A light coming from one of the men's hands caught his attention, "Cell phone."

Before the man could place a call Ron popped up from behind the men and fired two shots into the back of the man's head dropping him instantly. The other man spun to face the man who was shooting and tried to bring his rifle up and but Ron began firing shot after shot into the man's chest and the man just stood before him twitching before finally slumping to the ground.

Kim had a death grip on the arms of the chair, _"Oh my God, Oh my God, he killed both of them and now he's searching them."_

Dr. Wong looked up, "Do you want me to shut the computers down?"

Kim shook her head, "NO"

Ron looked at the cell phone and then pocketed it, _"No virgins for you guys…Wish you guys had some food."_

He ejected the magazine from the glock and took a fresh one out of the leg pocket of his uniform and placed the glock back in its hiding place and brought his rifle back up and began to move forward.

Ron turned off his night vision goggles as he moved out the door, he could hear movement on the floors below him, _"Yea shooting a guy in the chest 10 times will definitely catch peoples attention…Should have knifed them."_

Ron made it to the next floor and took cover behind a large crate as men began to run up the stairs with AK47's at the ready. Ron looked at the crate but couldn't read the writing but he recognized the warning label, "Explosives…This must be a ammo dump or something."

He began sneaking around looking at the other boxes, _"Rifles, grenades, explosives…I think this whole building is full of this stuff."_

Kim smiled at the plan Ron was coming up with in his head, _"Ohhhhhh no fair blowing stuff up when I'm not around."_.

Ron arranged a a crate of explosives and grenades to achieve the proper effect of blowing up the first floor and then detonating the explosives on the second floor of the make shift ammo dump.

He ducked as gun fire erupted near him and hurled first one grenade and then another at the crates he had arranged and then began to run for the door, two men walked in to see what was going on only to have Ron shoot them.

The explosion was massive and propelled him out the door; he felt the fire from the explosion singe the hairs on the back of his neck and caused his ears to ring, as he kept running. Debris began to fall and still he kept running. He ran past three men with rifles who were standing in awe of the explosion. He didn't shoot them instead he kept running.

He ran until he found a building that was uninhabited due to a previous Israeli air strike, he entered it and made for the second floor. He looked out the broken out window and watched secondary explosions began finishing the job he started, "BOOYAHHHHH"

Kim folded her arms in the chair, "Ron you are in so much trouble, blowing stuff up with out me." And then she let a smile cross her lips.

Ron slumped in a corner where he could watch the explosions and fire, _"Mission accomplished, time to call it a night…Arm isn't hurting as much, fingers are a little numb…Need to find food…I'll find food in the morning…I hope."_

He then laid his head back and closed his eyes and tried to get some rest.

* * *

Katrina Sakorov stood looking in the office of one of the high rise business towers in the business district of Gaza City gazing out the window, "He is out there." 

Ivan Totsky, Katrina Sakorov's most trusted lieutenant walked to the large window that over looked the city, "Who is out there?"

Katrina's gaze never left the city, "The one who wields the blade."

Ivan shook his head, "I thought he would be in Asia or the orient?"

"He is here…Just over there…I can feel his presence." Katrina said with an evil grin

Ivan turned to look at his boss, "Are you sure?"

The explosion of the ammo dump rattled the windows of the office building, Katrina Sakorov turned to Ivan Totsky, "Yes…I am certain it is him."

"So what does this mean?"

Katrina sighed, "It means the battle is going to begin soon, I think we need to strike the first blow…Ivan I want you to take three men to the site of that explosion track the chosen one down and kill him."

Ivan nodded, "Ms. Sakorov…I have some bad news…That explosion is most likely from the arms we supplied Hamas…We have yet to be paid for the weapons."

Katrina fought hard to contain her anger and through tight lips issued Mr. Totsky his orders, "Ivan…Kill the chosen one…slowly."

"As you wish Madam Sokorov." Ivan Totsky then left to pick his men, he knew he had to choose carefully because he knew killing the chosen one would not be an easy task.

* * *

Kim took off the head gear, "Well he's not captured, he's not healthy…I've got to find a way over there to see if I can reach him." 

Dr. Wong pulled up Kim's right arm, it was dark red in color, "I think it might be wiser to let people over there know that he hasn't been captured and that he needs help."

"I guess your right." Kim said as she let out a deep breath.

Kim continued to work for the rest of the day and once she finished her workday she walked out to her car and sat behind the wheel and pulled out her Kimmunicator and pressed the button to try and contact Ron. He answered and she gasped at the condition he was in.

He hadn't shaved in several days, there were black circles around his eyes, he looked pale and he was sweating, "Hey Kim."

She swallowed hard, "Hey Ron…Glad to see you…Everyone here thinks you've been captured."

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Not yet…Still running loose."

Kim sucked in her cheecks, "How you doin'?"

He looked around and licked his lips and gave Kim a quiet rundown of his wounds, "Not good, I got hit in the arm last night…I tried to dress the wound…my fingers are blue on my right hand…I'm running a fever, I've been shot in the butt….I have a fever and nothing to eat…How's my mom doing?."

Kim tried to keep from crying, "She's doing OK, Rabbi Katz is with her, they're doing a lot of praying."

Ron wiped a tear from his eye, "I shouldn't have moved...I was stupid...I hope I can get out of this."

"I'm going to have Wade get me some transportation so I can get out there." Kim said as she was starting to become panicked.

Ron's eyes narrowed, "TO DO WHAT?"

Kim blinked, "To…to rescue you."

He looked around obviously embarrassed that he had yelled at her and hoping he had not given away his position, "Kim, stay home, no sense in both of us dying…Look by the time you get over here…I'll either be dead, captured or rescued…Stay home."

"Ron, I can find you and help…" She started before Ron cut her off.

"Kim this isn't like Drakken or, or Dementor, or Shego…These people don't monolog, they just shoot you…You stay at home, no sense in both of us dying over here." Ron said sadly

"I'm not going to sit back and do nothing Ron." Kim said in exasperation.

Ron shook his head, it was obvious to Kim he was very tired, "Kim…if…if I make it out of this…and I come home in May…I think we need to talk about our future plans."

Kim sat up right in the driver's seat, "Oh…OK."

"Look I have to go…I have to keep moving, try to find something to eat." Ron said sadly as he ended the call.

Kim sat there looking at the blank screen, _"He wants to propose." _and then she pressed the button for Wade, "Wade"

Wade's face appeared on the screen, "Hey Kim."

Kim bit her lower lip, "Any luck on finding a lift back to Israel?"

Wade shook his head, "No luck yet, still working on it."

Ron put the Ronnicator back in his pack and took out the cell phone that he had obtained the night before, _"I wonder if I can call out into Israel with this?"_

Ron closed his eyes and thought of Bonnie's phone number and dialed it and was pleased when a rather annoyed Bonnie Rockwaller answered the phone, "I am not going to give anymore interviews."

He began to laugh, "Bonnie, it's me."

"RON…Are you alright? I'm sorry about telling everyone that I was your fiancée'…I was just trying to make Kim upset." Bonnie explained quickly.

Ron chuckled, "It's OK Bonnie…I'm in trouble, I need you to get this phone number to the IDF at Tulkharm…They'll know who to contact to help me…Can you do that for me?"

Bonnie swallowed hard, "Yes…I can do that…Are you…alright?"

"No, I'm hurt…and I'd really like to get out of here…I'm going to hang up now so I don't run the battery down." He told her.

"RON, the number, I need the number."

Ron chuckled again, "Yea that would help…Uhhhhhh…029-807-8810…Thanks Bonnie."

He ended the call and looked at the bluish fingers of his right hand, _"I hope this works…I don't think I can stay out here much longer."_

As he ate his final two peanut butter crackers, he closed his eyes, _"It was good to hear Kim and Bonnie's voices again…Maybe I will be able to get out of this one after all."_


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Sorry for the delay in the story but I've been battling writers block and working on more light hearted fare such as Senior Island. Thanks for all your reviews, and for sticking with my story for as long as you all have.

Bubba

* * *

Bonnie ran out into the parking lot and got into her car and headed east to the Tulkharm border crossing, "Have to hurry, Ron's hurt and needs help."

The border crossing was only 15 miles but to Bonnie the trip took forever, she made the crossing and pulled up to a guard house and got out of her car, "I NEED HELP."

A number of golani soldiers came over to her all wanting to know what was going on. Finally she ran into a patient sergeant, "What seems to be the trouble here?"

Bonnie waved the scrap of paper around, "I am Ronald Stoppable's fiancée and he called me on the phone and left me this number to reach him at."

The sergean't eyes widened, "You must talk to the base commander, follow me."

Bonnie followed the sergeant down a row of small buildings until they reached the administration building. The sergeant motioned for her to come inside, and then he approached the young IDF lady soldier that was manning the reception desk, "This lady has heard from Sgt. Stoppable and has a number at which he can be reached, it is very important she talk to Colonel Lazaroff."

The girl soldier nodded, "He has gone home for the evening but I will see if I can reach him at his home."

She quickly placed a call and then began talking on the phone, Bonnie was trying to hear but the sergeant was beginning to question her, "Is he alright? Is he hurt?"

Bonnie nodded, "Ron said he was hurt and needed help."

The female soldier hung up the phone, "Colonel Lazaroff is on his way back and he would like for you to wait in his office, once he is here he will contact Tel Aviv."

The sergeant nodded and the female soldier escorted Bonnie into the Colonel's office. She sat in front of the desk and looked at the family photographs and photos of different military men and machines. She didn't have a very long wait before the door opened and Col. Lazaroff walked in, "Good evening, and who do I have the honor of addressing?"

Bonnie stood up quickly and shook the Colonel's hand, "Bonnie Rockwaller, I am Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's fiancée he called me on the phone and left me this number to reach him at."

Col. Lazaroff took the scrap of paper and looked at the number, "Are you sure that it was your fiancée?"

Bonnie chuckled, "It was Ron, he is one of a kind."

The colonel nodded and began making phone calls and before Bonnie knew what was going on the office began to fill up with people. One of the officers patted Bonnie on the shoulder, "I am Lt. Zolner, how did Ron sound when he talked to you?"

Bonnie took a deep breath, "He sounded tired, he said he was hurt and needed help."

The other men stood in the corner and talked quietly amongst themselves. After an animated discussion they turned their attention back to Bonnie, "Ms. Rockwaller can you do something for us?"

Bonnie shifted in her seat nervously, "If it will help Ron…Yes."

* * *

Kim received a call on the Kimmunicator she quickly pulled the device from her purse, "What's the sitch Wade?"

The young computer genius appeared on the screen, "Hey Kim, got you a ride but you have to be in Upperton International in half an hour, head to the private airline hangers and there you will board a private jet for New Jersey and from there an Al El flight to Tel Aviv…I'm still trying to figure out how to get you close to the Gaza Strip."

Kim smiled, "You rock Wade, I'm on my way…What hanger am I looking for?"

Wade returned the smiled, "Hanger 18, can't miss it."

Once she got off the Kimmunicator with Wade she popped the trunk of her car and made sure all her mission gear was ready, _"Parachute, hair dryer grappling hooks, laser beam lipstick, and knock out gas eyeliner…I think I'm ready, time to go rescue Ron."_

The car fired up and Kim roared away from the college, it was time for her to quit being a spectator and get into the fight, _"He didn't look that good, he didn't try to lie to me about his injuries so he must be thinking his times almost up….Need to hurry."_

She took the exit off of the highway for the airport; she drove past the exit for the big commercial carriers and took the exit for the private air craft and the smaller regional carriers.

She pulled up in front of Hanger 18 and found two men in really nice well tailored blue suits waiting for her, the heavier set man spoke first, "You'se Kim Possible?" One of the men asked.

Kim swallowed hard, these guys didn't look like the normal people that Wade arranges rides with, "Yes…yes I'm Kim Possible."

The smaller heavier set man nodded, "How ya doin'? Wade said you'd be needing a ride to Jersey, I'm fat Tony Spinelli and this is my business partner Big Knuckles Frank Antonio."

Tony shook her hand and then the other man, Kim laughed nervously, "I…I see why they call you Big Knuckles…You…do have…really large knuckles."

"Hey I came by them naturally, breaking legs in my younger days." The man said with no trace of humor in his voice.

Kim nodded, "Well…ummm…I guess we should go."

Tony nodded, "You'se got it chickie baby, throw your gear inside and let's get moving."

Kim took her things out of the trunk of her car and took them inside the hanger, she took them on board the Lear Jet Bombardier 60 and made her self comfortable. She noticed a rather nervous looking man that was bound and gagged near the back of the plane, "Uhhhh…Is…"

The men turned and glared at her, Big Tony pointed one of his sausage like fingers at her, "Wade said he'd tell you to not ask questions."

Kim grinned and nodded nervously, "Right, no questions…none from me."

The plane taxied out of the hanger and soon was in the air heading for New Jersey and Kim was on her way to begin her rescue mission of Sgt. Ronald Stoppable.

* * *

Ron found a corner of the bombed out building that looked comfortable and sat with his back up against the wall and watched the glow of the fire from his explosion illuminate the night sky as she tried to relax to catch a few hours of needed sleep.

He began dozing lightly and he began to dream, he was back in Japan and Yori was in his arms snuggling against him. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "They are coming for you now; you must call for the lotus blade."

His eyes popped open just as the cell phone began to ring, he pulled it out of his pocked and looked at the number and thought about not answering it but he was desperate to get out of where he was so he hit the connect button, "Shalom?"

"Is this the golani sergeant that is AWOL from his squad?"

Ron smiled, _"Lt. Glick…Bless you Bonnie."_

"Yes this is the one, when are you guys going to get around to arresting me?"

He heard Lt. Glick chuckle, "We are trying to trace your cell phone signal now…Are you the one that is responsible for the pretty light show?"

Ron was breathing easier, "Yes that was me…I got a little bored so…I began improvising."

Lt. Glick's voice became more serious, "We had paratroopers close to your location when the helicopter picked up your radio signal…We have a plan to make things a little easier for you."

Ron sat up, "I am listening."

The line became quiet for a moment, "Tel Aviv is announcing that you are KIA…Hoping to reduce the number of people looking for you."

Ron nodded and looked out into the night sky, "I see…will anyone be informing my parents of the truth?"

"No…we need to sell the story…Your fiancée is going to help by attending a press conference when we announce it in the morning."

Ron began to get emotional, "Umm…I…This is going to be hard on my mother…"

"We understand Sergeant but we feel it is the best way to extract you…How is your health?" Lt. Glick inquired.

Ron began quietly running thru his list of injuries, "I have shrapnel wounds on my right arm, my fingers are turning blue…I am very nervous about this wound, I was shot in the butt after I fell from the Achzarit on the night of the raid…I have a pain in my chest from taking a round that my body armor stopped, I am running a fever, I have no food, I still have a little water left…Situation is bleak…Morale is still good."

Lt. Glick was silent for a bit, "We are going to push further into the city and try to get the paratroopers to you as soon as we can, they have a surgeon with them."

Ron had a question that had been bother him since the night of the raid, "Lt. Glick…How is Stoil?"

Lt. Glick thought about lying but decided that Ron would rather have the truth, "He died in the Achzarit before they could return to the staging area."

Ron stared off into space and said a quick prayer for Pvt. Stoil, he never did get to know him but the death still weighed on him, "I…I did not know him that well…I am sorry…I should have had us moving quicker…or…"

"That is enough Sgt. Stoppable, you did all you could, we interviewed the men once they returned…You were ambushed and there was nothing you or anyone else could have done to prevent his death…You are very lucky that you all were not killed." Lt. Glick told him sternly.

Ron didn't say anything for a bit, he played the whole scene over again in his mind, _"He was shot thru the throat…the bullet struck me and knocked me down…I have blood all over the front of my uniform…it was his blood…There really wasn't much I could do."_

"Yes sir, I understand…Have you got a lock on my position? I may need to get off the phone to conserve batteries."

He could hear Lt. Glick talking to some people in the background, "Yes we have your position, hold tight where you are and we should be there in a few hours."

"Thanks guys, I will be looking forward to seeing you." Ron told them as he ended the call. Then he shifted his weight around to try to get comfortable against the wall and catch a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

Ivan Totsky chose three of his best men to go on the hunting expedition, Gregory Fedderov, Mikhail Petrovich, and Nikolai Kotov all former GRU, all well over six foot tall and all seasoned killers.

Ivan especially enjoyed the work of Mikhail Petrovich as he favored close combat with his fury boot knife. He had seen the man fillet people alive and enjoyed the spectacle of watching the man whip the razor sharp knife through the air.

They were all dressed in their Russian Special Forces uniforms with the shadow camouflage design to help disguise their movements during the night, along with their black berets.

They were all carrying AK47's and a variety of small arms with them, Ivan Totsky smiled and at the men, "This should be more than adequate for hunting down and killing this supposed chosen one."

To start the hunt Ivan drove his team in the Mercedes S class sedan to where the ammo dump had exploded, he figured the chosen one would still be near by, and if he was nearby then his team could be in position to kill him should the opportunity arise.

They pulled up a safe distance from where once stood a two story stone building that was now just a pile of ruble. They exited the car and walked towards the building, it was still burning and small explosions could still be heard coming from within the walls that had remained standing.

They approached a small group of armed men, one of which he recognized. Samar Assad a representative of the Palestinian authority that had helped broker the deal with Yurchenko/Sakorov crime family.

Ivan walked towards the group, "Samar, what has happened here?"

Samar was startled to see the big man dressed as he was and holding a rifle. He began to stammer, "It was not our fault…There was a team of Israeli soldiers, more than 50."

Ivan smirked, _"He is afraid I am here to kill him."_

"I was told this was all done by one man and we have come to kill him."

Samar visibly relaxed, "Yes, I have heard this as well." He turned and motioned for a younger man armed with an AK47 to come forward, "Rasheed has seen the man you are looking for."

Ivan looked at the young man, "What did you see?"

Rasheed pointed down the street, "An Israeli soldier ran down that way."

Ivan nodded, "Did you see where he was running to?"

Rasheed shook his head, "No, I lost him when the building began to explode."

"We need a guide, can you show us some likely hiding places down that way?" Ivan asked.

"Yes…You pay cash…American dollar." Rasheed asked with a grin.

"I can pay cash." Ivan said as he dug into his wallet and pulled out a $100 bill.

* * *

The call to morning prayers woke Ron up just before dawn; he could see the red glow in the sky and smiled as he realized the mayhem he caused was still on going, _"Time to look around."_

He walked out into the hallway, the door was non-existent after the air strike, there weren't much of the upper floors left, and the floor he was on was barely standing. He walked to the edge of the second floor and peered over the edge into a room on the first floor.

He took out his field glasses and began to scan the horizon, looking for a convoy of Achzarits that were going to be coming to pick him up soon. Then he began to survey the surrounding buildings when he spotted something strange.

He began looking at a building off in the distance, _"There are a lot of guards on that plain looking building…I wonder why they need so many there."_

He continued to study the building, _"Stone, single story, the guards are trying to stay out of sight…There's one…two…"_ He continued counting the guards and rolling the question around in his head, _"five…no six guards that I can make out from here trying to remain hidden….Probably an equal amount on the other side."_

He began estimating the distance to the building, _"Seven…or eight blocks."_ Movement much closer caught his attention, a group of men heading his way, _"Those aren't paratroopers…Who the hell are those guys?"_

_

* * *

_

Kim settled into the seat, occasionally glancing towards the back of the plane to look at the bound and gagged man in the back, _"I should probably really save him."_

Fat Tony came towards her, "We have to set down at some airfield in Ohio."

Kim shook her head, "Why?"

He pointed out the window and Kim saw the F-15E fighter jet that was off their wing, Fat Tony filled her in a little more, "There's another one on the other side and one directly behind us."

She shook her head, _"Wade what did you get me into?"_

Once the plane landed Kim looked out the window and saw a large portrait of Orville and Wilbur Wright painted on top of a large hanger, _"Wright Patterson Air Force Base…We're in Columbus, OH."_

The plane taxied to where the tower ordered them to go and they were met by a squad of MP's holding M16's and a group of men in suits and one woman. Kim closed her eyes, _"Ms. Cortez"_

They escorted the pilots, Fat Tony, Big Knuckles Frank and Kim out of the plane, one of the soldiers stuck his head out, "There's a man back her tied up and gagged."

Rosalyn Cortez lifted an eyebrow and looked at the two business men, Fat Tony swallowed hard, "His name is Bobby Martino…He made my daughter pregnant and was reluctant to marry her…We were in the process of making him…un-reluctant."

She shook her head, "I really don't care, Lt. Wellston, turn these men loose we have Kim Possible in custody now."

Big Tony breathed a sigh of relief, "You'se is a most kind and understanding woman, if I would have been told we was to be transporting a fugitive…"

Ms. Cortez glared at the men, "You may leave and I would do so before I decide to check into your story more thoroughly."

The pilots, Fat Tony and Big Knuckles Frank scampered back into the airplane and before the door could close they pitched out Kim's mission gear. Kim started to walk towards her bag when two soldiers stepped in front of her barring her path.

She turned and faced Ms. Cortez, "I suppose you want to know where I was going?"

Rosalyn Cortez shook her head, "No, I know where you were going, so I decided that I would save you the trouble of a wasted trip."

Kim face brightened, "They rescued Ron?"

Ms. Cortez shook her head, "They announced it on Fox News about an hour ago, they recovered Sgt. Ronald Stoppable's body and that all search efforts were to be suspended."

"I…ummm…I don't believe it…Ron's not dead." Kim said trying hard to control her emotions.

Kim was then pushed up against the side of a humvee and searched by an MP who handed Ms. Cortez her Kimmunicator, she looked it over, "Well we saved you the trouble of traveling to a foreign country illegally and facing a jail term overseas…Or worse both of you going into the Gaza Strip and ending up dead."

They handcuffed Kim and put her in the back of a humvee, Mr. Cortez handed the Kimmunicator to a younger man in a suit, "Have this analyzed and find out what frequency it operates on and go through her bag and find out what she was taking with her."

Kim was placed in an interview room that had a television tuned to CNN, she saw video of Bonnie crying her eyes out and of Rabbi Katz standing outside the Stoppable's house informing the media that the Stoppable's would like their privacy in their time of grief.

Kim nodded her head, _"He's not dead, I would know it."_

Rosalyn Cortez was on the other side of a two way mirror watching Kim's reactions to the news. She was also on the phone to the CIA director Gen. Wellington Sinclair, "No sir, she does not believe him to be dead and neither do I."

She listened to Gen. Sinclair give the evidence that the IDF had provided the media before she continued, "I believe he was able to make contact with the IDF and they released the story to ease the pressure on him to make a rescue attempt more feasible."

She listened to her superior, "We are going to turn Ms. Possible loose with her equipment and monitor her communication frequencies that she uses in order to ascertain just what information she posses in this whole affair."

The young man in the suit entered the room, "We have all we need Dr. Cortez."

Rosalyn nodded her head and took the kimmunicator from the man, "I have to go now, I will be in Washington this evening to provide you with a full briefing."

She nodded as she listened to her boss on the phone, "Yes sir, I understand." She hung up the phone and left the room; she made the turn and put her hand on the door knob to Kim's holding room, _"Try to sell Possible on the fact that Ron is dead…Hard to do when I don't believe it myself."_

She opened the door and walked into the room, "You are being released and sent back to Middleton, I'm told there are some legal entanglements you have there that have ordered you to remain in the Tri-County area…Any attempt you make to travel overseas illegally again and you will be imprisoned is that clear."

Kim closed her eyes and nodded and took the kimmunicator back from Ms. Cortez, "I understand."

Ms. Cortez's tone softened, "I think you really need head home and see if the Stoppable's need any help with funeral arrangements."

Kim nodded as she walked out of the room, she was then escorted to a military jet for a return trip to Upperton International, _"Ron's not dead, I just know it."_

_

* * *

_

Bonnie finally was able to return home after a long day in front of the television cameras, the sun was starting to come up and she was exhausted, _"Glad I don't have any classes today…I have to call…"_

There was a noise she had never heard before, "What is that?"

Doors began opening, and neighbors began coming out of their apartments, "Come with us, they're firing rockets at us again."

Bonnie shook her head, "What…who's firing rockets at us again?"

She began following the crowd from the apartment building, "Hezbollah is at it again, and their firing rockets at us from Lebanon like they did a few years ago."

Bonnie shook her head and followed everyone into the underground shelter, "I thought the UN or somebody was in Lebanon or somewhere?"

They stood in line, and began walking down the stairs of the concrete shelter. The room was cramped and not very well lit and had a small fan to circulate air. Bonnie pushed thru to the back of the room.

She looked at all the people that were coming into the shelter, small children, women, and elderly people. A lady touched Bonnie's shoulder, "I saw you on TV, I am so sorry about your fiancée."

She nodded, "I was just getting home and I was going to call my mom and dad up over in the United States."

The woman had stopped paying attention and was looking up at the ceiling, "We went through these rocket attacks two years ago…After a while you can tell by the sound how close they strike."

Bonnie swallowed hard and her palms began to sweat, "Are…are we safe down here?"

The woman nodded, "Should be, although we have never sustained a direct hit."

She heard a thud and then another thud, "Sounds far away."

The woman nodded, "Outside the city, maybe hit the industrial park."

There was a much louder boom and the electricity flickered off and on, she heard a couple of women scream and fought the urge to do so herself, _"I wish Ron was around…I wish I was at home."_

After an hour an all clear was sounded and people were able to leave the concrete bomb shelter. When Bonnie was able to make it up the stairs she could see smoke raising up in the distance and she could hear the wail of fire trucks responding to put out the fire.

She made the walk back to her apartment in silence along with the other residents of the complex. Once she was inside her apartment she lay down on the couch and stared into the darkness, _"I'm going home; I hope Ron is able to go home."_

Bonnie reached over and picked up the cordless phone and called her mom, "Hi Mom"

"Ohhhhhh Honey, we just heard, we are sooooo sorry."

Bonnie smiled, "Mom, Ron's alright, they made that announcement to throw the people that are looking for him off."

"SO RON'S ALIVE!"

"As far as I know…Tell the Stoppable's so that they know…but have them keep up the act or things could get bad for Ron." Bonnie said as she got up and walked into bedroom bringing the cordless phone with him.

"I'll tell them, as soon as we're off the phone, I'll go over there myself."

Bonnie fought the urge to cry, "Mom…I want to come home, I'm really scared…I've never went through anything like this before."

"Stay strong for Ron honey, remember how he rescued you from those robot girls."

Bonnie laughed, "Mom that was more stupid than scarey…I'll hang in there in case he needs me."

"Take care honey."

"Love you" Bonnie said as she hung up the phone.

Bonnie crawled into bed, _"Talking to mom always makes me feel better."_

_

* * *

_

Ron put the field glasses on the men heading towards his building, _"Three very heavily armed men…I think it's time to withdraw from this position."_

He turned to move to the other side of the bombed out building when he heard noises from below him and then a man cursing in Arabic, _"Time to move towards the collapsed floor."_

Ron moved as carefully as he could to the back of the building and jumped from the second floor to a mound of ruble on the first floor, and came face to face with Rasheed who was holding an AK47, the man looked as surprised to see Ron as he was to see him.

Rasheed tried to bring his rifle up to shoot him, but Ron was faster with his glock and shot him in the chest the man staggered backwards but didn't fall so he shot him again and again before he slumped to the floor.

Ron began to move to the window to crawl out but before he could reach it a voice in his head screamed out, "DOWN". He fell to the ground as gunfire erupted from the other side of the window.

He rolled to the right and regained his feet and turned just in time to avoid the blade of Mikhail Petrovich which was heading towards his stomach. The blade caught the rifle and forced Ron to drop it, he then quickly reached down and pulled his boot knife out and slashed towards the man's chest.

Mikhail jumped back and smiled, "You have no skill with a blade."

Ron said nothing stepped in closer to the larger man and with astonishing speed he slashed the Mikhail's chest six times with the seventh strike going across his throat spraying blood from the fatal wound all over the wall just to Ron's left. Mikhail Petrovich never knew what had struck him before he slumped to the ground.

Ron leaned over the body and sneered, "How is that for skill?"

Mikhail's eyes stared at Ron and his lips tried to move, Ron stood over him and shrugged, "No virgins for you."

Ron didn't waste searching him before he reached down and grabbed his rifle and ran back towards the front of the building just as gunfire erupted behind him. Ron turned and shot the Nikolai Kotov just as he was climbing thru the window.

Ron ran into the next room and into the waiting knee of Gregory Fedderov, Gregory drove the knee hard into Ron's stomach, if he would have eaten any food over the last two days he would have lost it on the floor from the force of the blow.

Ron's rifle went flying as he rolled off the knee and ran to the wall and tried to pass through it before a hand grabbed the back of his pack and pulled him back into the room and then slung him to the other side of the room...

Ivan Totsky stood above him, "Yamanouchi tricks will not help you here boy."

Ron blinked, _"OH NO" _Then he tried to dig into his body armor for his glock before being kicked in the small of his back by Gregory.

He yelled in pain as he tried to scamper for the door, he was trying to put distance between him and his attackers but they had him cornered, Ron had only his head through the door before he was drug back into the room.

Ron looked at the ceiling as he was thrown to other side of the room, in a barely audible urgent whisper Ron called for the blade, "Ohhhhh Magic Sword…I need you."

Yamanouchi School of Ninjitsu rests in a secret location high on top of Mt. Yamanouchi in Northern Japan, and is the current resting place of the lotus blade. An attractive young woman named Yori was chosen as a custodian of the temple. She was also a close friend and past lover of one Ronald Stoppable otherwise known as 'The Chosen One'.

Her slender form was sitting on a large pillow cross legged in deep meditation in the shrine that housed the lotus blade. Without warning the lid of the box flew open with a loud bang and a ball of energy raced from the temple towards 'The Chosen One' and an uncertain destiny.

Yori nodded her head and smiled, _"And so it begins."_

His helmet skittered across the floor and his pack came open spilling its contents on the floor. Ron struggled to his feet as he tried to keep the two men in front of him, _"These guys are good and they know who I am."_

Ron grabbed a flash grenade that had rolled out of the pack and pulled the pin and dropped it in between him and a very surprised Gregory Fedderov. He then grabbed the man and took him to the ground landing on top of him and the grenade.

He could see Gregory's eyes wide in amazement that Ron would do such a thing before the grenade detonated sending Ron and Gregory into the air. Ron skidded across the floor landing with a loud 'thump' with Gregory landing close to him dead from the concussion of the explosion.

Ivan Totsky had dived for cover and after the explosion he walked back into the room with pistol in hand, "You are crazy, and now you will die."

Ron felt the tell tale breeze that always signaled the arrival of the lotus blade, Ron's eyes began to glow blue as he closed the distance between him and Ivan. This startled Totsky but before he could shoot Ron he was distracted by a bright yellow orb that had just streaked past his ear.

The lotus blade took shape in Ron's hands just as he sprang into the air to deliver the killing blow, Ivan tried to aim the glock to kill Ron at close range, but he wasn't fast enough. The lotus blade sliced thru his neck severing his head from his body.

The speed of Ivan Totsky's decapitation was such that the head didn't immediately leave his body until Ivan sank to his knees and then as the torso fell backwards the severed head rolled over his shoulders and bounced to the floor.

Ron's eyes were radiating a brilliant blue holding the blade before him shook his head and smiled evilly at the severed head, "No virgins for you."

His eyes returned to normal and he looked at the blade, _"I think it might be wise to keep you around."_

Where to keep the blade that was now the question of the moment, Ron pulled the Gerber boot knife from its sheath and looked at it, suddenly the lotus blade took the form of the boot knife.

Ron smiled as he placed his newest weapon in the sheath that used to hold the Gerber, _"Ahhhh Ha that is a clever magic sword."_

He then turned his attention to searching the dead, he began with Ivan Totsky, _"Glock, good, ammo, good, ah a wallet…MONEY…$400 U.S….Booyah, have to check the rest of these guys…Ohhhhhhh Yeaaaaa, POWER BARS….FOOD."_

There were two energy bars and Ron ripped the wrapper off of one and began to eat it, he turned and looked at the severed head. The late Ivan Totsky's sightless eyes stared at him. Ron walked over and kicked the head to the other side of the room, _"What the hell are looking at...I earned this."_

It was then that he noticed the lack of blood from the body, _"Looks like when the blade sliced through the neck it was red hot…sealed the wound before blood could fly everywhere...wierd"_

He quickly finished up the power bar and then searched the other men and confiscated everything he could before having to leave the building as the noise of the fighting had attracted the Palestinians, _"Time to go find out what's in that building down the street."_

Ron retrieved his helmet, pack and rifle and crawled out the window and began to work his way towards the building he had been watching, _"Glocks, ammo, food, money….OK, find a hiding spot and then return the call and let them know where I am."_

With his rifle up he made his way slowly, he could hear yelling and screaming behind him, and this brought a smile to his face, _"Sounds like they found a severed head or something."_

He was three blocks away from the building he hid in the shadows of the early morning and began his surveillance of the building, _"One story stone office building…They are making a good show of looking like they are not guarding it…strange."_

He put his field glasses back in his pack, _"I have to find a place to hide, and daylight is not the right time to approach this building."_

Ron began to work his way in closer to the building block by block; he decided to duck into an alley when he was within three blocks. The back door of one of the buildings was open so he quietly moved inside.

He ducked down behind some boxes, _"Store…I wonder if they have any food…I could really use a bag of chocolate milk right about now."_

The room was dimly lit and was full of packing containers, Ron opened one up and peeked inside, _"Nope…furniture…figures."_

He heard someone enter the room and begin rummaging through the crates; he brought his rifle up and watched. It was a woman; she found what she was looking for and left the back room.

Ron let out a deep breath as he crept around the in the room always being careful to stay against the walls and remain in the shadows, _"See if I can work my way towards the front."_

The town's loudspeakers burst to life startling Ron; he shouldered his rifle quickly before realizing it was a call to mid-day prayers. He heard the woman calling out to a man and then the two of them left, she reached up and turned the sign on the front door.

Ron shadowed the two as they left, _"Must be a closed sign…Time to work my way closer."_

Once he was in the front part of the store he spotted a cup of coffee and a small pastry, he quickly ate the pastry and downed the coffee in two gulps, _"Food is good, starving is bad."_

He stood at the edge of the front window and looked up the street towards his target building, _"Need to work in closer, I can't see anything from here."_

Ron returned to the back of the room and peered out at the alley, with all the IDF activity in the area the alley was deserted, _"OK, need to work closer."_

Working with great care he slowly walked down the alley, holding to the shadows and being ever watchful for trouble. He finally reached his objective, a building that was just a block away from the one he was interested in.

There was a fire escape that let to the roof, Ron looked around and then jumped up and grabbed the bottom rung of the iron ladder and pulled his way up to the first level. The fire escape creaked and groaned under his weight so when he reached the first level he stopped and listened and observed his surrounding to see if he had been discovered.

"_No movement from around or above me…Good."_ He thought as he climbed carefully to the next level. Where he repeated the procedure, when he was satisfied it was safe he climbed another level.

He finally reached the top and he peered over the edge of the roof and spotted what he was looking for, _"Guard, not paying attention, looking at something just down the street."_

A voice over a loudspeaker startled him, "Ronald Stoppable, why do you not give yourself up? What do you hope to gain by murdering innocent civilians? Is your thirst for blood so great?"

Ron nearly fell off the building as he quickly moved back down the next level and brought his rifle up and spun around looking for a target, _"What the hell?"_

The voice on the loudspeaker continued, "We know where you are and it is only a matter of time before we find you…Maybe then you will truly be dead…If you surrender yourself now you will be treated humanely according to the Koran…We only want to live in peace so surrender now."

His breathing was finally beginning to return to normal, _"They're trying to scare me, they have no idea where I am…good…good…OK, time to get on that roof."_

The messages continued over the loudspeaker but they were becoming more distant, _"Probably being broadcast from a car or truck."_

Ron crawled out onto the roof and took position behind a generator where he could remain hid from the guard and remain hid from the other buildings, _"Come on guy, time to patrol your building so I can kill you."_

He detected movement so he peered over the top of the generators, _"He's leaving?"_

The ring of the cell phone nearly gave him a heart attack; he took it out of his pocket, "Shalom?"

"Just a call to let you know we are underway and closing on your position." Ron looked at the phone and realized it was Lt. Glick.

"Yes officer, I am no longer where I was, had to relocate…Too many bad guys in the area." Ron told him quietly.

Ron looked around, "Ummmm…eight blocks…east of where I was. I am outside of a building that is suspicious."

Lt. Glick was silent, "Do not change positions again unless absolutely necessary…Is that understood."

"Yes officer"

Lt. Glick ended the call and Ron began to crawl around and search the top of the building.

* * *

Kim finally arrived back at Upperton International Airport, the plane taxied up to hanger 18 and she grabbed her back and walked down the stairs to find her car, "This did not go as expected."

Once in the privacy of her car she pulled out her Kimmunicator and pressed the button to talk with Wade, "Hey Wade"

Wade was in his new location in the basement so he could have more room for his computer equipment, "Hey Kim, how's the trip going so far."

Kim shook her head, "Not good, Government types caught me and sent me home."

Wade's attention was suddenly captured by a flashing red light on one of his computer monitors, "Kim, I'll contact you later." Wade quickly ended the conversation with the push of a button.

Kim looked at the blank screen, "You better have a good excuse for this Wade."

Wade began punching keys, _"Our conversation was being monitored but by who?"_

The data came across the screen, _"Kim said she was busted by government types…I see…Langley, VA….Kim was busted by the CIA."_

Wade leaned back in his chair, _"So the CIA wants to know what Kim's up to…I think I'm going to have to give them something to keep them entertained….but what?"_

_

* * *

_

Kim drove to the Space Center and caught Dr. Wong as she was getting ready to leave for the night, "Sorry for popping in so late but I have to use the chair, they claim Ron's dead and I just want to make sure that he isn't."

Dr. Wong shook her head, "I heard, alright, let's head down into the lab."

They took the elevator to the secret lab and began the preparations necessary to achieve the telepathic link. Kim sat in the familiar chair and put on the head gear and waited for the go signal from Dr. Wong.

Dr. Wong began working on bringing the workstations up, "I think I worked the bugs out of the video so I'm going to try and record this session."

Kim nodded nervously, "Alright, let me know when your ready."

"I'm all set back here; see what you can find out." Dr. Wong told her as she started the DVD recorder.

Kim lay back and closed her eyes, and the images Ron was seeing began to come into focus. Ron was looking at a one story building across the street from where he was hiding on a roof top, "He's still alive, I knew it."

Dr. Wong smiled, "I'm getting video now as well."

Kim could hear Ron's labored breathing, _"He's not doing to well."_

Ron rolled over onto his back and looked into the sky; he made sure he was well hidden from the buildings around him. He was trying to sleep but not having much luck, _"Adrenaline from this morning is gone, I hope they find me today…I don't think I can last much longer."_

Kim was alarmed at what she was witnessing from the Space Center on the other side of the planet, _"Oh God, I hope I'm not witnessing Ron dieing."_

"Hang on Ron…You've got to hang on."

Ron was still staring at the sky, _"Pretty blue sky, its March still isn't it? How long have I been on the run? Two maybe three days, feels like much longer?"_

Ron rolled his head an looked at the building next to him, there was no activity, _"I wrote my letters to mom, Kim, and Bonnie, is there anything else I need to do in case I die?"_

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Damn it Ron quit thinking like that."

Dr. Wong looked up, "What's he thinking? All I see is the sky."

Kim let out a breath, "He's wondering if his affairs are in order in case he dies."

Dr. Wong looked up, "Oh…How do you think his health is?"

Kim shook her head, "I don't think he's doing to well."

Ron heard a noise coming from across the street and began to crawl over to have a look through his field glasses, _"Large truck"_

He crawled a little further out to see what was being delivered, _"What do you have in there?"_

The doors of the truck opened and children with hoods over their heads, hands bound and chained together at the neck were being led out. Ron forgot about his injuries and rolled onto his stomach, _"It's them…the kids, 3, 4….I wonder if the soldier is with them? 8, 9, 10…12,"_ and then a man in uniform with a hood over his head and his hands bound fell out of the truck and the guards began to beat him.

Ron could feel the blood and adrenaline begin to flow again, _"Humanely treated according to the Koran, my ass."_

"Ronald Stoppable, if you do not surrender yourself within the next hour, we can no longer guarantee the safety of our prisoners." The voice over the loud speaker announced.

Kim jumped when she heard the voice on the loudspeaker, "DON'T GIVE IN RON!"

Ron shouldered his rifle to fire at the truck with the loudspeaker on it and then pulled back, _"He circles through here every hour on the hour…I have one hour to prepare an ambush, a diversion and a siege till I'm rescued…or die."_

"Ronald Stoppable, why do you resist? Your mother worries about you. While you are suffering your fiancée' Bonnie…Rollwalter is having affairs with…Kid Rocket and Bart Simpson." The man inside the truck announced as it drove down the street.

Ron smiled and began to laugh, _"Bonnie you whore, you told me Bart was just a friend."_

Kim snickered, _"Bonnie Rollwalter"_

Ron peered through the field glasses again, studying the building and the street, _"Work my way down to the street…Truck rounds corner in front of building…grenade in the window…attack the door the kids were taken thru…Hold the building or room until paratroopers save me…or until I die."_

Kim shook her head, "Not a good plan Ron, wait for help."

Ron put the glasses down and looked at the street and where the guards were positioned, _"Slit that one's throat…catch the truck as it rounds the corner that will put me that much closer to the door…don't kick door down, go through door…Now rifle or blade?"_

"_You have the lotus blade?"_ Kim thought as she sat up straight.

Ron closed his eyes and thought it over, _"If I go thru the door and have the sword and they begin firing…It could be ugly. If I have the rifle I…I'll have surprise, I could run thru these guys with the lotus blade before they know what hit them….hmmmm."_

He crawled to back to his pack and began to go over his weapons. He pulled on of his newly found glocks out of the pouch and shoved it into his body armor to go along with the glock on the right side.

He drew both guns as quickly as he could, then he checked the ammunition on both guns, "Reload the glock I shot that guy with this morning, check rifle…fragmentation grenade…check."

He began to place the glocks in his body armor and nodded as he drew them both out quickly. Then he put a knife on each side of his body armor and practiced pulling them out quickly, _"Hope I don't fall or I'll be a pin cushion."_

Put 2 more glocks near the top of the pack, _"Put these two in my waist band once I work my way to the ground."_

Kim shook her head, "Don't do this Ron."

Dr. Wong rose from her seat behind the workstations, "What is he going to do?"

Kim closed her eyes, "He's planning a suicide mission."

Ron pulled out the cell phone and began to try and manipulate the phones menus, "Damn it's all in Arabic."

He punched in a phone number and heard it ring, once, twice, three times before it was answered by his supposed fiancée, "Hey Bonnie"

"Hey Ron, we're going through another rocket attack here…I don't like this…I hate the bomb shelters." Bonnie was scared and Ron could hear it in her voice.

Kim crossed her arms, _"You could have called me Ron."_

Ron let Bonnie talk a while longer, "Bonnie, I need you to get a message thru to the IDF for me….OK…Can you do that for me?"

There was a loud thud and a scream from Bonnie, "That one was close…I have a card with a number on it…What do you w…What was that…OK…I'm back…What do you want me to tell them?"

Ron took a breath, "Bonnie I need you to tell them I found the school kids and the missing soldier. They are close to my position and I'm going to hit the building in…45 minutes…OK…Can you do that for me?"

Bonnie sounded much calmer on the phone, "They sounded an all clear…I'll make the call. Are you still at the same number?"

Ron smiled, "Yea…How are you doing?"

"Ohhh…I'm going much better now that we are undergoing rocket attacks. Everyone has forgotten about me being your fiancée so I get left alone now…I mean…You know what I mean." Bonnie said with a laugh.

"Ron laughed, "Yea I know…Thanks Bonnie…You head to the shelter if they shoot any more…OK?"

"OK…I will…Ron…Be careful." Bonnie said sounding more tired now than scared.

Ron nodded and smiled, "I will"

He ended the call and put the phone up, _"Bon Bon to the rescue."_ He thought as he started to crawl for the fire escape.

Kim stewed, _"You come home in May and we're going to have a little talk about your Bon Bon."_

Ron moved from his hiding spot, _"Hope they get that under control, hate to get rescued from this mess only to get transfered up north and have to fight again...That would make for a very short life span."  
_

Ron worked his way down the fire escape; the going was slow and methodical. Each move created small noises that caused Ron to inwardly curse and then he'd creep down another level. Once he reached the second floor, descended the last ladder to that ended six foot above the ground, then he made the final jump to the ground. He brought his rifle up to his shoulder and looked carefully for any evidence that his descent had created any commotion.

Satisfied that he had made it unheard he hid behind garbage that was piling up behind the buildings, _"I bet since we started operations their sanitation and emergency services have become non-existent."_

He took his pack off and pulled out two glocks and shoved them into the waist band of his pants, one on each hip, _"OK, I have 4 glocks, two knifes, one rifle, three grenades, one fragmentation, two flash bangs, one magic sword…Wish I had an RPG."_

Ron began chuckling softly to himself, _"As long as we're wishing, I wish I had a tank…Attack Helicopter, Atomic Bomb."_ His mood started to become more melancholy, _"I wish I was at home, I wish I was ten again…I wish Lacey was alive…I wish Kim would have stuck to babysitting."_

Kim shook her head; she had tears running down her face, _"Don't do this Ron."_

The cell phone broke Ron's mood he pulled it out of his pocket, "Shalome?"

"Maintain your position, do not, repeat do not engage that building." Lt. Glick ordered.

Ron took a deep breath, "I think I can secure the prisoners and hold them safely until help arrives."

"We have paratroopers on their way to your position, it may take them till dark to reach you."

Ron looked up, he could hear the truck coming closer, "Ronald Stoppable you must give up hope…There is no Kim Plausible to save you now."

Kim sat up at the mention of her mispronounced name, "What?"

Ron smiled sadly, "_I'm glad she stayed home…at least one of us will have a good life."_

"Sgt. Stoppable…are you there?"

Ron sat the phone on the ground without ending the call. He was hoping they would home in on the cell signal, "Sorry Lt. Glick, if I'm going out, I'm going out fighting."

Ron waked away from the phone to take his position to make his attack. Kim took the headgear off and began to cry, "I can't do this anymore."

Dr. Wong rushed to her side, "its okay Kim."

Kim looked at Dr. Wong, "I can't watch Ron die."

Ron grabbed the guard near the corner of his building, dragging him into the alley before slitting his throat, _"OK, plan is working so far."_

He watched the truck moving slowly down the street, the large speaker on top of the truck bellowing out its messages to destroy his morale. The truck slowed even more to turn the corner.

Ron pulled the pin on his grenade and began to run from his hiding spot towards the truck, _"God let this work."_


	43. Chapter 43

Kim sat in the chair looking at the head gear, and then she looked at Dr. Wong, "I have to know." As she fixed the gear back onto her head.

Then she put the gear back on and tried to make herself as comfortable as she could under the circumstances and closed her eyes and reconnected with her boyfriend on the other side of the planet.

She saw Ron running towards the Isuzu pickup truck that had a loudspeaker on top of it. Saw him throw a grenade in the passenger's side window and tell the occupants, "I give up."

He ran towards the building with his rifle up, he could feel the heat from the explosion as the truck exploded behind him. He was unsure if the two in the front made it out alive or not.

He cut down two guards with his Negev as he ran past them and hit the stairs that led to the loading dock, he stopped at the top of the stairs and pulled the lotus blade from its hiding place, _"I never seen these stairs from the rooftop."_

Once the knife was out of the sheath Ron's eyes turned blue and the sword took shape in his hands, the door opened before he could get there, four men were trying to run outside to investigate the explosion only to face a man with glowing blue eyes wielding a sword.

Ron could not go thru the door as the four men had effectively sealed the entrance with their bodies. The hacking and slashing began limbs and heads began leaving torsos with such speed he could no longer tell what limbs belonged to what torso.

Once he stepped over the small pile of arms and legs he was inside the building, he made a hard left and ran thru the first door he came to and encountered four men playing cards, their AK47's lay next to them as they stared in amazement at the figure with glowing blue eyes that had just materialized into their room.

The man closest to the door never had time to turn around before the lotus blade sliced through his neck, the man to his left made a move for his rifle but suddenly found it out of reach as he arm became severed from his body just before his head bounced into the middle of the table and his body toppled over backwards dead.

Ron jumped onto the table and made quick work of the final two men, the room was starting to smell of urine as one of the dead men's bladder released but he wasn't waiting around to find out which man it was as he was already passing through the wall into the next room.

This was a large conference room that was currently being used by the Palestinian Authority as a temporary head quarters to discuss the hostage situation. Ron quickly estimated that there were at least 15 people in the room along with two guards.

Ron dropped the lotus blade and pulled the two glocks out of the waist band of his pants and shot the two guards dead before turning on the men seated around the table. Once the pistols were emptied and the men were dead he dropped them on the floor and retrieved the lotus blade.

He ran thru the wall just as one of the conference room doors burst open and four guards entered. One of the guards screamed out in Arabic, "The Jews are here, kill the hostages."

Ron found the room he was looking for it was a small room that had no furniture but 13 hooded people. He could hear the kids sobbing under the hoods and he began to reach for the hood when the door burst open and two men entered to perform the deed.

The man closest to Ron tried to fire but the lotus blade struck him in the fore arm and sliced cleanly thru the man's chest and out the other side slicing thru the left arm. The other man only had time to drop a hand grenade before his head left his body.

Kim screamed from Middleton, "Grenade Ron"

Ron kicked the grenade back out the door and down the hall where it exploded, he could hear screams from the hall, Ron dropped the sword and pulled the two glocks from his body armor and finished off the two men that were wounded from the grenade, "NO VIRGINS FOR YOU."

The kids behind him were screaming and hollering, Ron wasn't expecting this as his eyes returned to their normal brown color, "IDF, IDF, We are here to rescue you."

The soldier on the ground tried to stand; Ron ran over and yanked the hood off of his head, "Can you handle a rifle?"

The man in an IDF uniform squinted from the sudden shock of seeing bright light again, he started to answer, only to be interrupted by Ron killing another man trying to enter the room, he pulled one of the knives out of his body armor and cut the man's hands free.

The man was not in good shape but he did his best to try and stand up straight, "I can handle a rifle."

Ron nodded, "Great, cut the kids lose, I think there a few rifles laying around on the ground…I'm going to clean out the rest of this building…Kill anything that comes thru that door."

Ron ran towards the wall and retrieved the lotus blade and then entered the hallway to a hail of bullets. He lunged thru a door into a restroom. He made a quick visual check and found it to be empty.

He pulled a flash bang from his body armor and rolled it down the hallway. He could hear people scrambling to get out of the way and cursing before it detonated and he and the sword were on the move again.

The three men at the end of the hallway were stunned and put up very little resistance to the blade. Ron looked at the blade and it turned into the Gerber boot knife once again and he put it away and turned to the Negev as his main rifle, _"I think this is the bulk of them, just need to finish cleaning up the stragglers."_

Kim was sweating heavily, "He did it, he's not dead…ohhhhh I think I'm going to be sick."

Dr. Wong felt her fore head and handed her a cup of water, "You can quit anytime you want."

Kim kept her eyes closed and shook her head, "No…It's ok."

Kim sat back in the chair, _"He's doing fine, and he's going to make it."_

Ron went through the other rooms and found only one man that held up a stack of money, he shot him and took the money, _"Nice of him to offer."_

He turned and ran down the hall towards the room with the hostages, "IDF DO NOT SHOOT ME!"

The soldier in the room responded, "Advance"

Ron held his rifle at the ready until he was in the room, the soldier was almost in tears, "I am Yosef Kurtz…Where are the others?"

Ron shrugged, "I am Sgt. Ronald Stoppable….I am afraid I am it for now, others will be along soon."

Ron looked at the school children, "Are you all alright?"

The huddled together not saying a word, "Yosef watch the children while I try to figure out what to do next."

"I think we need to either move or move these bodies...I don't think the children will like seeing all this." Yosef said as he motioned to the dead men at Ron's feet.

Ron sat his rifle against the wall and began moving the bodies and parts of bodies into the hall way. "Good enough?" he asked as he retrieved his rifle.

Yosef nodded and continued to cut the bonds of the children as Ron walked out the door and up the hall with his rifle ready, _"Back door is where I came thru, the front is in that room, the hall is a dead end and there are no windows back here."_

He quickly passed thru the locked door to the conference room to retrieve and reloaded his glocks, _"These pistols are pretty good."_

The phone rang on the conference room table, a wicked smile crossed his face, _"I think it's time for a little fun."_

Ron answered the phone in English, "Bueno Nacho this is Ron, how may I help you?"

There was silence and then the caller began to speak in Arabic, Ron couldn't understand him so he responded in Hebrew; "I can not understand you."

He hung up the phone and checked the front of the building and then worked his way towards the back of the building. Barricading doors and peering out windows as he went. When the phone rang again, he picked the phone up, "Shalom"

A voice on the other end of the phone responded in heavily accented English said, "You of course realize that you have signed your death warrant?"

Ron laughed, "Blow me."

Kim giggled at the exchange, _"Enough playing Ron, head in the game."_

He hung the phone up, _"No more calls they may know where I'm at by the phone extension."_

"Good thinking Ron." Kim said quietly to herself.

Ron returned to the room with the hostages and took off his pack, "I do not have much for food…Try to make sure they all get something." He said as he passed Yosef the power bars he had taken off the Russians earlier in the day.

Yosef nodded, "I do not know if they will eat, I think they are still too scared."

He pulled his radio out of the pack and put the ear piece in and turned it on, "Shalom, test, test." He listened for a response, _"Nothing"_

Loud arguing in Arabic near the front caught his attention, he shouldered his rifle and moved the selector switch to full auto and moved toward the voices, a group of men outside the doors were trying to get in, _"Doors are metal and glass, that won't slow them down long…"_

Ron turned and yelled to the back, "Yosef, I think we have company."

They spotted Ron and began firing through the door, the glass shattered, and the stuffing flew from the furniture that he had hastily placed in front the doors to serve as a barricade as the bullets passed thru looking for their intended victim, Ron ducked back out of the way and waited for a lull in the firing.

He could still hear them yelling at him but there was no shooting so he spun around the corner and opened fire on the now flimsy metal doors now vacant of the glass from the opening volley. Ron's bullets caught the first group of men as they were trying to crawl thru the door and over the top of the leather couch and chair that Ron had placed in front of the doors to slow his attacker's progress.

The loud shrieks, screams and cursing confirmed Ron's accuracy. He could barely see from behind the men he had just shot, that a group behind them was trying to pull the dead out of the way. Ron raised his rifle and shot them as well. He smiled, as he watched their lack of progress, _"They won't shot thru their friends…Stack them up here and I have me a new human barricade…Booyah, This is great."_

A banging noise came from above him, he raised his gun and shot into the ceiling, he heard screams coming out of the air conditioning vents and blood dripping down thru the bullet holes in the ceiling. Ron smiled and said to no in particular, "Take it from a guy that spent a good portion of his life in duct work, silence is golden dude."

Kim gasped, _"Good thing we never made much noise."_

He brought his attention back to the front doors a man was crawling thru the door with an RPG; Ron shot him before he could launch his round. Ron saw movement out of the corner of his eye there was another man entering thru the back door carrying another RPG, he managed to get his round off before Ron could shoot him.

"RONNNNNNNNNNNN LOOK OUT!" Kim screamed.

The round hit the ceiling near where he was standing and exploded sending little jagged pieces of flesh shredding shards of steel down the hallway. The force of the explosion hurled Ron backwards towards the room with the hostages.

He tried to cover his face with his right arm but a tiny piece of passed thru his cheek destroying his back molars on both sides of his mouth before passing out the other side. Ron tried to scream but only a gurgled escaped his lips.

The rest of the shrapnel lodged in his already injured right arm and in his thighs and legs, Ron lost consciousness as he lay dieing in the hallway. He was above his body floating near the ceiling, _"They got me."_

He could hear paratroopers storming the building, _"I held long enough…I did it."_

Kim screamed and rolled out of the chair in pain holding her jaw, then she could no longer feel his presence, "They killed him, they killed Ron."

She staggered to her feet and stumbled as she tried to sit in the chair again, crying and sobbing, "They killed Ron…I can't feel his presence…They killed him."

Dr. Wong came over and hugged Kim, "I'm so sorry Kim."

Kim took off the head gear, _"One minute he's alive and messing around on the telephone, now he's dead...Seems so unreal."_

"I'm going to head home, I can't tell his parents…I'm…really tired."

Dr. Wong nodded her head, "I have a ton of data to go over…Why was Ron able to pass thru walls and doors and what exactly is that weapon he was using?"

Kim blinked, "You were able to record what I saw?"

"Every bit." Dr. Wong responded.

Kim shook her head, "I can't tell you…It's Ron's business."

Dr. Wong nodded, "I understand…we'll talk of this later…I think we need to examine you further in the office, you really don't look good."

Kim staggered out of the lab and into the elevator to Dr. Wong's office; she was exhausted and couldn't quite gather in what had happened to her boyfriend as she slumped into the leather couch in front of the windows. She looked outside and knew it had to be getting late, "I think I'll just lie down on the couch for a while."

Dr. Wong took her pulse and nodded, "I will stay her as well, I will be down in the lab if you need anything."

Kim nodded and lay all she could think of was when they used to play in the tree house as kids, the tree house could be anything to them a fort, a spaceship, a hideout, a mansion, _"I'd give anything if we could be in that tree house again."_

-I-

Ron now stood in total darkness, the elderly man with white hair and goatee dressed all in white stood before him, "You have no idea how many times we came close to extinguishing your life."

He stepped back from the man, "W…why? I did …what I was supposed to do."

The White Guardian shook his head, "Showing off by impressing people with how far you can kill people, looting dead bodies, taking money and food from them…like…" The White Guardian made a face to emphasize his contempt of Ron, "Like a petty thief."

"Uh…I…I didn't…know…no one gave me a rule book for these sorts of things." Ron said nervously.

The White Guardian's eyes began to have a blue shimmer to them, "You are here right now to learn…Learn that your life is not your own, it is ours to do with as we feel fit."

Ron's lower jaw began to shake, "I…I…want a normal life, I never asked for this."

The White Guardian laughed bitterly, "You chose this path, you exposed yourself to the power. After observing your poor decision making we can no longer stand by and let you choose your path. Soon you will see our hand in things. We will be the ones directing your life…You belong to us."

The White Guardian menacingly stepped closer to him, "From this day forward, the scars you bear and the pain you suffer will serve as a constant reminder of who you serve."

Ron stepped back another step shaking his head, "N...NO…I don't want to live like this."

The White Guardian waived his hand and Ron was back in his mangled body trying to focus his eyes on the man in front of him, "I am Major Elli Rathman, I am a doctor for the paratroopers…Sgt. Stoppable…If you can hear me…You must remain on your side or you will drown in your own blood."

He could feel a thick liquid in his mouth and realized it was blood he feebly tried to spit it out and saw there were white objects in the blood he spat out, "_OH GOD, teeth, they blew my face off."_

Kim opened her eyes, "Ron?" and then closed them again as she fell back asleep.

Ron began trying to feel his lower body, _"I have to…check."_

A medic leaned down, "Do not worry you still have your penis and testicles intact."

Ron closed his eyes and then opened them and tried to look at his arm, but he medic covered his eyes, "Do not try to move, do not try to look at your arm."

"_I wish they'd of let me die."_ Ron thought as he closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness once again.

The other medic leaned over him, "You may experience pain, we are going to cut off your body armor, this will not take long, it was shredded in the blast."

Ron tried to respond but couldn't, he shut his eyes tightly as the shears cut thru the vest, _"Not bad…Agggggghhhhhhhh…THIS HURTS."_

The medics could see him tense and then start to whimper, "We almost have it off."

In the room the children were being escorted out to waiting Achzarit's for their eventual return to their homes. They were all chatting happily about going home and the one man that saved everyone, they're chattering ceased as they were led through the hallway where Ron lay on the floor being attended to by the doctor and two medics.

-II-

Lt. Colonel Simon Eaton looked over what the paratroopers were calling the building of death. He turned and looked at Pvt. Kurtz, "So you are telling me that Sgt. Stoppable killed every single one of these bastards?"

Pvt. Kurtz drank from a canteen, "Yes Officer…He is the only man I saw."

"Did you see what kind of weapon he was using?" Lt. Colonel Eaton asked incredulously.

"I…saw only his rifle, a few handguns and the knife he gave me to free the children"

Lt. Colonel Eaton motioned to a sergeant, "Bring Dr. Rathman here, I wish to speak to him."

Dr. Rathman entered the room, "You wished to see me."

Lt. Col. Eaton motioned for the Doctor to follow him once they were out of earshot of the group he spoke quietly, "How is Sgt. Stoppable?"

"We have started him on an IV drip with some morphine to ease his pain; he needs to be moved quickly…Loewenstein Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Ra'anana is where he needs to go." Dr. Rathman informed his superior and his friend.

Lt. Col. Eaton shook his head, "I will make the arrangements immediately…Elli, have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Dr. Rathman looked around to see if anyone was near and then he quietly answered, "No, never, we are not even sure how many bodies we are dealing with, we believe there is 40 bodies here but until we can get a forensics team here to match parts with bodies the number could…go as high as 50."

"Get Sgt. Stoppable ready to for transport, I will give the necessary orders."

The two men went their separate ways; a young sergeant approached and saluted, "Lt. Glick is outside reporting as ordered."

Eaton nodded and a keyed the microphone on his radio, and then released the talk button, "Thank you, I will see the lieutenant in just a few minutes."

He ordered an ambulance to be dispatched to his location as well as a helicopter to fly Ron back to Israel. After the orders were given he turned to look at Lt. Glick, _"I hope he can shed some light on this mess."_

"Come with me Lieutenant." Lt. Col. Eaton ordered as they walked out of the room and down the hall.

Lt. Glick knelt at Ron's side and saw that he was still unconscious and patted his hand and whispered, "Sorry we could not make it sooner."

Lt. Col. Eaton cleared his throat and Lt. Glick turned and followed him, "I want you to see something in here."

They walked into the conference room, "Two doors, both locked from the inside, 17 dead bodies all shot at close range by…we assume Sgt. Stoppable, now follow me further down the hall."

Lt. Glick looked at the bodies each with a number by it and shook his head, _"Damn but Stoppable's a killer."_

They walked to the next room, "We think there are 4 bodies in the room, each dismembered…by we assume Sgt. Stoppable…What kind of weapons is he outfitted with?"

Lt. Glick looked at the body parts and shook his head, "Rifle…he had a couple of glock pistols…a few knives, grenades…He is after all a Golani."

"Lt. Glick, I'm going to ask you now to level with me, have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Lt. Glick began his briefing, "Yes Officer, We arrived at the location that Sgt. Stoppable called from this morning…down the road about eight blocks and we found one man dead, decapitated in a similar manner, we believe he was part of the Russian mafia group that was smuggling weapons to the Palestinian Authority…He had 3 others with him in military dress and one Palestinian Authority police officer…The others were all killed by conventional means."

Simon Eaton had never in his life encountered anything as strange as what he was looking at now, he had served in the IDF for close to twelve years and fought in many different engagements in Gaza and the West Bank but this was something all together new to him and he couldn't quite decide how to proceed, "Lt. Glick…Do you notice anything strange about these dead men?"

"Yes sir…No blood."

Lt. Col. Eaton nodded, "Whatever Sgt. Stoppable was using cauterized the wounds as it was slicing through the skin and the bone of the terrorists, the bodies and heads and arms all have blood in them…It is just not natural."

-III-

Katrina Sakorov stared out the window of her office, "Yuri, is there any word from Ivan and his men?"

Yuri Stepanovich stepped forward into the office, "I am sorry Ms. Sakorov but We…we have been told by the Palestinians in the area that he and his men are all dead."

Katrina Sakorov nodded, "I see, I will need a new assistant, you will do until you too are killed."

Yuri smiled nervously, "You…You are too kind."

He hurried out of the room; Katrina paid little attention to the man. In her mind she knew that replacing Ivan Totsky would be no easy thing to do but the business had to function. She poured herself a drink, _"It was him…I wonder if he used the blade…If he did…I wonder if Ivan and his men could comprehend the honor….Struck down with a 4,000 year old weapon of the Gods."_

Uri returned to the room, "Ms. Sakorov, the IDF has taken the Palestinian Authority offices to the north, all of the hostages have been released and…"

Katrina Sakorov raised an eyebrow, "And?"

Uri swallowed hard, he was beginning to sweat under the pressure of his new job, "The sources are saying the IDF is bringing body parts out in boxes."

She smiled, "Thank you for the information Uri."

"_So he does have the blade…I will be the one to kill the chosen one and claim the blade, this is my destiny….The chosen one will die and by my hand…" She licked her lips in anticipation, "When he is dead…I shall take his power and become one with the blade."_

_-_IV-

At this moment Ronald Stoppable would have given the power and the sword to her willingly, he wanted only to have a life that would now be forever denied to him. Ron opened his eyes and realized it was dark, then he made out the unmistakable sound of engines and rotor blades and knew he was in helicopter, _"I must be pretty bad off to get a ride in one of these."_

Ron raised his head and looked at the soldier across from him, he could see brain matter leaking out of the man's eye, a nurse in fatigues came over and checked on him and then pulled a sheet over his head, _"Ohhhhh Man…I must really be bad off."_

She approached Ron and patted his hand, "Try to relax we will be heading to Loewenstein Hospital in Ra'anana shortly…We called ahead and they are sending for your fiancée, she should be arriving later."

He tried to chuckle but the sound wasn't what he was expecting, he still had a hole on each side of his face and the sound that escaped was close to a whistle thru the small hole in his cheeks, _"Great….Bonnie's coming…I want to see my mom."_

The helicopter began its decent and touched down on the roof of the Loewenstein Hospital the doors to the helicopter opened and orderlies began helping medics remove the injured.

Ron winced in pain as his stretcher was picked up and placed on a gurney, "Take this man to operating room 12."

The Stoppable household received a call early in the morning informing them that Ron had been rescued but that he had sustained serious wounds and that he was in surgery and that they would be informed once they knew more about his condition.

Mrs. Stoppable was shaking when she hung up the phone, "He's alive…for now."

The emotions of the last few days had taken their toll as she began to break down, Mr. Stoppable embraced her, "It's all right Miri at least we know he is alive and nothing more will happen to him…Right?"

She nodded her head, "I need to sit down, I want to speak with him, I haven't spoken to him in nearly a year…I want to talk to him, I won't rest until" Miri began to cry once again, "…I can hear his voice."

Rabbi Katz took her took Mrs. Stoppable's hand, "Miriam, I have a few calls in to friends that I have living near Ra'anana that are going to look in on him, and Mrs. Rockwaller has called, Bonnie contacted her and said that Bonnie is going to be by his bedside."

The door bell rang and Mr. Stoppable patted his wife's shoulder, "I shall go see who it is."

Mr. Stoppable answered the door and there was another Rabbi outside, "Mr. Stoppable, I am Rabbi Mazel with the American Friends of the IDF."

"Please come in."

He stood away from the door so the Rabbi could enter the room, "I have new information on your son's injuries."

Mr. Stoppable nodded and showed him into the living room, "Miri this is Rabbi Mazel with the American Friends of the IDF, he has some information."

Mrs. Stoppable nodded and Rabbi Katz stood and shook his hand, "Rabbi Mazel"

Rabbi Mazel smiled, "Rabbi Katz"

Mrs. Stoppable looked at the man, "You have some word on how Ronnie is doing?"

Rabbi Mazel nodded and sat down across from the family, "Your son was taken to Loewenstein Hospital where is in surgery now, he went through a surgery earlier to repair damage to his face and jaw."

Mrs. Stoppable began to cry, Mr. Stoppable took her hand, "Maybe you should look in on the baby."

She shook her head, "Go on…I need to know."

The Rabbi nodded, "A small piece of shrapnel passed through the side of his mouth damaging his rear molars before exiting out the left side of his face…They removed four damaged teeth and extracted both his upper and lower wisdom teeth."

Mr. Stoppable nodded his head, "So they removed eight teeth?"

Rabbi Mazel nodded, "Yes, he will need a partial plate to replace his lower molars."

"You said he's still in surgery?" Mrs. Stoppable asked fearfully.

"Yes, he has shrapnel wounds to both his legs as well as his right arm and a few minor spots on neck. They are currently working on these injuries now." Rabbi Mazel informed them.

"Will he live?"

Rabbi Mazel was quiet, "They won't know till after he comes out of surgery, he has some other minor wounds, one on his buttocks, that is how we think the Palestinians found his military ID."

Mrs. Stoppable shook her head, "Will he live?"

Rabbi Mazel spread his hands in front of him, "Who's to say, his wounds are bad but there is every hope that when he comes through surgery that he can recover and lead a productive life."

Mr. Stoppable looked at Rabbi Mazel, "What will happen to him once he's out of the hospital?"

"He will be sent to NATAL, The Israeli Center for Victims of Terror and War to help him deal with his emotional wounds."

Mrs. Stoppable shook her head, "Emotional wounds…I want him to come home, he needs to come home."

Rabbi Mazel nodded, "He had put in for two months of leave in May, I'm sure he will have additional time off once he is released from the hospital."

-V-

The car came and picked up Bonnie for the trip to Ra'anana, she talked to the driver of the car trying to glean any information she could about Ron's condition, "You haven't heard anything at all?"

The man shook his head, "No, he was brought in and rushed into surgery…We are almost there, Ra'anana is very close to Netanya."

Bonnie looked out the window, it was night, she had received the call after 6:00 PM that Ron was wounded and being flown to Ra'anana. She promptly called her mom and had Mrs. Stoppable informed of the news.

She next received a call from a Major in the IDF informing her that a car would be sent around to pick her up and take her to see her fiancée', _"I wish I wouldn't have been so intent on showing up Kim…I've caused so many problems for Ron and myself…I hope he doesn't hate me."_

The car pulled up in front of the hospital and Bonnie got and met with another soldier that escorted her to where Ron would be brought after he was out of surgery, _"We are going to the seventh floor, he will be out anytime now from what I understand…He will also be under heavy sedation so it may take a while for him to wake up."_

Once she was in the room by herself she sat by the bed that Ron would soon occupy, she felt an overwhelming sadness overwhelm her, _"Ron…I promise you that if you live through this I'll do all I can to get you back home to Kim…I am so sorry…I never should have interfered with you guys."_

She stood up and walked over to a pitcher of water that was on a dresser, the door to the room opened and the Oster's walked in, "Elli smiled and waived Sharon came over hugged Bonnie, I am sooooooo sorry this has happened to you two."

Bonnie looked at the floor, "Yes…I...I am very frightened, the rocket alerts and Ron being missing and now…"

She tried to fight back tears but so much had happened over the course of the week that she just couldn't contain herself any longer, "I…try to…I mean I never meant to…The rocket attacks and Ron…"

Sharon hugged her again, "You come over here and sit down Ron will be back and then you two can decide on how to approach your lives after all this is over."

Bonnie nodded, _"I wish there was someone I could tell the truth too."_

"I have not heard anything about Ron's wounds and this worries me."

Sima looked around the room, "I am happy you are Ron's fiancée now, Kim wasn't a good choice for Ron."

Bonnie smiled and wiped a tear from her eye, "Kim is not that bad, a little goofy at times...but...that is okay."

Sima looked at her, "You like Kim even when she tried to take Ron from you?"

"I am...not that fond of Kim, she thinks she knows best for Ron and we just disagree on what that is." Bonnie said diplomatically.

Eli frowned at Sima, "You are too nosey for you own good."

-VI-

Kim woke up and sat up on the couch, she was sore and stiff at first she thought it was from the couch and then the realization came to her, _"Ron's still alive."_

It was tough to get off the couch her mouth hurt and her legs were very sore, _"Ron must be hurt really bad."_

She was trying to be upbeat and positive but she just couldn't shake the heavy feeling of being drugged,_ "He must be in surgery still...but he's alive...that's one thing to be greatful for, worry about the rest later."_

Kim stood up, _"What day is this? Friday…It's Friday here so it must be…Saturday there."_

She felt a wave of nausea set in and her head began to swim, _"I need to go home."_

"_Ron must be under some heavy sedation, I can hardly function."_ She thought as she sat back on the couch and lay down to go back to sleep.

-VII-

Ron tried to open his eyes but they felt very heavy, felt someone holding his hand so he tried to talk but his voice was raspy and throat was dry, "Mom"

Bonnie squeezed his hand, "It's Bonnie"

"Bonnie"

Bonnie squeezed his hand, "Yea it's me…Sorry they couldn't do better on short notice."

Ron tried to laugh but it only caused him pain, "Nooo…laugh…hurts."

She winced, "Sorry Ron"

He finally was able to pry his eyes open, "Mom Know?"

"She knows…She wants to talk with you when your able."

Ron nodded his head, "OK"

A nurse came into the room and saw that Ron was awake, "I will go and find the doctor."

Bonnie leaned in close to Ron, "How are you feeling?"

Ron looked at her, "Bad, hurt…glad to see you."

Bonnie smiled, "Really?"

"Good to see someone…I know." Ron said in a weary voice.

She squeezed his hand, "I…I feel really bad about what I did…I'll help you get home to Kim."

Ron closed his eyes and swallowed before he continued in little more than a whisper, "I don't know…if…Kim will want me…now."

"Ron if Kim really loves you, your injuries won't matter to her." Bonnie reminded him softly.

The door to the room opened and a doctor walked in, "Shalom, I am Dr. Mofaz, I am one of the doctors that worked on you….So how are you feeling?"

Ron blinked, "Hurt"

The doctor nodded, "You have been unconscious for nearly a day, your fiancée is a trooper she never left your bedside."

He turned to look at Bonnie, "Really"

She smiled sheepishly as the doctor continued, "You lost 4 teeth from the shrapnel that passed thru your cheeks. While we were in your mouth we also took out your wisdom teeth, we of course won't bill you for the extra teeth."

The doctor quickly chuckled, "A little doctor humor."

Ron blinked at the doctor, it was obvious he wasn't in a humorous mood. He pointed at his face, "Scars"

"Shouldn't be too bad, the piece of metal that did all that damage was barely the size of the point on the end of a pencil, so you will have two small spots that will never tan."

"Great" Ron said with a sadness to his voice.

The doctor continued to brief him, "You are very lucky that metal didn't sever your tongue…You will need a partial plate to replace the missing teeth."

Bonnie could feel a shudder run thru his body, she squeezed his hand and he looked at her and tried to smile the stopped self conscious about his mouth, Bonnie smiled and whispered to him, "You will do fine."

The doctor waited for Ron to turn his attention back to him before he continued, "You have a hairline fracture of your sternum, that is why you have pain when you are breathing…I assume you received this on the first day you went missing when you were shot?"

Ron nodded to confirm the doctor's assessment.

"You have a bruise where the bullet hit you that will never go away; you have two cracked ribs from other bullets that your body armor stopped."

Ron shook his head and Bonnie moved closer and stroked his hair, "Hey you're alive and that's what counts."

"Now let's talk about that right arm, we removed as much of the shrapnel as we could, there is still very small pieces that will work their way to the top of your skin for the next several years. When they do just pick them out and throw them away. You have severe scaring on that arm but I think you will be able to maintain full use of it."

"Looks like I'll be wearing long sleeves for the rest of my life." Ron said absently.

The doctor nodded, "Long pants as well the same injuries that you received to your arm has happened to your legs…Your right knee will give you problems and when your in your thirties you will need to look at having knee replacement surgery."

Ron face was visibly becoming pale; he looked at the doctor, and asked quietly, "Is…my package still there?"

The doctor nodded, "Your reproductive organs are intact."

Bonnie looked at him, "Ron"

Ron smiled as best he could and then quickly closed his mouth, "I…I had to know…When can I leave the hospital?"

The doctor chuckled, "We will try to get you on your feet in a few days and start your physical rehabilitation." The doctor looked at the couple, "To make a long story short, you have bad wounds but there is no reason you can not make a good recovery…I will leave you two for now, if you have more questions please contact a nurse or myself."

Once they were alone Ron pointed towards a pitcher of water, and Bonnie poured him a glass without him having to be asked, "See Ron, another couple of days you can start working towards going home to Kim."

Bonnie helped him take a drink of the water, his left hand shaking from the stress, "I don't know Bonnie, I'm afraid she's going to take one look at me…"

He left his thought unfinished, so Bonnie tried to ease his mind, "Ron, you are not a monster, if she really loves you it won't matter, she's just going to be happy your home."

Ron nodded his head; he was starting to shake off the effects of the anesthetic, "How long have you been here?"

Bonnie returned to her chair, "Since last night when they brought you in, the Oster's were here also, they'll be back in a few hours."

"How does my voice sound? How bad do I look?" Ron asked nervously.

She decided not to hide the truth from him, "Well you sound almost like you usually do, I think all the swelling is keeping your voice muzzled. Your cheeks are really swollen and red as far as the rest of you, I can't tell because you're bandaged up."

There was a knock on the door and Lt. Glick stuck his head in, "Not interrupting anything?"

Ron shook his head and tried to salute but it caused him pain so he lowered the arm, "No officer my penis has not woke up yet."

Bonnie slapped his hand and he tried to laugh as Lt. Glick entered the room carrying his things, "I have your things from your foot locker and from the achzarit…Looks like you are becoming quite the glock collector."

He sat the duffle bag and the AK47 down in the corner of the room, Ron saw the rifle and smiled, "I was worried Karman was going to sell it."

Lt. Glick smiled, "He wanted to, your glocks and knives are in the bag…Karman sent along a pair of the tybus fatigue pants, so…" He shot a glance at Bonnie, "ahhhhhhh well you know."

Ron eyes opened a little wider, "You did not pack the….er…mascot with my things did you?"

Bonnie looked at the two men, _"What were they doing in Gaza City anyway?"_

Lt. Glick started laughing and glanced at Bonnie, "No, unfortunately it did not survive the trip up to get you…Sorry we did not get to you in time."

Ron nodded and then had a thought, "How are the kids and Pvt. Kurtz doing?"

"The kids are back at home with their parents and Pvt. Kurtz is in a hospital closer to home getting looked over, you have not seen the television?"

Ron shook his head, "I only woke up a little while ago."

Lt. Glick smiled, "It appears that you are a big hero, they are calling you Ronbo."

He rolled his eyes, "Great, that's all I need….So did we pull out of Gaza?"

"No our company was rotated out once you were recovered." Lt. Glick smiled, "Good to see you doing well, there will be some IDF people coming to interview you in a few days about some things we found in that building."

Ron nodded, _"They want to know how those bodies were dismembered I bet."_

"Well hopefully Bonnie has me up and jogging by then."

Lt. Glick nodded and began to make his way to the door, "I am glad you are doing well, I will leave you two to get reacquainted again."

They waived to the lieutenant as he left, Bonnie turned to him and narrowed her eyes, "Penis has not woke up yet?"

Ron tried to laugh even though it was causing him pain, "IDF humor, IDF humor"

Bonnie nodded her head, "Well okay then, just to let you know up front if I'm going to help you get back into shape to see Kim, there will be no more sex from me understand?"

Ron giggled as best he could, "Awwww I was hoping that was to be part of the recovery, you know just to make sure everything is functioning."

"Ron, I'm afraid you'll just have to check that out manually." Bonnie said with a grin.

There was another knock on the door and the Oster's were in the room with them, "Mrs. Oster gave Ron a hug and then Sima, Mr. Oster walked over and shook his left hand. Mrs. Oster looked him over, "You look better than you did last night when they brought you in, how long have you been awake?"

Ron looked over to Bonnie and she answered, "He has only been awake for an hour or so."

Sima smiled excitedly, "When are you going to give a news conference?"

He shook his head, "What?"

Mr. Oster smiled, "It was rather hard to get into the hospital today, the place has been jammed with the press wanting to see you…'Hero of Israel' they are calling you."

Ron grimaced, "All this for stepping in front of an RPG….How is my mom?"

"She is relieved and would like to talk to you as soon as possible." She told him.

He nodded, "I would like to speak with her as well."

Mrs. Oster nodded and picked up the phone in the room, "I will see if this one will dial out for international."

Sima smiled, "Is it true you killed over 70 Palestinians while you were missing?"

"SIMA" Mr. Oster scolded.

Ron shook his head and sadly replied, "I do not know, I just did what I did to come home."

"They are connecting us now." Mrs. Oster told him happily.

He tried to straighten up in bed, Bonnie came over and tried to help. Then he looked up as he heard Mrs. Oster as she handed the phone to him. His voice was quivering as he realized he had not spoken with his mother in nearly a year, "Hello?"

"Ronald, Ronald is that you?"

Ron smiled, "Yea mom it's me."

"How are you? Your father and I are worried sick."

He winced, "I'm alright, little banged up but nothing that can't be fixed."

Ron could hear his mother take a deep breath, "You had me and your father worried sick and we are not that young anymore, you stop all this nonsense and come home at once."

He laughed softly, "I would if I could mom…How is Kaley, I can't wait to see her."

"She is getting big and fussy. Is Bonnie there with you?"

Ron looked over to her, "Yes"

"She is a good girl, I'm glad you two are getting married."

"Well…That remains to be seen." Ron said quietly as he looked over towards Bonnie.

"Ronald she is a good girl who stuck with you through this mess, don't you dare screw this up to go chasing after that Kim Possible."

Ron rolled his eyes, "We'll talk more about it when I come home in May."

"I'm so glad you're safe, can you put Bonnie on for me?"

Ron handed the phone towards Bonnie who stepped away, he motioned to her again, "Mom wants to talk to you."

She took the phone, "Hello Mrs. Stoppable"

"Bonnie, you can start calling me mom…Your parents have really been a help and we appreciate you keeping us informed about Ronnie."

Bonnie closed her eyes, _"I shouldn't have started telling people that Ron and I were engaged, I never meant to hurt anyone."_

"Oh…It was no problem at all, I was happy to help out…mom."

Ron gave Bonnie a curious look she shrugged nervously and kept talking, "They are going to have Ron out of bed in a few days and then I will have him jogging in no time so he can get home in May."

"I know you'll take good care of him, I'm looking forward to seeing you both…And don't let him try to wiggle out of setting a date for the wedding…Keep after him."

Bonnie giggled, "Oh…I will."

"I'd like to talk to Ronald again."

Bonnie couldn't get the phone back into Ron's hands fast enough, "Hi Mom…I'm back."

"I just wanted to tell you how much I love you and that your father and I can't wait till you can come home and see us."

Ron wiped a tear from his eye, "I love you too mom."

"I'll let you and Bonnie to catch up and I'll see you in May."

Ron smiled, "I'll see you in May, bye mom."

He handed the phone back to Mrs. Oster, "Thank you for getting in touch with her for me…It was good to see you all as well."

Eli looked at him, "So when you are released where will you be going?"

Ron looked at Bonnie, "I will be staying with Bonnie once I am released."

She nodded, "Yep have to get you back into shape for your trip home."

Sharon Oster rounded up Sima and her husband and pushed them towards the door, "We will leave you two alone now, Ron…Do not be a stranger, stop by and visit us when you are feeling up to it."

Ron smiled and waived, once they were out of the building Ron turned to Bonnie, "Thanks for being there for my family, it really meant a lot to my mom."

Bonnie smiled and started to giggle, "She said to keep after you about setting a wedding date."

Ron began laughing and wincing in pain at the same time, "She told me not to goof this up by chasing after Kim Possible."

The two finished laughing and looked at one another uncomfortably wondering just what the future would bring for each of them. Bonnie finally spoke, "We'll get you back to Middleton Ron, I promise."


	44. Chapter 44

Tirza returned to base from his Shabbat leave and sat at a PC to email Monique, he had just returned with Sergei from seeing Ron and Bonnie in the hospital and wanted to send her the latest news.

The long distance couple had been sending each other photos and letters and emails ever since they had met in mid January. Tirza was head over heals in love with Monique and she to had fallen in love with Israeli medic, even if she didn't share his passion for Neil Diamond.

Tirza logged into the computer as Sergei looked on, "That will be two letters, three pictures, and the fourth email this week. If you ever do get to go to the United States, you two will have nothing to talk about."

He smiled, "I do not plan on doing much talking."

Sergei shook his head, "I do not want to hear it…I think I will go tell Bina that I am back from leave."

Triza laughed and called after the big man, "Oh and like she is really going to care."

Sergei turned to him as he reached the door, "I am making great headway with Bina, she no longer calls me the fat stupid one."

Tirza shook his head and said under his breath as Sergei walked out of the room, "Yes, now she just calls you bone head."

He stared at the blank browser screen trying to compose the thoughts in his mind, his English was improving but at times translating what he wanted to say and having it make sense in a letter or an email could be problematic for him.

_"Monique Baby_

_I hope you are feeling well; I am fine but miss seeing your smiling face._

_I have just returned from Ra'anana with Sergei, we visited Ronnie in the hospital._

_He is doing well, they have him up and moving around, his fiancée Bonnie is with him._

_Ronnie says to say 'Hi' to you for him so I will say it now, 'HI'._

_It was good to see him; we were very worried when we heard he was wounded badly._

_Bonnie says he will be having the stitches in his mouth removed on Monday and that they will be fitting him with a set of teeth to replace the ones he had lost in the fighting._

_I think he may be coming home earlier than expected but I am not sure of these things._

_I received your last letter and was made very happy to that you sent a picture of you when you was small. _

_You are cute little girl, I have sent you a picture that was taken of me at ten on the beach by the __Dead Sea_

_I hope to be with you in May but may not be able to since the north is under missile threat again so we are back on alert._

_I heard stories about what happened a few years ago and I would much rather go see you than go to war._

_If we get the call I must go, I will think about you all the time so please do not forget me if we are called and I am unable to write to you for a while.._

_I make myself sad with such thoughts; I will end my message here._

_I miss you and hope to see you soon._

_As you end in your emails 4 ever yours._

_Tirza."_

**-I-**

Ron's room at the hospital was starting to look like a florist shop, flowers and get well cards were coming in from all over the country. He was surprised by the number of flowers and letters he was receiving from school children, he smiled as he looked at the hand drawn get well cards, _"All those years with Kim saving the world and we get nothing...This is much better."_

People wrote letters of encouragement and support and several of the parents of the children that he had rescued had dropped by to thank him. Those visits were always extremely emotional and draining for him but the visits were always much appreciated.

When Sergei and Tirza came to visit it was all he could do to keep from crying since he had not realized himself just how much he had missed his friends. They shared stories about what was happening at the border crossing and he had them laughing as he told them stories about his experiences with the Nahal and how much better soldiers the Golaini's were.

Bonnie had stayed with him in the hospital; her classes had been postponed due to the latest round of missile attacks against the north. She would sit quietly in the corner and watch Ron hold court.

She was also receiving lots of mail telling her how happy everyone was that Ron had not been killed and wishing them luck on their upcoming wedding. This had made her feel bad as there was to be no wedding for them since she had made the whole thing up to get Kim upset.

Bonnie had returned to her apartment briefly to pack a bag of clothes, she was going to stay with the Oster's until Ron was released from the hospital. She was keeping her promise of helping Ron return home to Kim by working with him on regaining mobility to his legs.

The going was difficult Ron's right knee was giving him problems and he was forced to hobble and it was frustrating to him to not have his body work for him the way that it used to.

The stitches were removed from his mouth and the swelling had left his face, his right arm was healing nicely. His legs were still heavily bandaged and the two tiny stitches were still in his cheeks and they would be removed soon.

Bonnie was doing many of the routine checks that a nurse would ordinarily perform. The hospital was training her to take care of Ron once he left the hospital, she was being instructed in not only the physical requirements but in the psychological situations that she would undoubtedly face as Ron's injuries began to heal.

They were doing an exercise the doctor had instructed them to do to try and get the circulation back into his legs. They would stand together and then Bonnie would make sure he could stand then she would walk to the other side of the room and have Ron try to walk to her.

"OK, Ron again." Bonnie coached as she stood several feet away from him with her arms out.

Ron put his left foot out and then picked up his right leg and put it down shakily. He made his way across the room slowly and then when he was near Bonnie he stumbled and grabbed hold of Bonnie for support.

This had been the third time he had done this and Bonnie was starting to get wise to Ron's antics as she pushed him off of her and sternly scolded him, "Get off me, Stoppable I said no sex and I meant it."

Ron blushed and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry Bonnie, just…enjoying the contact of a good woman again."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, and pointed back towards the bed, "March your butt back over to the bed and we will do it again…Without the fall on Bonnie and cop a feel trick."

The trip back across the room went faster and turned and sat on the bed, "I'll be there in a moment, the knee is starting to hurt."

Bonnie nodded and walked back across the room and sat in a chair, "Is it time for a pain pill?"

He shook his head no as he lay back down in the bed, "Not for another hour."

She nodded and picked up an orange ball off of a table by the window and threw it at him, "Work with your hand for a while."

Ron chuckled and smiled, "I'd almost like to work off some…frustration with my hand but I'm afraid with you in the room Mr. Happy would get stage fright."

Bonnie blushed and shook her head, "Just squeeze the ball Ron."

Their attention was drawn to a knock on the door and it opened slightly and a tall, muscular man in an IDF uniform walked into the room, "I hope that I am not interrupting anything."

Ron saluted quickly, "No officer, Bonnie just wants to see me squeeze my ball."

The man returned the salute and looked perplexed until Ron held up his right hand and then it became clear, "Ah yes…I see."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "RON"

The soldier smiled, "It is good to see you are in good spirits then, I am Colonel Jager with IDF Intelligence."

Ron nodded, "Intelligence is useful, I do not have any that is why I was blown up."

Colonel Jager smiled and looked at Bonnie, "I was wondering if I might have a few words with you in private?"

Bonnie stood up and walked to the door, "I'm going to get a bite to eat you want anything Ron?"

He thought about it, "I remember being on a rooftop wishing I had a bag of chocolate milk, if you can find it…I'd like one."

Bonnie nodded and left the room and Ron looked up at the Colonel, _"I knew this was coming."_

"What can I help you with today Colonel?"

The Colonel got right down to business, "There are questions about things that were found in the building where we found you…We found a number of dismembered bodies in the building, only they were dismembered in a way that we are unfamiliar with."

Ron nodded his head, "That is what I thought when I found them."

Colonel Jager lifted an eyebrow, "So you did not kill them then?"

Ron shook his head, "No"

The Colonel continued, "We also found 14 dead bodies inside a locked room, all shot at close range."

"I did do that, walked in the door and there they were." Ron said casually.

"How did you get into the room, the two doors that entered the room were both locked from the inside?" The Colonel asked soberly.

Ron waived a hand, "Ahhhhh…The one of the doors was open when I walked in, it must of locked when I closed it on the way out."

The Colonel nodded, "So you know nothing about the dismembered bodies?"

Ron shook his head, "No"

"What about the body in the bombed out building? The one where you took refuge after…you blew up the…ammo dump?" The Colonel asked carefully.

Ron shook his head, "No…I do not recall seeing a dismembered body."

The Colonel nodded, "Russian fellow, you killed a number of his friends."

Ron giggled nervously and scratched his chin, "My memory is kind of fuzzy on things that happened before the explosion."

The Colonel shook his head, "No…It is curious though that all the dismembered bodies that we recovered didn't lose any blood from their wounds, what ever weapon that was used on them sealed the wounds as it was cutting thru the bodies."

"Wow, sounds like a pretty fearsome weapon." Ron said in wonderment.

The Colonel nodded, "Indeed it does, The IDF of course thanks you for your service and I know the parents of the children are very grateful…I will leave you now so that you can get well…Thank you for your help."

The Colonel saluted and Ron returned his salute and watched as the Colonel left the room, _"He didn't believe me…oh well."_

Colonel Jager walked outside the room and nodded to Bonnie as she made her way back with Ron's chocolate milk. Bonnie smiled and returned the nod, _"He doesn't look too happy."_

**-II-**

Colonel Jager walked back to his car and sat in the front seat and placed a call, "Shalom, request line 6 secure, I would like to speak with Benjamin Kohn."

A female voice on the other side of the phone confirmed his instructions, "Line 6 secure, I shall transfer your call to Mr. Kohn."

There was silence and then a voice came on the line, "Tovia is that you?"

Colonel Jager smiled, "It is old friend."

"What did you find out, what did you learn."

Colonel Jager let out a breath, "He claims to know nothing, he claims to have found the bodies already dead."

There was a soft chuckle from the voice on the other end of the phone, "He is lying."

"Of course he is lying; he knows more than he is willing to tell." Colonel Jager told the man.

There was once again silence as the two men thought about how they should proceed, the voice on the phone broke the uneasy silence, "We have complications, there is a CIA case officer named Rosalyn Cortez that is most interested in why we are releasing so few details about Sgt. Stoppable's rescue and why we pulled out of Gaza as quickly as we did."

"Tell the CIA to go to hell, this is our business"

The voice became softer almost fatherly, "Easy Tovia, our conversations with Washington are cordial but they have no real clue as to what has happened here."

Colonel Jager rubbed the bridge of his nose, "It is hard to relax as often as the United States has…"

"Do you think he is suitable for our purposes?"

"…What…oh…yes, I would have to say yes but I do not like the idea of recruiting someone so young…He is…without a doubt kidon material." Colonel Jager confirmed.

"We shall give him a few more years to test his metal…Return to the Institute we will continue selecting the new personnel and we would like your input."

Once Benjamin Kohn was off the phone he leaned the chair back against the wall of his small office and examined the pictures he had hanging on the wall, _"We will reform the kidon teams, we will return to the policy of targeted assassination and once again Mossad will return to greatness."_

**-III- **

Bonnie handed Ron the bag of chocolate milk, "So how did your meeting go?"

Ron stabbed the Mylar bag with the straw, "Oh…OK, I guess."

Bonnie smiled, "I've got good news for you."

"Does it have anything to do with getting out of here?"

She nodded her head.

"And…What?" Ron said trying to guess what Bonnie was getting at.

Bonnie giggled, "They are going to release you tomorrow morning and I have my car finally."

Ron smiled, "Ahhhhhhhhh at last…I get to escape, return to Netanya and…"

"…and get fitted for those teeth." Bonnie finished.

He cringed and said sadly, "I'm too young for false teeth."

Bonnie shook her head, "It's only a partial plate Ron, no one will even know you have one…Now let's look at that arm."

Ron held up his arm for her and she looked at the dressings to look for blood seeping through. There was none so he had not tore any of his stitches out. She moved down to his hand, the color was returning to normal and his fingers had good color as well.

For the first time she noticed that Ron's index finger on his right hand was slightly crooked, 'What happened here?"

He looked at her and shook his head, "Where?"

"Your index finger, it's slightly crooked." Bonnie told him as she turned his hand over again.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Ohhhhhhhh….That…I broke that, along with my hand in a fight with Jarrod Masters the Monday after the Junior Prom."

Bonnie cringed, "I remember hearing about that, that was….right after I called you a…"

"…stupid little Jew." Ron said sadly.

She licked her lips and nodded, she was clearly embarrassed by the memory of what had happened nearly two years ago, "I…I'm so sorry about that…God, that was a horrible thing for me to say."

Ron smiled and said quietly as he looked into Bonnie's eyes, "It had a happy ending though, you found out you were Jewish and you became my friend."

Bonnie returned the smile, "I got home from school and Mom was yelling at Connie, 'You need to find you a nice Jewish boy and settle down'…"

They both began laughing as it was a phrase both of them were hearing a lot lately, "So I was all snarky and put my hand on my hips and I said, 'Who in their right mind would want a Stupid Jew for a boyfriend."

Bonnie grinned sheepishly as she finished the story, "Mom had kittens, 'Stupid Jew Girls like you that's who.' she said."

Bonnie began chuckling, "I'm not a Jew, I said defiantly…Mom calmed down and explained the whole Bat Mitzvah thing I went through when I was 12…I thought it was just a weird birthday party."

Ron started laughing, "You mean you never wondered why there was a distinct lack of Christmas presents around the house in December?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "I thought Mom and Dad were the biggest cheap skates in the world…Anyway with Lonnie and Connie around…I had a tendency to…get lost in the shuffle."

They were quiet, each thinking their own thoughts and then Bonnie frowned, "So you…I…caused your fight with Jarrod then?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "Not exactly, I was reeling from your insult, I never had anyone attack my…our religion before and I didn't know what to do. So I retreated into the boy's room to get myself together."

He took a breath and looked at the ceiling before he continued, "Well, I was wondering why Kim didn't slap you silly but I guess she was as stunned as I was…"

Bonnie nodded, "Looking back on it, I'm surprised she didn't either."

Ron tilted his head and shrugged and continued on with his story, "Anyway…While I was in the restroom, the math guy what's his name?"

Bonnie watched him trying to remember the boys name and then it came to her, "Dauber…Stan Dauber."

"Yea…Stan Dauber…He was there along with a few other guys…Jerry Dean the Cross Country runner graduated a year before us…They were all saying that Kim was going to dump me and Dauber had worked it all out in mathematical terms and that we'd be thru by the end of the week." Ron said with vacant expression on his face

Ron shook his head trying to shake the memory but it just kept coming his voice steady but very distant, "So, I told them they don't know Kim and that she'd never do that to me...So I leave the restroom…My mind's blown by this time and then Jarrod Master's shoves me into my locker and my books go flying everywhere…and…then he told me what he was going to do to Kim…and…I…just had enough and I beat the hell out of him."

Bonnie nodded, "I remember Brick being all excited about it...I guess it was a bad day for you?"

He nodded and gazed out the hospital window, "I…I think…if that happened today…That I would kill Jarrod…I'd wipe that sneer off that dirty bastards face…I would…simply…kill him, twist his head around until I heard the neck the snap and I would let his lifeless body drop to the floor…No virgins for you." Ron said vacantly.

Bonnie giggled nervously as she heard the quiet menace in his voice, "Well Mr. Barkin wouldn't have appreciated the mess…Hey it had a happy ending…You got back together with Kim." She suggested trying to lighten Ron's mood.

"Two days later Kim dumped me…Once I had my hand in the cast…All the guys in the boy's room were right...and I was wrong." Ron said sadly as he turned his attention to his heavily bandaged right arm.

Bonnie watched Ron look at his arm and began to rub it while he made a fist with his right hand. She could see the fear blowing thru his mind like a ferocious wind that had just began to blow at a hundred miles an hour and the wind was blowing all his confidence away piece by piece.

She placed her hands on each side of his face and made him look her in the eyes, "RON, RON, Kim is not going to dump you; you are going to get well and go home to her…DO YOU HEAR ME?"

He blinked and chuckled nervously, "Yea…Sorry didn't mean to let my mind wonder like that."

There attention was once again drawn to a knock on the door, a head popped into the room. It was a paratrooper, complete with red beret and red jump boots, "Good day, sorry for the intrusion but I am Lt. Colonel Uzi Gimmel. I am with IDF Intelligence and if I might have a few words with Sgt. Stoppable alone if I may?"

Ron and Bonnie looked at one another and shrugged, Ron quickly saluted. Lt. Col. Gimmel returned the salute, "I promise it won't take very long."

Bonnie turned to face the man, "Someone else was hear earlier saying that they were from IDF Intelligence, and my fiancée talked to him…So now if you will leave us my fiancée would like to take a nap."

Lt. Col. Gimmel looked puzzled by the statement, "Another officer? Did he give you a name?"

Ron tried to remember, "Colonel...Jager?"

Bonnie nodded, "Yes that was the name."

Lt. Col. Gimmel began to sweat, "Ah yes...I know of this officer...He works...for the Defense Department."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Oh"

Bonnie looked to Ron and he shrugged and nodded, she then turned and began to leave the room, "You have ten minutes and then he is taking a nap."

Once Bonnie had left the room Lt. Col. Gimmel pointed to the door, "Is she normally this bossy?"

Ron smiled, "You have seen her on a good day."

Lt. Col. Gimmel nodded, "So where to begin? How are you feeling today?"

"Apart from the pain in my legs, not too bad." He answered truthfully.

"What can I help you with today?"

Lt. Col. Gimmel smiled as he began his interrogation, "There are questions about things that turned up in the building where we found you…We found a number of dismembered bodies in the building, only they were dismembered in a way that we are unfamiliar with."

Ron nodded his head, "As I told Col. Jager earlier, that is what I thought when I found them."

Lt. Col. Gimmel lifted an eyebrow, "So you did not kill them then?"

Ron shook his head, _"Who...What are they doing? Maybe they're going to keep sending in more people to question me till I slip up?"_

"No"

Lt. Colonel Gimmel continued, "We also found 14 dead bodies inside a locked room, all shot at close range."

Ron grinned and nodded, "I did do that, walked in the door and there they were...Fish in a barrel"

"How did you get into the room, the two doors were locked from the inside?" The man asked soberly.

Ron waived a hand and smiled, _"Not tripping me up today I'm afraid."_

"Ahhhhh…The door was open when I walked in, it must have locked when I closed the door on the way out."

The Lt. Colonel nodded, "So you know nothing about the dismembered bodies?"

Ron shook his head, _"Nope"_

"No"

"There was another body in the building you took refuge after…you blew up the…ammo dump?" The Lt. Colonel asked carefully.

Ron shook his head and answered coolly, "No…I do not recall seeing a dismembered body."

The Lt. Colonel tried to jog Ron's memory, "He appeared to be a big Russian fellow."

Ron giggled nervously and scratched his chin, "It does not sound familiar, are we sure we are talking about the same building?"

Lt. Colonel Gimmel shook his head, "Yes, same building…All of the dismembered bodies that were found had one thing in common, no blood lost from the severed limbs, what ever weapon that was used on them cauterized the wounds as it was cutting thru the bodies."

Ron looked concerned and scratched his chin, _"This is like Deja-Vou all over again."_

"Wow, sounds like a pretty fearsome weapon." Ron said in forced wonderment for the second time that day.

Lt. Col. Gimmel nodded, "Yes, Indeed it does...You would not happen to have information on such a weapon, say if the weapon should actually exist that is?"

Ron grinned, "Now Officer, do I look like the type of man that would know anything about a magical weapon? I tell you I wish I had such a weapon, it would have made life in Gaza much easier."

Bonnie walked back into the room and glared at the officer, "Ten minutes are up, hit the road, he needs his sleep."

Lt. Col. Gimmel frowned at Bonnie, "Well...I do not have any other questions at this time...You will of course call me if your memory should recover?"

"Yes Officer"

Ron saluted and Lt. Colonel Gimmel returned his salute and watched as the man left the room, _"He didn't believe me either…oh well."_

Once the officer left Bonnie turned the glare back on Ron, "Under the covers it is time to take a nap."

Ron smiled and saluted, "Yes Officer"

**-IV-**

Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P's. were getting ready for to leave for their respective jobs, they were each adorned in their matching white lab coats finishing up breakfast before they each noticed something strange going on at the table.

They each looked at one another and then at their daughter Kim, they became mesmerized by the strange behavior exhibited by their daughter and her extremely strange behavior. Mr. Dr. P. looked at his daughter, "Uh Kim?"

"No, no wait, I can do it this time." Kim said as she tried once again to balance a spoon on the end of her nose.

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at her husband and then back to her daughter, "Kimmie, why exactly is balancing a spoon on the end of your nose so important?"

"…I got it…opps, thought I had it there…my bad." Kim said as she picked the spoon back up and tried to balance the spoon on her nose again.

Mr. Dr. P. looked on, "You know it might be easier if you just glued that to your nose."

Kim looked up and smiled, "Shaaa, why didn't I think of that?" Then she gave her father a wink, "Guess that's why you're the rocket scientist of the family."

"Kim, why are you trying to balance a spoon on the end of your nose?" Her mother asked again.

She turned and looked at her mother, "Because…because I know I can do it and anything is possible for a Possible ain't that right daddy."

Mr. Dr. P. lifted an eyebrow, "Ain't?"

"Honey…You're going to be late for your classes…Maybe the…spoon can wait till dinner?" Her mother suggested.

"PEANUT BUTTER" Kim yelled as she leapt to her feet and made a dash for the cabinets.

Kim came back to the table with a jar of Peter Pan Peanut butter, "This should hold the spoon on my nose right daddy?"

Mr. Dr. P. looked at his wife, "Ummm…Sure Kimmie Cub, I mean after all it sticks to the roof of your mouth…I think it should have the adhesive characteristics necessary to temporarily cement a spoon to the end of your nose."

Kim nodded as she opened the jar, "Just what I was thinking…Except without all those big words."

She stuck the spoon in the peanut butter and scooped up a gob of the sticky concoction and carefully placed it on her nose and then she released the spoon, extended her hands and grinned broadly, "Ta Daaaaa"

The spoon held for about ten seconds before falling off her face, she put her elbows on the table rested her head in her hands and said rather dejectedly, "The spoon should have stuck, the problem vexes me so."

Mrs. Dr. P. got up from her chair and walked over to Kim and put a hand on her shoulder, "Kim, your father and I love you dearly but we need to know…Are you using drugs?"

Kim glared at her mother, "MOM"

Mrs. Dr. P. smiled, "I know there's lots of peer pressure out there to use them and well…Me and your father did some pretty far out things when we were in college…"

Mr. Dr. P. cleared his throat loudly and waived a hand indicating that his wife should not continue with her conversation, Mrs. Dr. P. glared at him, "Jim I wasn't going to tell her about when we dropped acid and followed the Grateful Dead around for a summer."

Mr. Dr. P. threw his paper in the air and pushed his chair back and left the conversation. Kim giggled nervously, "You guys didn't…you know…really…do that did you?"

Mrs. Dr. P. had a dreamy look in her eyes as she remember their summer of love, "Did we actually drop LSD into our eyes from a visine bottle, travel around the country in your father's beat up old Ford Econoline van, wrestle naked in the mud, make wild passionate love on the ground while listening to a bunch of old men trying to relive their glory days on stage…Afterwards when the show was over we'd hose each other off naked in Smarty Mart parking lots all across the country for four exhilarating mind expanding months…"

Kim gasped, "MOM"

Mrs. Dr. P. regained her composure being mindful of where she was and who she was talking to, straightened her lab coat, "Nooooo of course not honey, forget I even mentioned that you were conceived at one of those concerts so we had to get off the road, get married and find real jobs."

Kim's eyes doubled their size, "NOOOO WAYYYY"

Mrs. Dr. P. laughed, "Gotcha, now clean that peanut butter off your nose and go to school."

Kim laughed and wiped her nose off, "You had me going there…You were kidding right?"

Mrs. Dr. P. smiled and picked up her car keys, "Have to go late for work."

"Mom…Mom…No…You were kidding…Right?" Kim asked as her mother walked out the door.

Kim sat in the chair, _"She was kidding."_

The kitchen door opened and her father burst into the room, "Did your mother leave for work yet?"

Kim nodded, Mr. Dr. P. frowned, "I wanted her opinion on something."

"Ask me, I'm sure I can help." Kim said happily.

Mr. Dr. P. smiled, "There's a 1972 Ford Econoline van on ebay for sale and I was thinking about putting in a bid on it…Ahhhh Your mother and I had some good times in that old van before you were born Kimmie Cub…Shame I can't remember too many of them."

Kim's smile vanished, "I have to go to school now."

Mr. Dr. P. smiled and nodded, "School is important and quit doing drugs that stuff can really screw with your head…Not that…I or your mother would have any first hand practical knowledge of this of course."

Kim giggled weakly and waived as she left the house, _"Great…It might not be the truth ray that makes me goofy from time to time…It might be my trippy, far out parents."_

Kim sat behind the wheel of the car, _"Mom was kidding."_

**-V- **

The next morning was sunny and warm, April was shaping up to be a lovely month in Israel, Bonnie thought as she loaded up her car with Ron's stuff from the Gaza raid. Ron was going to finish his healing in her apartment. She was secretly glad that Ron would be there because she would not have to endure the missile attacks alone any longer.

Eli Oster was helping to load up Ron's weapons, "He sure has a lot of guns and knives."

Bonnie wrinkled her nose at the AK47 in her trunk, "I do not like guns, they frighten me."

Eli nodded, "That is something you will have to work out with your future husband."

Bonnie frowned, "Yes…I suppose it is."

Ron was wheeled to the front door of the hospital in a wheel chair; Sima and Sharon Oster were with him. Sima smiled happily, "Can I ride in the car with Bonnie and Ron back to Netanya?"

Sharon shook her head, "I think Bonnie would like to be alone with Ron for the trip back to her apartment."

Ron chuckled, "I do not think Bonnie would mind very much, it just a matter of finding a hole in the back seat with all the plants back there."

Bonnie walked over to help Ron out of the wheel chair to help him to her car, "What's so funny now?"

Ron smiled, "Sima wants to ride back to Netanya with us and I said good luck on trying to find a spot with all the flowers in the back seat."

Bonnie chuckled in agreement, "She can ride but she has to find her a spot in the backseat."

Sima quickly ran ahead and opened the back door of the car and began moving plants and flowers into the back seat of her parent's car. Sharon laughed, "Looks like you two will have a passenger."

Eli walked over, "Sima is to ride with you then I take it…We will follow you up to Netanya and help you get settled in."

Ron stood and Bonnie grabbed an arm to steady him. Ron gave her a glare, "I am not a cripple."

Bonnie glared right back, "I do not want you falling and denting the car with your hard head."

Ron chuckled, "Yes officer" Then he turned to the Oster's, "Thank you; I do not know what would have become of me if it wasn't for your help."

Sharon waived dismissively at Ron, "It was no trouble at all, now let's help you to the car."

"I do not think I need…" Ron was saying as he took a step and his right leg began to tremble, "Alright maybe just a little help."

The drive to Netanya was short, Ron was enjoying being out of the hospital and out in the sunlight of a beautiful spring day in April, the weather was warm and he sat back in the seat of the car and just let the warmth radiate through his body.

Bonnie would look over from time to time and smile and shake her head as she watched Ron basking in the sunlight, _"Shame to have to give him back to Kim."_

Sima would point out various points of interest and Ron just kept his eyes closed and said, "Hmmm" or "Oh" to make it appear that he was paying attention or was even remotely interested.

When they returned to Bonnie's apartment they helped Ron onto her couch and unloaded both cars. Eli came in carrying Ron's weapons and Bonnie held up a hand, "Closet, I do not want them where I can see them."

Ron laughed, "You never complained about me bringing in my rifle before."

She turned and glared at him, "Because I knew that the rifle would be leaving and would not be hanging around the apartment like…toys for boys."

Once the cars were unloaded Bonnie walked with the Oster's back to their car, "Thank you for putting up with us these past weeks….I know it has been stressful."

Sharon smiled, "It was no trouble, happy to help…Don't let him push you around now and stay firm with him on those exercises."

Bonnie giggled, "I am the one who does the pushing around here."

They said their goodbyes and Bonnie retuned to her apartment to find Ron asleep on the couch. She tapped him on the arm, "Would you be more comfortable in the bedroom?"

Ron's eyes fluttered, "Any place is better than the hospital."

They sat and watched television for a while and then Bonnie made Ron get to his feet and started him walking around the apartment, "Remember we go to the doctor tomorrow to get the stitches out of your face and then to an dental specialist to have you fitted for a lower plate."

Ron groaned, "I don't want false teeth."

Bonnie didn't like hearing no so she quietly took Ron's arm and asked him a simple question, "Do you think Kim will prefer a toothless Ron or a Ron that looks like he has all his teeth."

He immediately understood what she was getting at, the more normal he could appear the easier it would be Kim to accept his other wounds, "I...I'll get fitted for the plate."

Bonnie patted him on shoulder, "Thought you'd see it that way, now march."

Ron smiled and began to shuffle forward, "Yes Officer."

There was a knock on the door and Bonnie answered it, in the door way was a young private who looked at Bonnie nervously, "Message for Lieutenant Stoppable."

Bonnie turned to Ron, "I swear you get more visitors."

Ron walked as best he could over to the door, "Yes?"

The private quickly saluted, "Lt. Stoppable, I have your orders from General Tova."

Ron blinked and returned the salute, _"Lieutenant?"_

"There must be some mistake; I have only arrived home from hospital today?"

Ron opened the envelope and read the message"

_"Sergeant Ronald Stoppable _

_Currently unassigned, you are hereby brevetted to the rank of Second Lieutenant and ordered to report in 10 days from date of receipt of these orders to report to the office of Major General Moshe Ben Tova no later than 09:00 hours at Camp Bezeq. _

_Request immediate response. _

_Major Ronald Ben Gila _

_Israeli Defense Force Northern Command _

_Golani Brigade, Gideon Division, Office of Central Communications"_

Ron looked up at the private, "Immediate Response?"

The Private nodded, and Ron licked his lips and looked around, "How do I do that?"

"You give me your reply to take back to General Tova." The private told him happily.

Ron nodded his head, "Ummmm, Yes, uhhhhh..."

The private snickered, "One generally starts out 'My compliments to General Tova'."

Ron narrowed his eyes on the private, "I am new to this it is not like I do it everyday...Fine, yes, umm: My compliments to General Tova, I shall report on..." Ron squinted at the private as he tried to remember what the date is and then suddenly remembered, "April 18th as per your orders...How's that."

The young private smiled and nodded his head, "Fine Officer, and if I may say sir, speaking not only for myself but for the whole Golani brigade...Excellent job in Gaza City sir, the 135 Palestinians you killed single handedly is an inspiration and we know you are looking forward to going to Lebanon with us to kill Hizbullah and Iranians."

Ron swallowed hard and nodded his head, _"I just want to go home."_

"Yes, I can not wait...Thank you Private...?"

The Private straightened up and saluted proudly, "Private Saul Mauldin."

"Thank you Private Mauldin."

The young private saluted smartly and Ron returned it and then he was off to deliver Ron's message, _"I haven't even been in the army a year and he looks so young...I can't be that much older than him...weird."_

Bonnie put a hand on his shoulder, "What is it?"

Ron chuckled in disbelief, "They want me to report for duty in ten days."

"That's insane, you can barely walk." Bonnie exclaimed.

Ron nodded, "I have ten days to get ready...I'm sure once they see how banged up I am they'll give me a deferment and then I can go back to Middleton."

**-VII-**

Kim attended her classes but found it hard to concentrate, for some reason the only thing she could think about was new and unique ways of attaching a spoon to her nose and if the twins would mind if Rufus hung out with her for a while.

Once classes were done for the day she put her books up in the trunk of her car and headed for her job at the Space Center, she had not used the chair since the night Ron was wounded and was ready to check in on him and see how he was doing.

She had tried the Kimmunictor but it wasn't working, nor could she get a hold of Wade to fix it, _"I wish I could talk to Ron and see how he's doing; Mrs. Stoppable said he was hurt pretty bad but that he should recover."_

She entered Dr. Wong's office and found her there waiting for her, "Kim have a seat, I need to discuss a few things with you."

Kim sat down and Dr. Wong began briefing her about what she had just discovered, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?"

Kim shifted nervously in her seat, "Bad...I guess."

Dr. Wong nodded, "We can't use the chair any longer because of some unforeseen side effects that I've discovered."

"What sort of side effects?" Kim asked nervously.

Dr. Wong folded her hands in front of her and sat on the edge of the desk, "I need to ask you a question, how are your grades at school doing?"

Kim shrugged, "I'm going OK, 'B's' and 'C's' mostly."

"Are those the grades you normally receive?"

Kim thought about it, "No...I normally get 'A's' and 'B's' but this is college level work not high school."

"What kind of grades did Ron receive when he was in high school?"

Kim shrugged, "He carried a gentlemanly 'C' average, he had a smattering of 'B's' and 'A's' here and there."

"Have you found yourself acting strangely of late...Doing things that are uncharacteristic of the way you normally are?"

She thought about it, "Would trying to balance a spoon on your nose for an hour and a half be considered strange?"

Dr. Wong nodded, "I'd have to give that a big yes."

"So why can't we use the chair anymore?"

Dr. Wong walked over to the window and looked outside, "It appears that every time we have used the chair more and more of your traits are being transferred to Ron and his traits in return are transferred to you."

Kim sat up in the chair and blinked and then slapped her forehead, "Duh' I should have thought of that myself."

Dr. Wong nodded, "But there is some good news, I think we can reverse the transfer."

Kim nodded, "I thought he was being too aggressive and using too many multi syllable words...How do we reverse it, I want it done now."

Dr. Wong pulled in her head sheepishly, "Well here's the tricky part, we need Ron in the chair."

Kim was crestfallen, "I...I don't know if Ron will do it...I still haven't told him about the experiments."

Dr. Wong tapped the side of her head, "It's the only way I know of to replace the marbles that were transferred."

Kim slumped in the chair and gave her famous puppy dog pout, "I...I want my marbles back."

**--A/N--**

**Sorry for the delay, real life keeps rearing it's ugly head in my direction these days. Thanks for your emails and reviews of my stories, I really appreciate them. It's time now to get this story rolling again and see how much more trouble Ron and Kim can get into.**


	45. Chapter 45

**-A/N- Sex and violence alert, Bonnie has sex, Kim is violent, Ron is drunk...again...Disney hates me. I do not own Kim Possible...Nor Bonnie or Ron...I do own a Chevrolet S10 Blazer. Hope you all enjoy the chapter. **

Monique received the email and went into a panic, she had been watching the news and knew full well that there was going to be another ground war in Lebanon The United Nations peace keeping forces had been unable to disarm Hezbollah, nor were they able to shut down the flow of weapons coming in from Syria.

The peace keeping coalition had also been unable to stop Hezbollah from launching missiles into northern Israel, there was a no confidence vote in the Knesset, Israel's Parliament for the old Government and a new ruling coalition had been formed.

All the signs were there for another war and Israel was not being shy about what they were intending to do. With a new Prime Minister and a reorganized military they were once again activating the reserve forces in advance of a major ground campaign.

International news normally didn't hold much interest to the young college freshman but now that she was seeking a romantic relationship with a young soldier that was going to head into the boiling cauldron known as the Middle East that had all changed.

She sat before her computer reading the message again, "_I would much rather go see you than go to war."_ Tirza had written and it was tearing at Monique's heart. It was bad enough Ron had gone out and got himself wounded now it looked as if her boyfriend was going to experience the same if not worse.

She hit the reply button and stared at the empty browser window, composed her thoughts and began to write:

"_Tirza_

_I have been keeping up with the news from Israel and I am very worried for you._

_Forget this war, come home with Ronnie and I will hide you myself._

_I worry about you and don't want you to get hurt like Ron._

_I will pray for your safety if you must go._

_Please don't try to be brave; I really want to see you in May._

_I am planning all sorts of fun things for us to do when you come to see me._

_I miss you, I miss you, I miss you._

_Please come home with Ron, I'm serious; I'll do all I can to keep you from the war._

_I don't want to see my Tirzabear hurt._

_I have to end this email, I'm starting to cry and I just can't stand this war stuff._

_4 ever yours_

_Monique"_

Her cheeks were wet from tears as she pushed the send button, _"He won't be able to come home with Ron."_ She thought sadly as she looked at the message sent successfully screen.

She wiped her eyes and rose from her desk and laid down on her bed, _"Maybe I should see Rabbi Katz, I'd like information on converting to Judaism."_

Monique got off the bed and grabbed her purse and her car keys, _"It's Saturday so that means it's the Sabbath. So Rabbi Katz should be at the temple."_

She left the house and sat behind the wheel of the car and backed out the driveway, _"I know Kim was looking into converting but I don't think she followed through with it…She quit talking about it so I'm not sure."_

Monique made the drive to the Temple and parked outside and sat in the car, _"I'm just being silly, Tirza hasn't asked or said anything about marriage...I better..."_

Here thoughts were interrupted by a rapping on the window, "You look troubled, may I help you?"

Monique jumped out of surprise, "I'm, I'm not sure...I need to talk to a Rabbi...I think."

"Well then you are in luck, I am a Rabbi." The man told her.

"Oh"

The man smiled and motioned for Monique to step out of the car, "I am Rabbi Katz."

Monique stepped out of the car, "I'm Monique Jones...I'm a friend of Ron Stoppable's and I've some questions."

Rabbi Katz smiled and nodded, "When Ron was missing I found out just how many friends he had, I don't think I ever talked to so many people before."

They walked inside the Temple and Rabbi Katz showed Monique to his office, "Ronald was injured while he was missing but he is going to recover, he's resting at home with his fiancée' Bonnie Rockwaller now."

Monique looked away uneasily, "Ummmm...Yea, well...I visited Ron in Israel with Kim Possible back in January and I met a friend of Ron's over there and dated him a few times."

Rabbi Katz raised an eyebrow, "You and Kim went to Israel, I never heard about this."

"It is kind of complicated...I really like this friend of Ron's and we write and email each other as often as we can." Monique told him as she tried to explain the situation to him.

"Sounds like you are very romantically involved with the young man." Rabbi Katz observed.

Monique nodded, "I know it sounds silly, I mean we've only been together those few days and the letters and emails...Now he is getting ready to go fight some other country and he's supposed to come to the United States and visit me when Ron returns in May."

Rabbi Katz nodded his head sadly, "He may not be able to make it here in May if the army is deployed...So what would you like to know?"

"I...We've never really talked about it...but say if we were to get married...How would I go about becoming Jewish?" Monique asked shyly.

"You have to ask yourself if that is really what you want to do." Rabbi Katz told her as he sat behind his desk.

Monique nodded, "Could we still get married if I didn't convert?"

Rabbi Katz nodded, "Who will perform the ceremony and where and how will it be performed? Most movements of Judaism don't allow interfaith marriages to be performed in their synagogues, nor do they allow a rabbi to perform interfaith marriages."

Monique looked at the floor not knowing what to say and Rabbi Katz could see that she was getting an answer she didn't expect to hear, "Before you casually dismiss this as bigotry, Monique let's remember that you are asking us to put a religious stamp of approval on an act that has nothing to do with our religion."

Monique nodded her head, "I understand..."

Rabbi Katz held up a hand, "Now that you know you may have to be married in a church: how do you think your boyfriend would feel about being married under a cross or crucifix? How will his relatives feel when they are told, "in Jesus' name, let us say 'Amen'," as happens in millions of Christian ceremonies every day?"

Monique nodded her head, "I haven't really thought about these things...We've never really discussed it..."

Rabbi Katz nodded, "I hope your boyfriend does not get called off to war so he can come and visit you...If your relationship turns serious enough for discussions such as marriage and if you are still interested in conversion, please come back and we'll talk some more."

She chuckled softly, "I don't know Rabbi, you sort of depressed me."

"That's what Rabbi's do best." He said with a laugh, "In all seriousness Monique, if you and your boyfriend start talking of marriage and you are still interested in becoming a Jew, come speak with me."

Monique's head was buzzing as she walked back to her car, so many things to think about and what of Tirza did she really love him or care for him or was she just in love with the idea of being in love.

She sat behind the wheel of the car and thought it over, how she looked forward to the emails the letters; she hadn't been sizing any of the college boys up at school. When she wasn't working she was on the computer looking for emails or surfing for information on Israel.

It could not be denied in her heart, she loved Tirza and now there was a war coming and she was going to run the risk of not seeing him or hearing from him ever again, _"If he asks me to marry him...I'll say yes, if he wants me to convert to Judaism...I will."_

**-I-**

Ron sat in front of Bonnie's computer, he was sending out emails to let the world know that he was alright. He first sat down and emailed Kim, this excited him the most. She was the last person he talked to while he was in Gaza and hadn't spoken to since.

"_Hey KP_

_I made it out of Gaza, lost a few teeth and picked up a few scars for my trouble._

_Just thought I'd drop you a note and say that I still plan on coming home in May._

_Look forward to seeing you again, Ronnunicator isn't working. _

_Can you have Wade look at getting them working again?_

_I can't tell you how much I miss you and how much I look forward to seeing you again._

_My legs and my right arm took quite a beating; I may not be as mobile as I once was._

_I'm working hard and hope to be dancing by the time Ned gets married._

_I may be down but I'm not out, hope to speak with you soon._

_Say 'Hi' to Rufus for me._

_Love _

_Ron"_

He looked over the email message, _"Should I tell her that I've been called back up? Should I tell how bad my legs really are? Should I ask her to marry me?"_

Ron mulled over the questions and the answer to each of them was 'no', _"No sense worrying her or misleading her about the real extent of the wounds only to have her let down once she finally sees me."_ He thought nervously as he rubbed his face and ran his tongue feeling for teeth that were no longer there.

He clicked the send button and looked up from the computer, Bonnie was calling to him from her bedroom, "I'm almost ready."

Ron chuckled quietly to himself, _"Typical girl takes forever to get ready."_

"OK"

He opened a new email message up to Ned and thought about what he was going to write and then began the message.

"_Hey Ned_

_Just a quick note to let you know I survived, hope everything is well with you and Tina._

_I'm looking forward to being your best man in May if you still want me too._

_Hope to hear from you soon._

_Ron_

_P.S. I went to a Bueno Nacho in Netanya and it sucked, the nacos they use a substance that resembles spam in them and they're terrible!_

Ron leaned back in his chair and hit the send button. He smiled broadly, he was beginning to feel like his old self again, _"I can't wait till May."_

Bonnie finally came out of her room wearing a grey sweater and a pair of tight fitting jeans, Ron openly leered at her, "You look good enough to eat."

Bonnie shook a finger at him and teasingly scolded him, "No sex…You ready?"

Once the orders arrived there came a new urgency to Ron's exercises, Bonnie tried to get Ron to slow down but he was determined to do his best to be able to walk in Camp Bezeq when the time came.

Ron had the stitches in his face removed and he saw the two tiny little scars on each side of his cheeks, they were so tiny it would be easy to over look unless you knew what to look for but to Ron they looked as big as basketballs.

He forced the thoughts about his face to the back of his mind and nodded to Bonnie, "Ready?"

Bonnie nodded, "Let's go see the dental specialist."

Ron had impressions taken of his mouth and gums; the whole process was less painful than he thought. The staff told him that his teeth would be ready on Wednesday of the following week. Ron did some quick mental calculations and nodded, 'That will be fine."

Next they made a trip to Liberty Square to the store front of Ira Seitzman's Jewelry store. Ron eagerly wanted to see the old man as he hadn't had an opportunity to speak with him since he was there back in January.

Ron had gone to Haifa with the elderly man on a diamond buying expedition only to be confronted by a man from the Yurchenko/Sakorov crime family in a brutal hand to hand combat inside the men's restroom of the facility the event was held at.

Ira Seitzman looked up from behind the display cases and smiled broadly as Ron and Bonnie entered the store. He came from behind the counter with his arms out stretched, "There you are, I was afraid we'd never see you again." He said as he hugged Ron happily.

Ron hugged him back, he was grateful to be seeing people that he was familiar with before he left for Camp 80, "It is good to see you too."

"So you ready to learn to make jewelry?" The old man asked.

Ron shook his head, "Not this time, I was wondering if you still had the 6 karat diamond ring that I looked at back in December?"

The old man looked at Bonnie and smiled, "You finally broke him down, eh'"

Bonnie laughed nervously and looked away, Ron just smiled, "That is another story, so do you still have it?"

The old man went back behind the counter, "But of course, I put it back just in case you decided to buy it."

Ron smiled, "Can you give me a good deal on it?"

The old man leaned in conspiratorially so that Bonnie could not hear, "Do you still have that little bag of diamonds I gave you in January?"

Ron nodded that he did, the old man smiled and nodded, "The diamonds and 3,000 shekels."

Ron looked around and then narrowed his eyes at the old man, "Diamonds, and 2,500 shekels."

The old man jerked back as though Ron had just slapped him, "You are killing me here...Alright, deal."

He had Bonnie run him back to the apartment to retrieve the small bag of diamonds and his check book and they returned to the store and Ron bought the ring. He refused to show it to Bonnie until they were back at her apartment.

When she saw the ring her mouth fell open, "That's nice ring you got there Ron."

Ron smiled as he admired the engagement ring, "Not as nice as that big pinky ring I had...You know Ron-Man knows the bling bling."

Bonnie nodded her head, _"She doesn't deserve the ring...I'm the one doing all her work here."_ She thought bitterly.

"It is a beautiful ring Ron."

**II**

Kim woke up for school and looked at herself in the mirror, she looked heavier than normal, he once perfectly muscled body was losing its form. She pinched about two inches of fat from her middle and looked at herself again, _"Going to have to start working out and running, no bad guys, no cheerleading, school, work, not enough exercise...Starting to get hippy."_

Kim sighed disgustedly at the image in the mirror, _"I was thinking the clothes in the closet were shrinking from the dryer, I think I'm starting to gain weight...I bet Monique is having the same trouble, I'll talk to her about that today."_

She frowned at the image one more time and nodded her head_, "Going to have to do something about this, I can't have Ron coming home to a fat Kim."_

Kim attended her morning classes and then met with Monique in the student union, They took their usual seats at a table in the far corner so they could have privacy while they talked about the days events, "Hey, how was your weekend?"

Monique shook her head, "Stressful, I visited Rabbi Katz and Tirza may be called up this stupid war over there...I don't know."

Kim nodded her understanding, "Ron's wounded at least they won't make him go back out there...I got an email from him, he's starting to sound like his old self again."

Monique smiled, "That's good, and so what did you do this weekend?"

"You first, so why the visit to Rabbi Katz?" Kim asked coyly as she was already anticipating the answer.

Monique grinned and shook her head and her cheeks started to flush crimson, "I was asking him questions about converting...Tirza hasn't asked or anything...I'm just...investigating the possibilities."

Kim smiled slyly, "Ohhhhhhhh possibilities, eh'...I'm on the fence, I don't know what to do about the religion issue...Ron says not to worry about it...but..."

"You know it's something he does think about." Monique finished for her.

She nodded, "Yea...So I put it on hold for now."

Monique giggled, "You seem to doing pretty good today, more like your old self."

Kim laughed, "I don't know there are times when I'm feeling great, top of my game and then there are days...I don't know, if Ron got my marbles I hope he uses them wisely."

They both laughed and nodded their heads vigorously at Kim's joke, then Kim turned quiet, "Monique, I'm going to start running in the mornings, I'm starting to put on weight and my clothes are getting tight and I don't want Ron to see me fat."

Monique lost her grin, "I've been thinking the same thing about me, except about...You know, Tirza and not Ron...When are you going to start running?"

"In the morning, probably take off around eight or so."

Monique nodded, "I'm going to have join you then."

The two girls conversation was being observed from across the room Spanky and Cody Marshall from the frat that Kim had single handedly demolished back in October. The brothers of the Tau Kappa Epsilon had been waiting, waiting for an opportunity to strike back at Kim Possible.

The brothers had drugged Kim and attempted to have gang rape her. Kim on the other hand had other ideas and in the process of her escape she burned the frat barn that was their home to the ground.

No charges had ever been filed over the fire as it was ruled an accident by the fire marshal, the fraternity brothers preferred it that way. They had other ways of dealing with the red headed girl that dared stand up to them.

It had been six months since the fire, the barn had been rebuilt and to celebrate the brothers had decided to informally find Kim Possible and maker her pay for what she had done.

None of the brothers were prepared for the level of violence that they were about to encounter.

Movement across the room caught Kim's attention, she lost her smile and her eyes narrowed, "Great, Here comes Spanky and Cody and another boy from that frat."

Monique turned to look and saw the boys; she could also tell that they spotted Kim. Even though she still had the black hair from their earlier trip to Israel, Kim's red roots were starting to return, "Good time to leave."

Kim nodded, "Good idea" She said as she rose from her chair with Monique only to discover two other frat boys coming up from behind them.

Spanky crossed the distance of the break room in the student union in record time, "Looks like its payback time Kim."

Monique pointed at the two behind them, "Hold on a minute."

Spanky, Cody and the other boy faced off to Kim's left with the other two just behind her to her right side. Kim shook her head, _"These guys aren't going to like the outcome."_ She thought as she began to plan her next move.

She smiled, narrowed her eyes, and in a low menacing voice addressed Spanky, "Guess I'll have to kill you first."

Monique's eyes grew big and Spanky laughed confident in his numbers, "What, now why would you do that?"

"Because you're the leader...You are the leader aren't you?"

Spanky was put off by Kim's aggressive posture, and was trying to think of a way to get out of this situation without losing face, "Y...yea, I'm the leader."

Monique smiled and tried to defuse the confrontation, "Hey, wow, look at the time..."

"The bitch is trying to make you look like a puss, Spanky." Cody said boldly as he tried to egg his friend on.

Kim maneuvered away from her chair in order to keep the boys behind her in sight, "Hey Spanky you got neutered once wasn't that enough." Kim said with a slight grin as she reminded him of their last meeting when Kim shoved a broken beer bottle into his groin..

Spanky growled and stepped forward, Kim was done talking as well and kicked Spanky in the groin as hard as she could, he doubled over in pain as Kim stepped to her right and kicked the side of his knee hard.

There was a loud snap, Spanky fell to the ground with a broken knee, Kim now stepped forward as if she were kicking a field goal planted her left foot and drove home the knockout blow with her right foot kicking Spanky as hard as she could in the face.

His nose exploded as Kim's foot followed through on the kick showering Cody and the other boy in blood from their now unconscious friend. Then just as quick as it started the fight was over.

Kim smiled appreciatively at the damage she wrought on the young man that tried to drug her and gang rape her with his friends, "No virgins for you." She said under her breath.

Cody was looking at his blood splattered white shirt, "Jesus, what did you have to do that for?"

Kim smiled and thought to herself, _"It's called a finishing move to keep dumb slobs like you from trying to beat me up to being more concerned about taking care of your friend."_

"I did it...I did it for the kicks."

The boys wisely decided not continue the fight and picked up their friend and began to drag him away. Kim looked up and saw the campus police coming into the break room, she looked at Monique as she picked up her books, "We've spent too much time here, time to go."

Monique nodded vigorously and grabbed her things and began to follow Kim towards the back door that lead to the quad, she looked over at Kim and saw the biggest grin on her face that she had seen since they were in Israel. She shook her head, "What?"

Kim looked at her as they jogged across the campus, "Ron may have a few of my marbles but I can still kick ass with the best of em'."

Monique chuckled as she ran, "Ron got some brains but I think you may have inherited his violent side."

They reached their cars in the parking lot, "That has occurred to me."

"When did it occur to you?" Monique said as she began to laugh, now relieved they had escaped the campus police..

"The moment I tried to kick a field goal with that guys head." Kim said as she too began to laugh.

**III**

The time was drawing near for Ron to leave Bonny for Camp Bezeq, The day before he had her drive him to Tulkharm, so he could buy a pair of uniform pants and a few long sleeved uniform shirts and a pair of new socks from the PX.

He had his new officer's rank on his epaulettes and he stood before the mirror looking at himself nervously, _"I kind of hope they send me home and I kind of hope they make me stay...I guess I just want to feel part of something again...I don't know."_

Next he took out the small box and pulled out the lower plate that held two teeth on each side and slipped it into his mouth; he moved his jaw from side to side to try and make the fit more comfortable, _"This is going to take some getting used to."_

Ron carefully positioned the brown beret on his head and licked his lips, and looked at Bonnie as she entered the room, "I still look the same...I can walk but that damn knee just gives me fits."

Bonnie walked over to him and looked him over, "You look very handsome, I don't know why you're so worried? All they are going to do is tell you to go home."

Ron swallowed hard and nodded, "Yea, you're probably right."

Bonnie patted him on the shoulder, "Come into the kitchen I made us some dinner."

"I'll be in once I change, don't want to spill anything on my new uniform." He said absently as he began to stare at himself in the mirror again.

She slapped his butt, "Quit admiring yourself and get changed."

Ron walked to the bathroom, "I don't know if I'd call it admiring."

Bonnie walked into the kitchen and picked up a bowl of soap and a salad and placed it on the table for him, _"Have to keep him focused, he's starting to get nervous."_

"RON WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DRINK?" She called to him as she walked back into the kitchen.

Bonnie picked up her lunch and brought it into the small dining room, there was no answer so she walked to the bathroom door and knocked on it, "Ron what do you want to drink?"

She was becoming nervous and opened the door and found Ron staring into the mirror and rubbing his face, "Ron, you look fine."

Ron wasn't wearing a shirt and he turned to look at Bonnie, "Oh, yea….Ummmm, what were you saying?"

Bonnie smiled, "What do you want to drink?"

Ron smiled weakly, "Water…water will be fine…I really needed water in Gaza."

"Your not in Gaza anymore Ron, you're here now…Get changed." She told him as she turned and left the bathroom.

She fixed two glasses of water, _"He's having trouble adjusting and I can tell he's becoming more stressed…Why did they have to tell him to report?"_

Ron walked into the room and looked at the food, "This looks good."

Bonnie smiled, "Soup ala can, salad ala bag."

He laughed, "My favorite."

"I have to leave for Bezeq tomorrow…Can you take me?" He asked as he took a bite of his salad.

She nodded, "I can take you, just tell me how to get there."

Their lunch was interrupted by the drone of the missile attack warning signal, the loud electronic bonging sound called out its warning, there was a knock on the door, "To the shelters." A voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Bonnie" Ron said quietly trying to ease her fears.

Bonnie began to shake. They had gone through this before and Ron knew that Bonnie wasn't playing the daily missile attacks terrified her, "I'm not going to the shelter, I hate the shelter."

"Calm down Bonnie, its okay, they never land near here." Ron reminded her, he used the word land instead of explode to ease her fears.

They heard a thud from a distance, Ron smiled, "Dud"

Bonnie nodded and tried to make conversation, "You ever see one of those missiles hit?"

There was another much louder bang that shook the windows, "Close…I'd say…Mile away…I saw one launched and land in a field and explode when I was in basic…I was pulling guard duty on the side of a mountain….Saw it launch from the West Bank and then arc high in the air and come down and explode in a field inside the country."

They heard an explosion that was much farther away then the last explosion, "I know it seems silly to be so frightened but…everyone walking around pretending to go on about their daily business while they keep glancing at the sky…If I wasn't taking care of you…I think I would have went home by now."

Ron threw down his fork down on the table and Bonnie thought for a minute that she offended him and then the realization of what had happened set in, "Bit the side of your mouth again?"

He nodded his head, he had the teeth for two days now and was trying to learn to eat with them, from time to time he'd forget about the teeth and chomp down on the inside of his cheek.

It was frustrating and Ron tried to not show the strain but it was getting closer to his time to report, he was nervous and was trying not to show it, "Yea….Got myself good that time."

Bonnie patted his arm, "It's going to take time."

He took a deep breath and looked at Bonnie, "I know the missiles attacks really bother you and I really appreciate you helping me…I wouldn't of got this far without you."

The compliment pleased Bonnie and she began to puff up and throw a wise ass crack at Ron when there was a loud bang and the windows shook and the dishes rattled, she jumped and let out a 'Yip" and then turned to Ron, "I don't know what I'm going to do when your gone."

Ron looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder, "You're going to go to the shelter."

Bonnie sighed and shook her head in resignation, "I…I'll go to the shelter."

They spent the rest of the day on Ron's exercises and he began to pack for his return to base. At the end of the day Ron was sitting on the floor digging thru his pack when he came across his letters that he wrote in Gaza City in case he was killed.

He looked at the envelope that had Bonnie written on the outside, _"I'll give this to her tomorrow when she drops me off at the base."_

Bonnie walked in holding the phone, "The doctor wants to look you over tomorrow before you report back."

Ron nodded, it was time for the stitches to come out of his arm and he was not looking forward to seeing the amount of scaring on his arm. Bonnie saw the look on his face, "It won't be that bad Ron."

He let out a deep breath, "I hope not…I haven't seen the arm since…Gaza."

She sat down on the floor next to him and looked at the small arsenal that Ron had collected lying on the floor, "Your taking the guns with you right?"

"Nope, leaving my toys here, I may not be at the base long so I'm only taking one Glock with me and the Gerber Silver Trident boot knife." Ron said as he held the disguised lotus blade in his hand.

"Ron you're going to have to store them somewhere else, I don't like guns and they make me nervous." Bonnie told him

Ron looked over at her and grinned, "What happened to that tough in your face cheerleader that I knew in high school?"

Bonnie glared at him, "You weren't toting around a rifle and leaving pistols and bullets all over the place and missiles warnings were not the rule of the day in Middleton."

Ron chuckled as he observed, "So it's not really the guns, it's me with guns."

Bonnie sighed, "Ron, I'm serious, I don't like guns. Once you get settled your going to have to do something with them...Besides once the school year is up I...I think I'm going to move back home and go to school somewhere...less dangerous."

"You sure you want to do that?" Ron asked trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

Bonnie batted her eyes and put her hand over her heart, "Why Ron Stoppable, I do believe you would miss me."

He smiled and looked away from her and then frowned, "I would miss you a lot...I don't know what I would have done without you."

Bonnie got to her knees and hugged Ron, "You would have managed, the Oster's would have been there for you...They're good people."

Ron thought about it, "I don't think they could have done the job you did though."

Bonnie stood up, "You're probably right; I'm going to start cooking dinner, want anything in particular?"

"I'd like me a piece of Bon Bon." Ron said with a grin.

Bonnie laughed and shook her head, "Off the menu Ron, off the menu."

Ron watched her leave the room, he began packing his bag and let his mind wonder, _"When I'm with Bonnie I really don't feel like going back to Middleton, I don't know maybe it's just because we know each other and we don't know our surroundings."_

He finished packing the bag and pulled himself off the floor, his right knee trembled under the stress of the load, _"Wish the knee was better, I think I'll go help Bonnie cook. She smelled great when she hugged me earlier...Just because she's off the menu doesn't mean I can't smell the entrée."_

Ron walked limped into the kitchen and helped Bonnie with dinner. Tonight the meal would be chicken in mushroom gravy ala microwave. They had a good time together over dinner exchanging good natured jabs at one another as they sat at the table in the dining room.

The meal went well; Ron chewed his food slowly and managed to make to go the entire meal without biting the sides of his mouth with new lower place. Bonnie kept an eye out on him just in case so he wouldn't throw a temper tantrum.

With the meal finished it was time to do the dishes, Ron helped Bonnie load the dishwasher and watched as she turned it on. Ron laughed, "If Middleton High could see us now, Bonnie Rockwaller domestic Goddess and Ron Stoppable blown up soldier doing dishes."

Bonnie nodded, "I've kept Tara in the loop. So a portion of our graduating class knows what's going on anyway. She's envious of me, thinks I'm being mean denying you...certain liberties...She always liked you."

Ron frowned, "Yea, we came close to hooking up once or twice but..."

"Kim" Bonnie finished for him.

He nodded, "Kim"

They stood in the kitchen unsure of where to take the conversation next, Bonnie looked up at the clock on the microwave, "Agony County time."

With that they both moved to the living room, Ron sat on the couch as Bonnie grabbed the remote to turn the television on. She sat down next to him and said, "I'm glad they had this show on over here, I don't think I would have ever picked up Hebrew without it."

Ron nodded, "I had to pick it up, crash course thanks to the IDF."

They watched the show, making fun of the voice actors that were dubbed over the original soundtrack of the show. After the first commercial Bonnie looked over and noticed Ron rubbing his right arm.

She had never asked him about the day he was wounded, so she decided to ask before he left. She after all may never have another chance to talk to him like this ever again, "Ron...Do you remember how you got wounded in Gaza?"

He took a deep breath and shook his head, "I remember fighting in a hallway, I remember shooting bad guys trying to crawl thru the front door, I remember turning to see a guy standing down the hall...Next thing I knew I was waking up in a helicopter across from a guy that had his brains leaking out his eye socket."

Bonnie winced, "Ewwwww...Forget I asked."

The show came back on and Bonnie began to watch, she glanced at Ron and was getting ready to tell him she was glad he didn't die but Ron was back in Gaza. She could see it in his vacant stare and blank look on his face.

She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, "Ron...Ron"

He blinked and looked at the TV, "Oh, the shows on...Sorry, went spacey there for a second."

Bonnie patted his shoulder, "It's OK, you didn't miss much."

They watched TV, Bonnie kept an eye on Ron, he was laughing and enjoying himself and that made her feel good, _"Glad he's enjoying himself, I hope he gets sent home tomorrow...Shame he's so fixed on Kim."_

The television news came on at nine o'clock, Bonnie had done what the doctors advised and kept Ron fairly isolated to what was going on around them. She quickly tried to change the channel but Ron stopped her, "I'm watching this." He said in a no arguments tone of voice.

Ron's eyes grew big, "They launched a 150 missiles at us today?"

Bonnie shrugged and Ron kept watching. The commentators talked about hightening tensions on the border with Lebanon and Syria. The news show ran tape of the last war with Hezbollah and Lebanon, Ron watched happy Hezbollah followers parading dead IDF soldiers in the bombed out streets of Beirut.

Ron rubbed the back of his neck as he watched the Israeli Prime Minister discussing the latest political maneuvering at the United Nations and how they hoped for a negotiated resolution to the coming conflict.

He could feel his battle blood beginning to flow, and he was becoming upset. He turned to Bonnie, "Now you can turn the channels...Now I know what I'll be walking into tomorrow." He said in a highly tweaked voice.

Bonnie turned the television off, "It's time for bed."

Ron nodded and stood up and tried to walk towards the closet with his normal stride but the right knee just wouldn't let him, _"Damn knee, we're going to war and the damn knee's going to let me down."_

He pulled out a pillow and a blanket from the closet, "Bonnie set the alarm early tomorrow, I want these stitches out of my arms and legs as quickly as possible. I need to get to the base get settled in draw my equipment and..."

Bonnie waited for him to turn to her, "You're going to get a medical deferment and go back to Middleton and propose to Kim, you've done enough for one war."

Ron started to protest and then nodded his head, she was right and he knew it, "Yea...yea...your right."

She smiled, "Of course I'm right, I'm always right and don't you forget that."

Ron chuckled, "I'll remember that." He told her as she left went into her bedroom to get ready for bed. Ron wasn't wearing shoes so he stood up and dropped his pants. He picked them up and folded them and placed them on the back of the love seat. He tugged his shirt over his head as he walked over and turned out the lights,

"_A whole big war and I'm going to miss it_." He thought sadly as he lay on the couch and pulled the covers over him.

He lay on the couch thinking about things that needed to be done, he had never done any of the officer work and was disappointed that it looked as though he was going to be reduced in rank and sent home for the duration of the war.

The missile warning alarm sounded; to Ron's ears it seemed louder than during the day, _"Sound carries at night."_

The familiar bang on the door with the call to report to the shelters was heard, Ron just lay on the couch and stared at the ceiling, _"Too bad the knee isn't working, I'd love to cross the border and get those guys."_

He heard an explosion in the distance, then another explosion, "Industrial district? Maybe on the outskirts of town?" He said out loud to comfort Bonnie.

There was a loud bang and a secondary explosion, "That one hit something...Close."

The door opened and Bonnie stepped out clad in only a long t-shirt and panties, "Ron...You can sleep in my bed tonight if you want...No...no funny stuff though." Bonnie said nervously.

Ron nodded rose from the couch and walked to Bonnie and took her by the elbow back to the bedroom, "I think I'll take you up on that offer."

He lay on the left side of the bed and Bonnie lay next to him and curled up in his arms, _"She's not kidding around she really is scared."_ He thought as he felt her shaking with each new explosion.

Ron brought a hand up and stroked Bonnie's hair, "Shhhhhhhh, its okay." He whispered and then kissed her forehead.

She held on to him tightly and squeezed her eyes closed tight, "I feel like a fool."

"It's okay Bonnie." Ron told her as he continued to stroke her hair as the missile warning alarm droned on outside.

Bonnie tilted her head up and softly kissed Ron on the mouth and then pulled back as she appeared to be thinking her next decision over, then she kissed him softly again, and pulled back and looked into his eyes as best she could in the darkened room.

Ron was still stroking her hair and then he leaned down to kiss her, but she pulled away and looked at him, "Ron, mmm...make love to me." She told him in a voice that quivered with emotion.

He nodded and began to kiss Bonnie a little more forcefully; she once again pulled back from him and took off her t-shirt and her panties and pulled Ron's boxers off. He lifted his hips to help with the removal of the underwear and Bonnie straddled his body and took his head in both hands and leaned over and kissed him on the nose, "I know the knee is still bothering you so I'll do all the work." She whispered.

Ron nodded his head, "B..b..booyah"

Bonnie giggled and said, "Booyah" as she lay flat on his chest and began to make love to him. Ron wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to him. Their love making was gentle and slow, as they savored each other as the missile warning alarm droned on.

**IV**

Kim and Monique began their run, they started out slowly, just running around the block for to get used to physical exercise again. Kim ran block and a half and began to pull up lame.

Monique turned and walked back to her, "You alright?"

Kim nodded, "Haven't worked out for a while, knee's a little stiff…and I feel weird."

"What do you mean weird?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, I can tell when Ron has sex but…this is…different."

Monique's eyes grew big, "You don't think?"

Kim shook her head, "What?"

"You know…abusing his inner child?" She said with a smile.

Kim closed her eyes, "Could be, he's not…real aggressive."

The two girls giggled at the thought of Ron masterbating. Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Now he may just be checking to see if his equipment is still functioning."

Then they started laughing harder as Monique said in amusement, "That is a whole new definition to the phrase equipment check."

Kim laughed, "My knee's feeling better lets run some more."

Monique nodded and they resumed their run.

**V**

Bonnie was sweating and panting as she rode Ron to bliss, Ron held and caressed her until her eyes rolled up in her head as she began to orgasm her body went limp and Ron soon followed as he released his passion.

Ron was immediately aware of the lower half of the bed and his body was soaked from Bonnie's orgasm as she lay on his chest quivering. She grinned out of breath and wiped tears from her eyes, "I…I never came that hard before." She whispered shyly.

Ron giggled and kissed her forehead, "If that's what it takes to get you revved up, I'm ordering a missile attack every night."

Bonnie slapped him on the chest playfully as she tried to catch her breath, "Shut up"

Ron hugged her tight, "Yes Officer"

**VI**

The car rolled up to the front of Camp Bezeq, Ron swallowed hard as he looked at the place where he spent 4 miserable months of his life in basic training. Bonnie pressed the button on the dash and popped the trunk of the car.

The morning had gone well; Ron's stitches were removed from his legs and arm. The doctor had another x-ray taken of Ron's knee, the doctor said that they had done all they could and Ron may have to suffer from knee pain for the rest of his life.

Ron looked at the awful scars on his legs and right arm and was starting to feel down, the arm in particular was ugly. Large scars from the stitches ran the length of the arm with pink and bluish colored splotches.

He exhaled heavily and Bonnie squeezed his arm and leaned in close so only he could hear and whispered, "It's not that bad, it just gives you character."

Ron laughed bitterly and shook his head, "I would love to have a little less character."

They had not discussed the night before, each too uncomfortable to address what had happened the night before. Ron noticed that Bonnie touched him more often, not suggestively just a hand on the shoulder as she would walk behind him or holding his hand as the doctor removed his stitches.

The contact was reassuring and at this moment in time he was in need of major reassurance as he sat in the car looking at the guard gate that he had to man back when he was in training.

Bonnie opened the car door and got out, this brought Ron out of his trance and he got out of the car as well, "Thanks for dropping me off."

She nodded, "No problem…Look call me tomorrow after you report, you may need a ride back or…I just want to know your alright."

Ron nodded, "I'll call, you go to the shelters when those missile attacks happen…OK."

Bonnie nodded as she watched Ron gather his gear, "OK"

"I left most of my stuff at your place, guns, knives, the ring, the Ronnunicator, some clothes, other junk." He told her as he gathered his things from the trunk.

"I won't play with your guns." Bonnie said teasingly.

Ron smiled and looked towards the gate, "Thanks for everything Bonnie…I'll say it again, I couldn't have done it without you."

Bonnie began to talk but Ron handed her a letter and explained, "I wrote this to you when I was in Gaza…Thought I was going to die so…I did some writing. Don't read it till you get home…OK."

Bonnie's hands were shaking, "OK"

Ron looked at the gate and could see a base that was on alert, people running back and forth and he knew it was time to go inside. He turned back to Bonnie and gave her a bear hug, "Thanks Bonnie."

Bonnie kissed him on the cheek, "You be careful and you be sure to call me."

He nodded and turned and limped towards the gate. Bonnie watched him show his papers to the guard and then Ron passed through and was gone, _"I better get a call tomorrow telling me to pick you up."_

**VII**

Ron reported to the base commander's office and was directed to a young private, "Lieutenant Stoppable I will show you to your quarters."

He followed the private, _"My own quarters, this is more like it."_

He was shown a small room that had a bed a dresser and an antique 19 inch television set, "Here you go sir, and may I be the first to welcome you to camp. You are a bit of a legend around here with the 300 terrorists you killed in Gaza City and all."

Ron laughed nervously, "Yes…Well…I am not sure about the number but I killed a lot of them."

The lieutenant excused himself so Ron could get settled in, Ron sat on the bed and looked around the small room, _"Yea, it's a shit hole, but it's my shit hole."_

He threw his bags in the corner and limped over the Quartermaster to draw his equipment. The base hadn't changed since he was in training less than a year ago. The PX was still in the same place, his old barracks and the Quartermaster building.

Ron stood in line as people were requisitioning gear for their needs, when it was his turn he stepped up, "Need battle gear, body armor, helmet, pair of boots, Negev machine gun and 1500 rounds of ammunition."

The master sergeant saluted, "Officer, no disrespect but I tell you what you need."

Ron nodded, "Very well, what do I need?"

The man began to hand out equipment, "Body armor, you say you need boots what size?" Ron told him the size and the boots appeared on the counter. "M4 machine gun, officers don't carry the Negev machine gun, will you be carrying a side arm?"

Ron nodded and the man held out two pistols, "Jericho or a Barak?"

"Glock"

The master sergeant nodded, "Good choice, both of these pistols are shit." He told him as he handed him an empty holster.

Ron carried all the gear back to his small room and worked for the next hour putting his pack together just the way he liked it. He picked it up and shook it hard it held together, _"I can still do this."_

Next he took one of his web belts and slid the flap style military holster into place on his right hip and holstered the glock, _"Not a bad fit but it needs…some refinements."_

He pulled the lotus blade from its sheath and looked at the blade masquerading as a Gerber Silver Trident boot knife, "I need something to trim leather with." He said as he looked at the knife.

The knife instantly changed to a leather slitter, Ron looked over the device and worked the handles and figured it worked much the same as a pair of scissors. He began to trim away at the holster till the butt of the gun was visible and then until the trigger and trigger guard were visible.

Ron looked it over and nodded now it was time to trim the flap to the point that it was only a thin piece of leather that could be moved out of the way quickly with the flip of the thumb so he could pull the pistol from the holster quickly.

He stood in front of the mirror and practiced drawing the gun from the holster quickly, he wasn't all that fast with the holster he had but it was faster than if he had done no work at all to the rig.

Satisfied with the work he left his room to explore the base and see if he could run across any familiar faces. He didn't have to look far as he went to mess hall and found Sergei and Tirza.

Ron approached them from behind, "Sergei it looks as though your diet has failed you."

Sergei swung around, "Ronnie"

"Lt. Ronnie to you."

Tirza smiled and decided to practice his English, "Ronnie…How are you my homo."

Ron grinned and looked away, "That's Homie, Tirza'

Tirza looked bewildered, "Moniique she send emails and says to say to my homos is same as friends."

He looked at Sergei for an explanation and all he received for his troubles was a shrug. Ron nodded, "Read the email again."

Ron looked at Sergei's arm, "Where or should I say who gave you that stripe?"

Sergei smiled, "I receive a brevetted promotion."

Ron tried not to laugh, "I earned my stripe. What do you think of this army, a month and a half ago I was a corporal…now a second lieutenant…Crazy."

Tirza shook his head, "NO, what is crazy is why are you hear…You are nowhere near fit for duty."

"I received an order to show up and report to General Tova in the morning." Ron said trying to explain the situation to Tirza.

Tirza nodded, "How is your sternum and your ribs?"

Ron sat down at the table with them, his knee was starting to hurt and he wanted to catch up with his friends, "Sternum is fine, it twinges every now and then, same with the ribs."

"The arm, are your stitches out, do you have full mobility?" Tirza asked as he stared at Ron's arm.

"Full mobility, but it looks really ugly, I can't wear shirt sleeves any more." He said sadly.

Tirza nodded, "Too bad, how about your legs?"

Ron took a deep breath and let it out, "Well there's the problem, the left leg is fine, a little weak from the wounds, but the right…My knee hurts whenever I try to walk on it…Doctor said he couldn't do much with it."

"You do not belong here Ronnie, go back to Netanya and be with your fiancée." Tirza told him.

"She's not really my fiancée…She made that up to upset Kim." Ron said with a sly grin crossed his lips.

Sergei shook his head, "No, it was on TV and she bawled her eyes out when she was told you were dead."

Ron looked at Sergei, "Really?"

Trrza nodded, "Yes, she took care of you when they found you right?"

"Well…yes but…"

Sergei shook his head, "No buts about it, Bonnie are a keeper…Kim is nice girl, but Bonnie is a good woman."

Ron laughed, "No you guys don't understand, she doesn't love me, she only did all the fiancée stuff to upset Kim."

Tirza nodded, "She help you come here?"

"Yes, I could not have done all this without her help."

Sergei leaned forward, "Did she have to do this…help you?"

Ron shook his head again, "Well…no…I am not really sure why she did it? I guess she felt guilty for interfering with me and Kim."

Sergei laughed bitterly, "No woman ever feels that guilty, she loves you."

Ron laughed at his friends, "Bonnie does not love me, she likes big burly athletes…Now let's drop this conversation…That's an order." Ron said with a grin as he pointed to the new rank insignias on his epaulettes.

They laughed at Ron's order and Tirza looked over to him, "Get yourself something to eat, I want to see how you do with the new teeth."

Ron laughed, "Tiraza…Ok, I'll eat something."

Sergei smiled, "After you eat something I think it is time we find a tall bottle and catch up on things."

"A tall bottle sounds great right now." Ron said wistfully.

He horridly ate a small meal and did his best not bite the sides of his mouth but he did because he was rushing. Tirza continued to fuss over Ron till he was ready to scream, then it was off to the PX.

They bought two bottles of cheap scotch and found a quiet out of the way spot and proceeded to be begin drinking. Sergei regaled Ron about how Bina was starting to like him since she was no longer threatening to cut off his testicles.

Ron looked at the big man, "You are crazy, she is crazier…Is that a word?"

Sergei held up a fist, "Word"

Ron told them as much as he could remember about Gaza City, then he stopped and stared into space for a bit until Tirza drunkenly leaned into him, "You…you knows whats….I am thinking of doing when I go with you to America?"

Rnn shook his head and drunkenly rolled his head to look at his friend, "Learn to say Homie instead of Homo?"

Tirza began laughing, "It is Homo I tell you, Mo…Mon…Monique says so in an email or something."

"Whatever" Ron said in English.

"I am going to ask Monique to marry me?" Tirza said almost as an after thoutht.

Ron looked at him, "Huh?"

Tirza struggled to sit up straight and Sergei grabbed the collar and pulled him upright, "Stop that Sergei I can sit up on my own…"

Sergei laughed, "You have no tolerance for alcohol, Lithuaniansssss, we know how to drink and drink excessively."

Ron pointed at Tirza and moved his hand in a circle, "Rewind…What did you just tell me?"

Tirza shook his head unsure of what Ron was talking about. Ron rolled his eyes, "What was that about asking Monique to marry you?"

"How did you know?" Gasped Tirza

Ron slapped his forhead, "You just told me…You…You…drunken little…Medic person."

"Oh, yea…I am going to ask her for her hand in marriages and stuff."

"Does Tirza and Monique know each other good enough?" Ron pointed the question to Sergei.

Sergei shrugged and drained on of the bottles of scotch, "They write letters and email one another, and they have these stupid little nicknames for each other….What was the question again?"

Ron drained the second bottle, "What are you talking about?"

Sergei shook his head slowly, "You asked me a question."

"Oh"

Tirza looked at Sergei, "Bedtime…Ronnie…Do not tell Monique that we were drinking, she might not approve."

"I do not think Kim would either…Unless she had her own bottle." Ron said and then he began laughing at the memory of Kim hiding out with him and Sergei earlier in the year.

They struggled to their feet and struggled back to the barracks, Ron left them and walked his room, he set his travel clock as best he could took off his clothes and fell into bed for the night, _"All that scotch and my knee doesn't hurt…Not one little bit." _He thought as he slipped into a fitful sleep.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Yea ain't nothin' like a 10,000 word chapter to start the day with. Not too much Kim and Monique stuff this time around. Had to give them two a rest, they will be back next chapter along with more angst over Ron's big surprise. Hope you are all enjoying the story...AF...Sorry about all the gay Canadian jokes...lol Oh there is some mild obscene language in this chapter so...read carefully.**

Bonnie Rockwaller returned to her apartment from dropping Ron off at the base. She held the unopened letter in her hand that he had given her at Camp Bezeq. He told her that he wrote it while he was in Gaza City and thought he was going to die.

She turned the letter over and over in her hands, afraid to read it, _"What if he really reams me….No he would have tore up the letter first…I don't really want to read it…Yes I do."_ She thought as she opened the envelope.

She pulled out the letter and saw a few little red blotches on the paper and realized it was blood, _"Ron wasn't exaggerating when he said he thought he was going to die."_ She thought as she opened the letter and began to read it.

"_Bonnie_

_I know your messing with Kim about this whole fiancée thing, I think it would have made me angry before this whole Gaza City thing but now it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal._

_I realize you were playing Kim when you hooked up with me and showed me those pictures of her with Danny Baldwin and it really hurt me._

_The only reason I forgave you was because you were there for me to remind me of home._

_Kim had stopped writing me and I felt alone and abandoned and you arrived and in the country and gave me some much needed friendship._

_I hope our meeting was equally as important for you…I would like to think that even though there was game playing going on that somehow I was able to touch your life in a positive manner._

_If I die and you manage to receive this letter, I need you to do a few things._

_Mom and dad believe the whole fiancée thing so spend some time with them to help ease their pain._

_Next when my sister is old enough to understand, lie to her and tell her that I was popular and everyone liked me and that I just wasn't a loser in high school._

_Little white lies like that never really hurt anyone_

_She'll probably learn the truth one day anyway._

_I'm writing this letter on a rooftop over looking Gaza City, the weather is nice and the sky is blue not a bad day to die I guess._

_I think under different circumstances we may have made a good couple._

_Please don't be angry at me for suggesting such a thing._

_I don't mean to make you angry._

_Good luck with your life, I hope you meet someone really special one day and you get to live great life and have a great family._

_No matter what happens today, I will always consider you a friend._

_Ron Stoppable"_

Bonnie's face was wet from tears as she folded up the letter and placed it back in the envelope, _"You jerk…You better call me so I can yell at you."_

The missile warning alarm sounded once more over the city, Bonnie wiped her eyes and put the letter in the top drawer of her dresser, _"I promised Ron I would go to the shelters during the attacks."_

There was a knock on the door but no call for the shelters, Bonnie opened the door and there stood Shifra Cabel a classmate from Netanya Academic College, "Sorry to bother you…I have not seen you in the shelters lately."

Bonnie shook her head, "No, I have been taking care of my fiancée while he was home…I dropped him back off at base earlier today, I promised him I would go to the shelters during the attacks."

They quickly left the apartment building and headed to one of the underground shelters. Bonnie hated the shelters they smelled of body odor from people being crammed inside and they were hot and stuffy. Sometimes there would be a small box fan to move the hot air around inside the concrete bunkers but usually three wasn't.

The two girls made it into the shelter and stood with the other people looking up at the ceiling waiting for the coming explosions which they hoped would never come and then for the all clear sound so they could leave and carry on with their lives.

Shifra was a beautiful girl, she was taller than Bonnie with the build of a fashion model, her black hair was past her shoulders and her olive skin was flawless. She leaned over and whispered into Bonnie's ear, "My boyfriend is stationed at Camp Bezeq with the 51st battalion; he says they are pulling out tomorrow night to go north."

Bonnie looked at her, "That is where Ron is stationed."

"I thought so, I am headed to Bezeq tomorrow with a group of other girls to say goodbye to our boyfriends before they pull out…Would you like to go?"

Bonnie didn't have to think twice, she was going to unload on Ron about that letter he wrote and she would rather do it in person than over the telephone, "I would like to go as well if there is room?"

Shifra nodded, "We will be taking a friends van, so there will be room."

The explosions over head caught everyone's attention, Bonnie shuttered, _"Ron you are so dead…How dare you even think that I'd be angry at you for thinking we'd make a great couple."_

**I**

Moshe Ben Tova was the last of the old guard Generals, the last of the breed that was created in the six day war in 1967. He was a young lieutenant during that war, He led a platoon up that helped to capture the Golan Heights.

Now at 63 years of age he was considered a relic by his modern day counter parts. The modern day officers that earned their rank through patronage and who specialized in politics as opposed to tactics. These new glittering elite considered Moshe Tova to be out of touch with the real world, the modern world.

That world vanished for the IDF in the summer of 2006 when Israel stormed into Lebanon to stop missile barrages from a well fortified enemy that it had not planned on encountering.

The modern day IDF generals had all believed that the enemy they were facing was to be just like the enemies of old, rag tag poorly funded and under trained religious fanatics that fought with no real tactics or without any real plan.

The modern breed of politicians and generals were wrong and many IDF personnel lost their lives fighting a well equipped modern militia. Israel could still claim victory after the war because of the amount of property damage that was wrought but in the eyes of the world, they had lost as they failed to achieve any of their stated military objectives.

The invasion was marked by incompetence at all levels through out the command chain from the Prime Minister's office all the way through the IDF high command. After the humiliating withdrawal and post war investigation in how the war was conducted political officers were quickly trying to escape exposure of their rolls in the war or at the very least to minimize their involvement.

After the investigation, resignations and terminations were coming in from all directions, the new incoming Prime Minister Albert Ben Siegel was given a mandate for his new coalition government. Restore the IDF as a competent fighting force.

The budgets of the IDF that had been sliced and cut back for years were increased and new commanding Generals or as the Israeli citizenry preferred to call their Generals, 'Champions' were needed.

In unpleasant times, unpleasant people are called for. In the Golani Brigade that unpleasant man was Moshe Ben Tova who's method of fighting wars was considered nothing short of following the tactics of Genghis Kahn, "Kill them all and let God chose his own." Was a favorite saying of his.

During the Lebanon war was stationed at IDF headquarters in charge of procurement to keep him from the front lines. His brand of unpleasantness frightened his modern counterparts and they wanted him out of the way.

He was assigned the job by then outgoing General Yosef Ben Baruch as his reward for questioning the wisdom of sending in reserve forces into combat with no refresher training and for daring to question the method of dropping leaflets informing the good citizens of Lebanon of what exactly the IDF military plan was.

Now at 63 years of age, long past the retirement age of 55 was placed in charge of the Golani Brigade and his first order to his new staff was a simple one, 'Find me killers.'

General Tova realized that the best way to insure Israel's future was to groom young right thinking officers that would be able to weather tough times and understand the proper use of military force.

In General Tova's mind military force was for killing people and braking things; not for being wasted getting men killed attacking fortified positions for no real strategic advantage.

The story of a young Golani soldier missing in Gaza City had saddened him; he was a realist and understood that young soldiers taken hostage by the Palestinians were seldom ever heard from again.

Then the stories began to leak out, the young Golani soldier was not captured but hiding and waging a one man war against the various terrorist groups that sought his capture, _"Now here is soldier worth looking at."_ He thought to himself.

He started to follow the young soldier's story, they were finding bodies all over the city where the soldier was missing and then the young soldier found the missing school children and another IDF soldier taken hostage.

The soldier was badly wounded but the body count is what caught the Genearl's attention over 3 days the young soldier had killed 70 men, or so say the Paratroopers that found him believed 70 men as many had been dismembered by a mysterious means

General Tovar laughed as he read the reports, _"This man is truly a Golani."_

Then the reports of intelligence services were interested in the young soldier as well and were talking about releasing him from his military obligation and observing him as he tried to make a life for himself in Israeli society.

This was unacceptable to the General; men like Sergeant Ronald Stoppable were desperately needed for the coming war that he was in charge of planning. He had to act and act quickly in order to secure a military feature for the young man away from the politicians and the mystery men of the intelligence services.

The soldier was wounded but there was little choice for the General, call him back to duty as quickly as possible get him on base, on active duty and get him away from the people who only thought of the young man as a curiosity.

The phone on the desk rang, General Tova glanced at the clock, _"O9:00, he is prompt, that is good."_ He thought as he answered the phone, "Yes"

"General Tova there is a Lieutenant Stoppable here to see you."

"Send him in." General Tova hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

The door opened and a blond headed soldier walked in and saluted. The General returned the salute, "So you are the Gaza City Madman?"

The young soldier was taken aback, "Ron...Second Lieutenant Ronald Stoppable reporting as ordered."

General Tova nodded, "I know who you are, and do you know why I have ordered you here?"

"No Officer"

"Because General Tova smiled, "Because of these damn missile attacks we are going to war and we are going to war very soon and I need all the killers that I can get." The General told him.

The young man looked bewildered and this pleased the General, "You my boy are a killer, three days, 70 men, oh yes, you are an extraordinary Golani killing machine and we need men like you in service for this war.

Ron shuffled his feet, "Officer, I am not at my best physically…I have…"

"I am aware of your wounds, we do not expect you to fight but to lead…You will serve on my staff." The General said mildly annoyed

"Yes officer"

General Tova stood up, "You are charged with the mission of going from company to company getting information on supply dispositions and seeing to it that the companies are fully equipped for combat."

Ron nodded, "Yes officer, when do I start?"

General Tovar grinned, "Right now"

"Yes Officer" Ron said with a salute.

The General returned the salute and before Ron could turn to leave, "Report to Captain Hirschson he will get you started on your new job."

General Tova stopped Ron again before he could leave, "I want you to go from unit to unit; do not only talk to the officer's talk to the men. If they need things they will tell you. We are assembling now, reservists are being called up and we will move out within the week."

"Yes officer"

The General put his arm on Ron's shoulder and said in a whisper, "ma shelo horeg mehashel, ma sheoreg mehashel et ima"

He laughed and patted Ron on the shoulder hard, Ron laughed nervously and nodded as he left the office, _"Great, just what I need to hear….'__what doesn't kill you strengthens you, what kills you strengthens your mother'…Great."_

Ron walked out of the office and looked at the private sitting behind the desk, "Where would I find Captain Hirschson?"

The private looked up, "Yes you can find Captain Hirschson at the firing range, and your driver is waiting outside."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Driver, yes…of course." He said as if he was expecting a chauffer.

He turned and walked out the door, _"Booyah…I have a driver."_ He thought happily as he walked up to the Humvee outside the door.

There was a soldier standing beside the vehicle that was no more than five foot tall, Ron began looking around for his driver but he the only person he could see was a small soldier, "Have you seen my driver? I need to go to the firing range."

"I am your driver." The boy said.

Ron blinked, "How old are you?"

"15 and a half, I went through my eight weeks of basic and they assigned me to the motor pool." He told him.

Ron nodded, "I am Second Lieutenant Ronald Stoppable, what's your name?"

"I know who you are; everyone on base knows who you are." The boy replied more than a little annoyed.

Ron leaned down and looked him in the eye, "That does not mean that I know everyone on the base, now who are you and why did you fail to salute a superior officer?"

The young boy snapped a quick salute, "Sorry sir, Private Sam Cello."

Ron returned the salute, "Well Sam if you can drive this vehicle I need to swing by my quarters and then to the firing range."

Pvt. Cello opened the door to the humvee and Ron winced as he climbed in the vehicle, _"Knee's a little stiff this morning."_

Ron watched as his driver hoisted his short frame into the driver's seat, "So how does a 15 and a half year old get into the Golani Brigade?"

Sam shifted the humvee and pointed drove the vehicle to the officers quarters, "I was raised in a kibbutz, my mother abandoned me there when I was three…I didn't like the farming life so when I turned 15."

The humvee pulled up in front of Ron's building and the young private finished his story, "I ran away from the kibbutz and joined the IDF, I am going to school in the evening and one day I will be a great shock trooper."

Ron hopped out of the vehicle, "I will only be a moment, I want to retrieve my rifle."

He limped quickly to his quarters, "I am not too familiar with kibbutzim, farming co-ops where all property is owned by the community."

Ron walked into the small apartment and picked up his rifle and headed back to the humvee, "Farming life was not for you then?"

Sam shook his head, "No, it is boring, IDF is exciting and you get to help defend the farms, it is better I do this then."

Ron nodded as they left for the range, "Once we are done with the firing range do not let me forget to call my friend Bonnie."

"You mean your fiancée Bonnie Rottweiler."

Ron held on as Sam took a corner a little too fast and then turned to look at him, "You know Bonnie?"

Sam looked and him and smiled, "I told you everyone on base knows who you are…We followed your story on television…Officer may I ask you a question?"

Ron pointed at the road as the humvee started to go off on the shoulder, "THE ROAD, WATCH THE ROAD…Yes, you may ask me a question."

Sam blushed, "Sorry I have only been driving a few days now…How did you kill all those Palestinians in 3 days…I mean over 700."

"A FEW DAYS…I SHOULD BE DRIVING YOU." Ron calmed down and smiled and waived a deprecating hand, "Awwww…I had them take numbers and shot them one at a time."

Sam laughed, "No really?"

Ron shrugged, "Never counted them, I just fought and tried to stay one step ahead of the bad guys."

They pulled into the firing range and parked, Ron looked over to the young private, "Follow me and I will show you how to deal with terrorists…Bring your rifle."

Sam smiled eagerly and reached into the back seat of the vehicle and withdrew his M16, "I am only a level two marksman, I want to get better."

Ron smiled, "I am a level seven marksman, and do you know why I am a level seven marksman?"

Sam shook his head that he didn't and Ron smiled a big toothy grin, "Because they do not have a level eight."

The noise of other soldiers qualifying on the rifle range brought back memories of when he was there only months ago, _"I got in trouble for lusting….What was her name?"_

"Wait here I have to report in first."

Ron found a soldier and was directed to an office; he looked at the door and knocked a voice from the other end told him to enter. He walked in the door and saw the captain sitting behind a desk and quickly saluted, "Captain Hirschson, I am Second Lieutenant Ronald Stoppable, I was ordered to report to you."

The Captain stood and returned the salute and immediately took notice of the side arm that Ron was carrying, "The Gaza City Madman….have you been checked out and qualified on sidearms?"

Ron shook his head, "No Captain"

Captain Hirschson handed Ron a stack of books, "Some light reading to bring you up to speed on your new rank, now follow me to the range so we can get you qualified for a side arm."

The Captain looked at Ron's work on the holster, "You will face fines when you turn your equipment in."

Ron smiled, "Yes Officer"

The pair left the office and Capt. Hirschson walked towards Private Cello, Ron made a saluting motion and Private Cello promptly saluted. The Captain returned the salute and turned to look at Ron.

"My driver, I brought him along for some range work…He is a level two marksman."

Captain Hirschson nodded, "Fall in private we're headed to the range."

They reached the pistol range and drew the glock from the holster. Captain Hirschson eyed the weapon, "No Barak, no Jericho…Where did you get this Glock?"

"Gaza City" Ron replied quietly.

Captain Hrischson smiled and shook his head as he ran a silhouette out to twenty-five meters and began to lecture Ron on the proper techniques for the proper handling of a handgun. Then it was time to fire the pistol, "You will be shooting at that target 25 meters away."

Ron shook his head, "That's too close, you sure you would not like to move it out to 100 meters?"

The Captain crossed his arms in front of him, "Just try hitting the target in front of you."

Before the order to commence firing Ron quickly drew the pistol brought it level to the target in a two handed grip and fired off 14 shots in quick succession. Captain Hirschson sighed, "When you receive the command to fire, fire one shot and one shot only."

Ron cringed, "Sorry Captain"

Private Cello ran the target in for the Captain to look at, "Wow"

The Captain began to chuckle, "I think you qualify"

Ron shrugged as he looked at the target that was minus a head and nodded, "I have brought the M4 that I was issued, I have never fired the weapon and would like some range time to work with it."

Captain Hirschson pointed to Ron's rifle, "Let me see that weapon."

He handed the rifle to the Captain and he looked it over, "M4 A1 tactical assault weapons platform….Stripped bare stock, let's head back to the armory and trick this rifle up a bit."

They went to the back of the facility to a workshop that maintained the weapons on the firing range, Captain Hirschson began to pull out different accessories, "You think you will need the M204 grenade launcher and rear leaf site?"

Ron's eyes grew big and he smiled and nodded.

"Combat forward hand grip?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

"Noise suppression kit?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

"Visible laser sight?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

"Bi-Pod?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

"Armor Piercing Rounds?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

"Do not practice with the armor piercing rounds, save them for actual combat situations…Night vision optics?"

Ron lost his smile as he looked at the large heavy night vision scope, "NO"

"4x Day Scope?"

Ron smiled and nodded.

The Captain then showed Ron how to add the various accessories to the rifle, "Booyah, This is a great gun…I never thought much of it, but I never saw it with all the toys." He said appreciatively.

"Time to sight the weapon in." The Captain said as he pointed towards the range.

The three spent the next few hours sighting in the weapons and then the captain and Ron worked with Sam on his marksmanship. He enjoyed the attention and a chance to shoot with a big time Golani killer known as the Gaza City Madman.

Once they were done the Captain pulled Ron aside, "You will start with the 51st Battalion, the first breachers', they will be first in for the invasion….Find out what they are short on and pay attention to the officers…Some may not be so willing to return to Lebanon and may be indecisive while in combat. Do you understand my meaning?"

"Yes Officer" Ron said as he saluted.

The Captain returned the salute and Ron left the office and walked with Sam back to the humvee. The Captain watched them leave, _"General Tova wants killers…He certainly found one there."_

Ron stowed his gear in back and climbed into the vehicle with a very contented smile on his face, "Sam…I have the coolest gun on the planet."

**II**

Colonel Jose Don Carlos Badeul the leader of the Venezuelan Army contingent to the United Nations peace keeping forces, was having his weekly meeting with his Lebanese Army counter part Colonel Mohammed Ali Al Mailah and Qassem Hajezi of Islamic Resistance the military wing of Hezbollah.

Colonel Badeul welcomed the two men into his office in the port city of Tyre, "You gentleman know of course that the Israeli's are going to attack any day now.

Qassem Hajezi leaned forward in his chair, "We welcome the chance to bloody their nose a second time.

Colonel Badeul looked over at the Lebanese army liaison, "Your people know what we are planning and are willing to lend your assistance to the project?"

"Who else is going to help defend Lebanon from the Israeli's when they cross the border?" Colonel Al Mailah asked.

"The Canadians, Japanese, Pols, French and Italians all say they are packing it in and evacuating in the event of a full scale invasion...They may offer token resistance which will give us time to put our forces into place." Colonel Badeul theorized.

Colonel Badeul did not believe that even with the combined forces of the 1,500 Venezuelan Army contingents, a rebuilt Lebanese army and the Hezebollah terrorists could defeat the Israeli military a second time.

Israeli Special Forces had made many border crossings in the last few weeks, some were detected and fierce fighting ensued, but many were not detected until the units had left the area.

He had been trained at the United States Army War College at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the United States and was a seasoned military man. He would have loved to pull out with the other peace keepers but his Government had signed a defense treaty with Syria.

His orders were clear, once the United Nations forces left aid Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army in what ever way possible. He looked at the two men seated around him, _"I know that Hezbollah will stay and fight but…those Lebanese Army soldiers will cut and run at the first sign of trouble."_

"When the Israeli's cross the border they will not openly engage the U.N., they will talk…Negotiate and this will allow us the time we need…I say Israel will launch their attack within the next couple of days…They are massing…They will not invade piece meal as they did two years ago."

The Lebanese Army Colonel smiled and nodded, "I am sure with your countries assistance of fighter jets, armor and navel forces that we can deal with Israel once and for all."

**III**

Ron finally visited all of the units in the 51st Battalion and had a large laundry list of items that were needed. Once company was in dire need of mortars, "I have six rounds and then what am I supposed to do." The soldier told Ron disgustedly.

A female medic was upset because she didn't have a rifle or a pistol and refused to go to war without a gun. Ron understood her plight as he wasn't about to go to war without a gun either.

A recon unit needed batteries that would last longer in their night vision equipment and all of the units needed medical supplies and food rations, _"Army fights on its stomach." _He thought as he wrote down the requests.

He didn't recall meeting any officers that appeared to be incompetent or frightened, other than the shortage here and there the overall moral of the army was upbeat. Ron also discovered that Sam was right, everyone knew who he was and everyone wanted to know how many people he killed in Gaza.

Ron smiled to himself the highest number of people that heard he killed was 2,300. He was surprised the actual number was 70. He was never told how they figured it out, but that was the number he was told.

Sam pulled up in front of the officer's quarters and Ron looked over to him, "I'll need some help carrying all this stuff inside."

"Lieutenant can I carry your rifle?" Sam asked excitedly.

Ron collected the books and bag of equipment out of the back seat and he nodded, "Yes you can carry it but no playing with it, guns are not toys."

Sam carried Ron's rifle back to his small room, Ron pointed to a corner, "Lean it up there against the wall." He told him as he put the books on a small table

"I am going to lie down for a few minutes and get to work." Ron said for no reason in particular.

Sam snapped his fingers, "Do not forget to call Bonnie."

Ron smiled and nodded, "I will do that first once I have rested….Be here tomorrow at 08:30 sharp."

Sam snapped a quick salute, Ron retuned it and the boy was off to return the humvee, _"Glad he reminded me to call Bonnie."_ He thought as he took off his boots and lay down on his bed.

There was a knock on the door, _"Now what?"_ he thought as he rose to answer the door.

Ron opened the door and there was Sergei and Tirza, "Shalom, what brings you two to my little corner of the world."

Tirza smiled broadly and proudly told Ron in English, "You suck dick."

The smile froze on Ron's face and he continued to nod his head, "Do you have any normal conversation skills in English?" He asked.

Sergei roared with laughter, "I taught him that." He admitted in English.

Ron shook his head, "I should have known…Come on in."

Tirza smiled, "My English is goodly?"

"Yes sometimes it's a little too good." Ron told him as he stepped out of the way so the two could enter his room.

Tirza looked around, "Nice Crab"

Ron shook his head, "You mean crib...Have you heard anything new from Monique?"

He shook his head, "We only arrived just ahead of you, so…mail has not caught up yet."

Sergei nodded, "It is time to eat crappy food and go out and drink crappy cheap liquor."

Ron clutched his stomach, "Have to pass on the drinking tonight, I haven't recovered from last night."

Sergei spotted Ron's rifle in the corner, "That is a good looking gun, I will swap you."

"You still carry a Negev?"

Sergei nodded and Ron thought long and hard about it, "No, I had better keep this one…I did a lot of work with it today and I kind of want to try it out in the field."

There was another knock on the door, Sergei and Tirza looked at Ron and he shrugged, "Anymore people in here and I will have to outside to change my mind." He said as he opened the door.

There stood Sam who promptly saluted, "Forgive me officer but you have been ordered to report to General Tova's office right away."

Ron pointed to Sergei and Tirza, "Sergei Bunimovich, Tirza Cohen this is my driver Private Sam Cello."

Sergei smiled, "Maybe if they promote you again you will be allowed a taller driver."

"One more remark like that and I will punch you in the mouth." Sam said glaring at Sergei.

Sergei laughed, "You will need a chair to reach me."

"All right, all right that is enough...I have to go and report, hopefully I will have enough time to eat later." Ron said as sat on the bed to put his boots back on, and then he picked up his binder and beret as he showed everyone to the door.

Sergei leaned in to whisper to Ron, "If Bina comes up for a visit can I borrow your quarters?"

Ron looked at Sergei, "Sergei...Be realistic...What are the chances that Bina will come to Bezeq and visit you?"

Sergei shrugged, "Not good I guess."

Ron shook his head, "You have a better chance of keeping your stripe than having Bina come visit you."

The group split up once outside and Ron climbed into the humvee with Sam, "Why does the General want to see me?"

Sam shrugged as he started the vehicle, "I do not know, something big is going on the office is very busy."

He was driven to the Generals Tova's office and Sam was right it was a bee hive of activity people coming and going, running to the office building, running from the office building

Ron stepped out of the humvee and limped towards the offices, once he entered the building he saw a much harried private trying to keep everything in order. He walked up to his desk, "Lieutenant Stoppable to see General Tova."

The door to the Generals office flew open and another young lieutenant scampered out as General Tova was continuing to scream at him, "AND DO NOT COME BACK TILL YOU GET THE NUMBERS I'M LOOKING FOR."

Ron swallowed hard, "I can come another time if this is not a good time."

The private shook his head fearfully, "NO...no the General wants to see you."

The private quickly picked up the phone and called the General, "Lieutenant Stoppable to see you sir."

Ron could hear yelling from the ear piece but couldn't make out what was being said. The private looked up, "You may go in now Officer."

He let out a breath and opened the door to the office; there were other officers in the room. The General looked up, "Well what did you find out?" he growled at Ron.

Ron stuttered and stammered before finding his voice, "The morale seems to be in good shape in the 51st Battalion, I have a list of things that are needed by specific units and the officers I encountered appeared to be competent and anxious for battle."

He handed the General the list, he looked it over and handed it to another aid, "Lt. Steinman see to this."

The lieutenant saluted and quickly left the room. The General sat heavily in his chair and ran his hand through his thinning hair, "Everyone out of the room except for Lieutenant Stoppable."

The room quickly emptied and the General looked Ron over, "This is the part of war I hate the most, the planning and preparation, the actual fighting part is easy...Find the enemy fight the enemy make adjustments as he does put your head down and go on to win." He said in a clearly frustrated tone.

The General shook his head, "I am planning an invasion and Tel Aviv sends me a note reminding me that I am to ensure that all the soldiers wear their new visor caps and not their berets...Christ on a stick in another day or so they will be wearing kelvar helmets...WHO CARES ABOUT VISOR CAPS?"

The General calmed down and ran his hand thru his thinning hair, "You are to leave here tonight and travel to Avivim and meet up with the lead element of the 605th Engineering Battalion...At exactly 24:00 you will begin destroying fences and border obstacles on your way inside of Lebanon...You are to be my eyes and ears and you are to mediate with the United Nations personnel when you cross over the border."

Ron's eyes grew big, "What...what do I tell them when I talk to them."

The General smiled, "You tell them 'NO' when they ask you to withdraw...Under no circumstances are you to withdraw, you will stall them until I arrive with the main body of the 51st battalion in the morning."

Ron looked around the office nervously, "General, would it be better if someone of a higher rank did this?"

The General laughed, "NO, after what you went through in Gaza City I think you are more than capable of telling a bunch of men in blue helmets to go to hell more than anyone else on my staff."

Ron nodded, "What will you tell them when you arrive in the morning?"

General Tova seemed to visibly relax, he leaned back in his chair and pointed, "I will tell them we are going that way, they are in the way and if they were smart they would get out of the way."

"Yes Officer" Ron said with a smile.

"Stoppable, once you cross the border anything can happen, stay alert and try to push your dozers to the outskirts of Aytarun...It's about 5-6 km inside the border." The General said as he scratched his chin.

Ron nodded and saluted and turned to leave but the General wasn't finished yet, "Lieutenant, there is a group of women outside the gate trying to find loved ones, someone is there looking for you. Say nothing of the mission to her."

He looked confused, "Yes officer"

Ron walked outside the offices and looked at the sky it the sun was starting to go down he limped to the humvee, "Sam take me to the front of the base."

**IV**

Bonnie had ridden up with Shifra and her friends; they parked down the road from the base behind other vehicles of girlfriends and wives of the service men who had come to the base hoping to catch a glimpse of their men before they rolled out to go to war.

She had been there most of the afternoon listening to cat calls from other soldiers who were offering their assistance with the boyfriend problems. Every now and then on would stop by and take names, she would tell them Lt. Ronald Stoppable and they would smile.

"Gaza City Madman, you will have to wait till his shift is over Bonnie." One of the soldiers told her.

Everyone seemed to know who Ron was and who she was from the television and this made things harder. Men would wave and yell at her by name and sometimes it could be rather embarrassing but she tolerated it.

Finally she saw him limping to the fence and talking to a girl, _"Why is he talking her and not me?"_

"Anyone know where I can find Bonnie Rockwaller?"

Bonnie smiled as the wave of jealousy washed over her, _"He didn't see me, that's why he's talking to them."_

"OVER HERE RON"

He turned and waived and limped over to her. Bonnie glared at him, "Why didn't you call me?"

Ron shuffled looked around cautiously, "I tried but I didn't get an answer." He lied.

Bonnie chuckled, "That's probably because I was headed up here."

"So why are you here?" Ron asked more than a little curious.

Bonnie fumed again, "I read that letter you wrote...Why the hell do you think I'd get mad at you for thinking we'd make a great couple?"

Ron shook his head and looked at her in bewilderment, "What?"

"Your letter, you said under different circumstances that you thought we'd make a great couple and then apologized in case I got angry...What the hell is that all about?" Bonnie said as she pointed at him through the wire fence.

Ron looked away and from her and up the line of other women and then he motioned for her to walk away from the crowd so they could talk, "Bonnie, I thought I was going to die and I wasn't sure about how you felt about me...The whole game playing with Kim thing...I didn't mean anything by it."

Bonnie winced, "Well...The game playing is over, Ms. Perfect can have you back as far as I'm concerned."

"I'm sorry Bonnie; I didn't mean to upset you with that letter...I just..."

"So what have they got you doing now?" She said as she wiped her eyes.

Ron licked his lips and shrugged, "I'm on the General's staff...Getting ready to move north and take it to the guys launching the missiles."

"I'm not proud of the way I acted or for things I've done...I'm not sorry though either." Bonnie said out of the blue.

"OK" Ron said unsure of how to respond to her.

Bonnie continued on, "I always kind of thought of you as a dweeb in high school...Never really took the time to get to know you...You were always running around with Kim."

Ron didn't say anything as he watched Bonnie wipe her eyes, "Then we're both over here and I get to know you as you really are...I'm not sad that you were my boyfriend for a month before Kim showed up...I liked being your girlfriend, I liked being your fiancée even if it was pretending, and I'm not sorry I did it."

"Bonnie...don't..."

"I...I have half a mind not to let her have you without a fight...But I made this stupid promise...I'll keep the promise, I'll get out of the way." Bonnie said bitterly.

Ron stuck a few fingers through the fence and Bonnie grasped them, "Bonnie, in my eyes you have done nothing wrong...I couldn't of reported for duty as quickly as I did without you...No one else would have helped me the way that you did."

Bonnie nodded, "It will all be for nothing if you get killed. Don't you go over there and get killed on me Ron."

Ron chuckled, "I'm on staff, I probably won't be anywhere near the fighting."

She leaned into the fence, "I wish you didn't have to go."

He kissed the side of her head thru the small openings in the fence, "I don't think I'll be gone long."

Bonnie let go of Ron's hand and crossed her arms, "Be careful Ron."

He nodded as he started to back away, "I have to go now, you keep going to the shelters during the missile attacks."

Bonnie nodded and waived as Ron turned and limped away from the fence, _"What is the old saying...All's fair in love and war...Maybe I can think of a way to win him over yet."_

Ron ate a quick meal and made his way to the quarter master and drew a night vision scope, 4 extra magazines for the M4, 8 high explosive rounds, 4 smoke rounds, for the grenade launcher, 4 fragmentation grenades, 4 flash bang grenades and 1,000 rounds of 5.56mm and 250 rounds of 9mm ammunition for his coming mission.

He placed the new gear in the back of the humvee and had Sam drive him back to his quarters. He quickly made himself ready for fighting, new body armor, new helmet with the brown circle of the Golani Brigade, new rifle, new manuals that he still hadn't found time to read.

Then he prepared the jawbreaker pack and filled his pack with the ammunition, the pack was extremely heavy but he didn't think he would actually be wearing the pack very much but it never hurt to be prepared.

Ron looked around his room and tried to remember if he forgot anything, he snapped his fingers, _"Don't want to forget my new socks, new socks make all the difference on a long march."_

He shoved the socks in his pack, _"Of course I won't be making any long marches but it never hurts to be prepared."_

He slung the pack onto his back and adjusted the pack to the way he liked to carry it, made sure he had his rifle, glock strapped to his ankle, lotus blade disguised as a Gerber Silver Trident boot knife strapped to his right leg.

Ron was ready; he hobbled out the door and made his way to the waiting humvee. Sam opened the back door and Ron placed his rifle and pack in the seat, _"Pack ways a ton...Haven't wore a full pack on my back for a several weeks now."_

"Sam take me to Avivim, we need to find the 605th Engineering Battalion." Ron said as he climbed into the passenger seat and closed his eyes for a quick nap.

**V**

Bonnie rode home from Camp Bezeq with the other girls they were happy and chatting away merrily since after a long period of time they all got to see their boyfriends.

Bonnie on the other hand was quiet; the scheming part of her mind was in gear now, _"I will have Ron when it's all said and done...I just have to figure out how to sabotage Kim."_

She lay back on the seat and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, _"Let's see...Kim dumped him within a week after the prom...Why? They got back together and they had a fight, not sure what over...Hmmmmmmmmmm...I see a pattern I think."_

Bonnie shifted sides and looked out the window as the van headed back for Netanya, _"The plan I think should be simple...No way should I involve myself or Ron in it...But how to do it...that's the question?"_

She dozed off for about twenty minutes and woke up, _"Kim...Is very arrogant when it comes to Ron...I think...Yes...That should work nicely."_ She thought happily as the idea formed in her mind.

"_Kim doesn't know the Gaza City Ron the way I do...If I should say...Call her with some care and feeding advice for Ron after he leaves for home...She will go in the opposite direction...She is arrogant when it comes to Ron...Arrogance is going to cost her a man." _She thought happily as she joined in on the boy talk with the other girls.

Shifra elbowed Bonnie, "You have been very quiet...So how does the Gaza City Madman treat you when he is at home."

Bonnie giggled and played along, "Well when he is in the field he is very fierce but when he is with me, he is very...tender."

The other girls began to laugh and talk excitedly Bonnie just grinned at them, _"I didn't do all this work just watch him go off to someone else...Sorry Kimmie."_

**VI**

"Lieutenant Stoppable, wake up." Sam said as he drove through the village of Avivim and began to see the large D9 bulldozers of the 605th Engineering Battalion.

Ron opened his eyes, "Pull over to that group of men there." He told Sam as he rolled down his window.

The men stopped talking and looked at the Humvee, Ron looked them over, they were all big men well over six feet tall, _"Definitely construction type guys."_

"Looking for the commanding officer?"

They pointed him towards a flat bed truck at the front of the long convoy of trucks that appeared to stretch all the way back to Avivim. Ron ordered Sam to pull over and got out of the humvee, "Wait with the vehicle."

"I'm looking for the commanding officer." Ron said as he approached the lead truck.

A voice came from the other side of the vehicle, "You found him."

Ron walked around to other side of the truck where a crude table was setup with a couple of saw horses and a plank of wood. He saluted the officer, "Lieutenant Ronald Stoppable, General Tova sent me."

"You are my liaison to the United Nations?" The officer said without returning the salute.

Ron stood at attention as he continued to salute, the officer finally returned it, "I am Colonel Lavi Ben Avitan, you have not served with the General long have you?"

Ron shook his head, "I have only just reported today."

Colonel Avitan nodded, "The General is a traditional soldier and prefers that his staff use their Hebrew names, from now on when you introduce yourself you say 'Son of' before your last name."

"In that case I am Second Lt. Ronald Ben Stoppable, General Tova sent me." Ron said uneasily.

The Colonel nodded and smiled, "Much better, I prefer the traditional Hebrew names myself."

"So what is the plan for tonight?" Ron asked as he pointed at the line of bulldozers.

"24:00 hours cross the border tear down fences, destroy anti-tank obstacles and create a wide path for the army to move thru."

Ron nodded as he looked at the map, "I believe the General wants us to head for Aytarun once across the border."

The Colonel nodded, "We should be able to make it there before the U.N. can react."

Ron saluted and made his way back to the humvee, he found Sam asleep in driver's seat, _"Let him sleep, he'll probably need it."_

Ron quietly slipped into the passenger seat and watched the buildup continue. He counted 20 D9 Bulldozers lined up side by side, after about an hour a colomn of Acharits rolled up followed by a dozen Merkava MK V tanks, _"Whew, thought I was only going to be backed up by a bulldozer."_

The armor was the 36th division the largest regular service armor division in the IDF and the infantry in the achzarits was from the 91st division whose prime responsibility was to maintain the border between Israel and Lebanon.

"_Bonnie was really…weird…If I wasn't so bad about understanding girls…I'd almost swear that she…No…Whom I kidding, she likes me and I like her." _Ron thought as he moved the lower plate around in his mouth.

He looked at the watch, it was 23:33, _"We'll be moving out soon...Then there's the whole Kim thing...If I have feelings for Bonnie does that mean I don't love Kim?"_

A shiver of doubt ran through his mind, _"Kim hasn't seen me since I was wounded...I...I don't know how she'll react to it...Bonnie's seen the worst of it...Sergei and Tirza are right, Bonnie is a good woman. I don't think Kim could have dealt with it injuries the way Bonnie did."_

It was five minutes to midnight and all the engines seemed to come alive at once, _"I will think on this later...I think it would be best if I don't propose to anyone until I sort some things out first."_

He reached across the vehicle and punched Sam in the arm, "Wake up, we move out soon."

Sam blinked, "I wasn't sleeping."

Ron pointed towards the mechanized army before him, "Fall in behind the bulldozers when they move out."

He looked at his watch, it was midnight and the line of bulldozers began to move forward. Sam put the humvee in gear and rolled in behind one of the bulldozers. Ron looked over at Sam and saw he was in deep concentration, "In case of land mines follow in the tracks as best you can."

Sam nodded but said nothing as he creped behind the large tracked vehicle. Then they reached the border, there was a barbed wire fence with a sign in many languages telling the intruder to turn back they were entering a secured area patrolled by the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon.

Ron took a deep breath as the bulldozer drove thru the fence and over the sign, "Here we go." Ron said as the bulldozers used their big blades to push the concrete barriers aside.

There was a knock on the door and both Ron and Sam jumped, Ron turned to Sam and smiled sheepishly, "Someone's at the door." He said as he rolled down the window.

A soldier leaned into the humvee and pointed to an area in front of the bulldozer, "Officer, Hold your position here while we take out some razor wire and some other obsticales."

Ron nodded his head and looked at Sam, "Wait here, I'm going up front for a look."

He climbed out of the humvee and limped to the lead bulldozer, he could see a group of engineers out in the field marking tank traps and removing the razor wire. There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see another officer, "Second Lieutenant David Abrams, are you a Canadian?" He asked in English.

"Second Lieutenant Ronald Stoppable, American" he raised his voice to be heard over the engine of the bulldozer.

The officer waived Ron away from the dozer to where they could talk, "Where are you from in the states?"

"Middleton, Colorado"

Abramsl nodded, "Calgary Alberta Canada for me...How long you been in country?"

"Not quite a year now."

"I've been here about two years...You wouldn't happen to be the Gaza City Madman?" Abrams asked with a grin.

Ron nodded, "That would be me."

Abrams began laughing, "No wonder General Tova sent you to deal with the UNIFIL scum."

Ron chuckled nervously, "Yea...I'm the liaison between the IDF and UNIFIL...I wonder how long it will be before they know we're coming."

Lt. Abrams pointed off in the distance, "See that little concrete building on that hilltop over there?"

"Barely"

"That is a observation post, the minute we breached the fence they knew we were coming." Lt. Abrams told him.

Ron looked at the small building and nodded, _"Great, so much for surprise."_

"Looks like we're moving again."

Abrams nodded, "About another hundred yards there is another fence line and then we're free to push on."

Ron nodded and waived goodbye as he limped back to the humvee. Sam was a sleep again and Ron punched him hard in the arm, "We are moving."

Once past the second fence line they were moving at a slow but steady pace for Aytarun, it was dark so the landscape was mostly featureless to Ron. The only thing he could make out was that there were lots of hills surrounding them and this was beginning to make him nervous.

They column crested the top of a hill and Ron could see off in the distance white tanks, white armored personnel carriers, white humvees, all gathered at the bottom of the hill waiting for them, "Looks like we are expected." He said to Sam, more to calm his own nerves than to strike up a converstion.

The lead dozer pulled to within 25 meters of the United Nations forces and stopped. Sam stopped the humvee and Ron looked at him, "Stay with the vehickle, stay awake, I may need you."

Sam was clearly nervous, "Yes Officer"

Ron took a deep breath and thought how to stall them, "Should I pretend to be a southern redneck? No, they may not understand the drawl...I'll just be an annoying Jew and let them figure the rest out later."

Ron walked out in front of the column, "Who's in charge here, why are you blocking our way? Damn it man I want answers." He said loudly in English as he approached a group of stern looking officers.

One of the officers spoke calmly, "You are in violation of United Nations Cease Fire under chapter 6 of..."

"United Nations...Never heard of it...You have an accent where the hell are you from?" Ron barked angrily.

The officer was still exuding calm, "I am part of the French led task force I am Captain Jean..."

Ron laughed at the man, "Captain, Captain, I'm not talking to anyone less than the rank of General so get out of our way and don't you dare stop us again until you have found us one to talk to."

There was an voice that sounded American that spoke up, _"Must be a Canadian."_ Ron thought.

"Sorry, sorry didn't hear what you had to say, you might want to spit that dick out of your mouth before you start talking."

The man started to step forward but another officer put a hand on his shoulder, "I said we should just take you into custody and be done with it."

Ron slapped leather and faster than anyone could react he had his glock out and tracking the Canadian, "No one is taking me into custody."

The cool of the U.N. personnel broke as the officers put up their hands trying to cool Ron down, "No, no, no, put the gun away, no one is going to try and take you into custody."

"Damn right no one is going to try." Ron said as he holstered his weapon.

There was a long silence as Ron stared at the officers and the officers stared back at Ron. Finally the French captain spoke again, "We have not been very polite, I am Captain Jean de Villepin and you are...?"

"I am not talking to anyone with the rank lower than General." Ron said forcefully.

Captain de Villepin was not ruffled as he stepped forward with his hands up, "We are not going to hold you responsible for anything your Government has..."

"Did I tell you to walk forward?" Ron gloomed at the man.

"No"

Ron nodded, "Well take your silly French ass and turn it around and go find me a General."

Captain de Villepin rubbed his chin, "Is there anyone else over there that I might talk to?"

Ron continued to glare at the officer, "No...Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time."

The standoff continued for most of the night as forces from both sides gathered. At 02:30 Ron finally broke down and admitted that he in fact did have a name but he wasn't going to tell them what it was.

At 03:00 Ron agreed to give them his name in exchange for $1,500, a bottle of wine and a blonde prostitute.

At 03:30 Ron and the officers from Italy and Canada came close to shooting each other after Ron accused them of being homosexual lovers.

At 04:00 the ranking French General showed up and Ron refused to talk to him, he was now demanding to talk directly to the French President and no one else.

At 04:30 everyone had their guns out and pointing at each other, no one knew exactly why for sure but the believed reason was that Ron had told one of the Polish officers that he had impregnated his daughter.

At 05:00 they were all singing "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. It was then that Ron had spotted a familiar face in the now rather large United Nations crowed, a young Japanese soldier that he knew to be Hirotaka. Ron made a quick note of where he was and knew he was going to have to find a way to talk with him before either they or the U.N. pulled out.

At 05:30 the sun was starting to rise and Ron was beginning to lose his voice from yelling and screaming at the UNIFIL officers all night. Ron saw Sam taking in his whole act and ordered him to the humvee for some rest.

Now the two groups just stared at one another. Ron was out of material and was thinking about trying to pick a fight with the gay Canadian and gay Italian again but was afraid that he wouldn't be able to avoid the bullets coming his way. Then inspiration hit, "You've been a great audience, thanks for coming, have a safe trip home and Good Night."

No one moved, _"Well it was worth a try." _He thought as he turned his attention to the hills behind him.

A Blackhawk helicopter was flying low over the ridge where the Israeli army was and preceded to land, Ron saw General Tova and his staff hop out of the craft, "He turned to the French General; I'm tired of talking to you, talk to him for awhile." Ron said as he motioned towards the helicopter.

Ron quickly saluted as the General Tova walked between the two groups, "I am General Moshe Ben Tova, this is my staff, Colonel Oskar Ben Benowitz, Major Ilud Ben Motark, Lt. Uzi Ben Rolland and of course you have already met the young Lt. Ronald Ben Stoppable."

The French General narrowed his eyes, "Yes...We have met him already." He said in a rather tired voice.

The Canadian officer stepped forward and pointed at Ron, "Stoppable, I'm going to remember that name, and you are a dead man if you ever come to Manitoba."

Ron laughed, "Like the thought of Pole Smoking Canadian is supposed to frighten me."

General Tova turned to look at Ron, "Lieutenant that is enough."

"Sorry officer."

Hirotaka gave a curt nod of his head when he caught Ron's eye and Ron nodded and began to work himself out of the large crowd.

General Tova sized up the French General, "Your mission when you were brought in here was to uphold and enforce the peace, yet rockets and missiles rain down on my country...Your mission has clearly failed...You are now protecting the very people who launch these missiles...I am not an unreasonable man, you will have 12 hours to inform your governments and withdraw, after 12 hours you will be considered enemy combatants."

The General then turned on his heels and walked back to the helicopter and left.

**VII**

The various groups began to talk amongst themselves; Ron met up with Hirotaka behind one of the Achzarits. He couldn't get over the fact that the two of them only a year ago were sporting trendy hair cuts and attending high school, now had service hair cuts and were carrying guns and performing duties for their respective countries.

Hirotaka looked around, "Stoppable San how are you, I heard you were injured."

Ron nodded, "Yea took an RPG in Gaza City."

Hirotaka smiled, "I hear you possess the blade."

"Yea...I have the blade."

"Yori is still talking about watching it fly from the temple." Hirotaka said with a soft chuckle.

Ron nodded, "So Hirotaka, what brings you into my little corner of the world?"

Hirotaka became very serious, "We are a special intelligence unit assigned to UNIFIL force. We are tracking a shipment of North Korean BM-14 rocket launchers, they launch 140mm Katyusha rockets...Normally they would be of little interest to us, but these rockets that wree shipped from North Korea were outfitted for chemical use."

Ron stood up straight, "Chemical?"

Hirotaka nodded, "Yes, we needed to find a sample of the missile and the agent to bring back to Japan for study."

"So did you get what you came for?" Ron asked.

Hirotaka showed a half grin, "We accomplished our mission, we leave for home this afternoon."

Ron nodded and looked around to see if anyone had missed them, "So how's Yori?"

"She is well as is Mariko." Hirotaka said with a smile.

Ron smiled, "I don't remember a Mariko, is that her boyfriend?"

Hirotaka laughed, "No that is her daughter."

Ron rolled his eyes and smiled, "Ahhhhhhh I see, Yori met the right guy and got busy...Good for her."

Hirotaka looked puzzled, "No Stoppable San, there is no boyfriend."

It was Ron's turn to look puzzled, "Then how..."

"Mariko is your daughter Stoppable San, she was born nine months after you left Yamanuchi." Hirotaka said with a grin.

Ron shook his head in disbelief, "No...That's not possible...Yori would have told me...Why wouldn't Yori tell me?"

Hirotaka frowned, "I have said too much, if Yori did not tell you, you weren't supposed to know."

Ron began rubbing the back of his neck and looking around, it was clear that he was becomng upset, "Does she look like me...I mean...is she pretty...Why didn't she tell me."

"She favors you." Hirotaka said quietly.

They stood their looking at each other Ron had a hand over his mouth as he tried to think of what to do next. Hirotaka handed him a plastic bag full of papers, "If you are headed towards Bent Jabeil or Habboush you will need this." Hirotaka said as he thrust the package into Ron's chest.

Ron was momentarily brought out of his own thoughts, "What's this?"

Hirotaka could see that Ron had lost his focus from the information he had given him and he needed to bring him back on track, "It is a map of the underground tunnels that run between the city and the villiage and the surrounding hillsides...Focus on your mission Stoppable San or you may never get to see Mariko."

"OK, thanks." Ron said as he stuffed the plastic bag into his pocket.

Hirotaka looked around once more, "I have been here too long and said too much, forgive me Stoppable San but I have to leave now."

"I understand, thanks for maps...and the information." Ron said as they shook hands and went their respective ways.

Ron watched as the meetings began to break up, Colonel Avitan spotted Ron walking towards the humvee and called to him. Ron turned and saluted, the colonel returned the salute, "Lt. Stoppable, I have been informed that the General was very impressed with how you handled the UNIFIL situation but he has one question, he heard you call the Canadian Major a pole smoker...What is a pole smoker?"

Ron laughed and explaned the insult to the Colonel who began laughing, "The General will want to hear this one...You have had a long night, see what kind of sleep you can get before we have to move out again."

He nodded and began to limp off towards the humvee, his knee hurt and his head was buzzing with the knowledge that he was a father. He sat heavily in the seat, closed the door and rested his head against it, _"Yori...Why didn't you tell me."_ Was his last thought before falling asleep.


	47. Chapter 47

Twelve hours came and past the rest of the army came up and Ron and Sam hadn't moved in two days. The only real change in position came when the UNIFIL forces began to withdraw and the 51st Battalion took positions on the mountain ridges that surrounded Ron's position.

This made Ron feel safer but did nothing to extricate him from the surrounding D9s and other heavy engineering equipment that he was surrounded by.

On a happier note Ron managed to find a set of tent stakes so now he and Sam could sleep lying down in the tent as opposed to trying to sleep sitting up in the front seat of the humvee.

"Officer, General Tova would like you to report to him at HQ." Sam said as he shook Ron awake.

Ron looked up from his sleeping bag, "Why…what are the charges?"

"Charges?"

Ron shook his head to clear the cobwebs, "Never mind"

"The chow wagon has arrived and they have a pretty good breakfast this morning, luff, eggs and some really thick British Tea." Sam said eagerly.

"Wha….What time is it?" Ron asked as he struggled to step outside of the tent.

"06:00…More or less, the General would like for you to report at 07:30." Sam informed him.

Ron dug thru his pack till he found his beret, "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes Officer"

Ron looked at the sky, it was overcast. He pointed at Sam but never had to say a word before Sam nodded his head sadly, "I know, I know stay with the vehicle and keep an eye on our weapons."

Ron stumbled off to find the chow wagon and get something to eat. It was his special time in the day where he would eat and look at a baby picture of Kaley and try to figure out just what his daughter Mariko would look like.

Ron went through the line got his food and a cup of sickeningly sweet and thick British tea and found him a seat at a makeshift table. He began to eat and imagine what it would be like to hold his daughter, how would she smell, would she have his smile?

There was a tank column going up one of the steep hills in the distance that he watched, _"Yori, you should have told me."_

He reached into his pocket for his lower plate and it wasn't there, he moved his mouth from side to side, the false teeth were already in his mouth, _"I have to remember to start taking them out at night."_

Ron ate his food and watched the pageantry of an army in deployment, _"155 mm self propelled howitzers…cool."_

He inhaled the aroma of the British Tea and took another drink, it was thick as syrup but it was designed to jump start the dead and get them moving in the mornings. Ron pulled his wallet out again and then he looked at the wallet, _"Bonnie bought this for me because my old wallet is in Gaza City somewhere…Glad she reminded me to cancel my ATM card."_

The thought of Bonnie giving him the new wallet made him smile, _"I hope she's going to the shelters."_ He thought as he looked over the black billfold.

Then the dark ominous thought took shape in his head that he had been frightened to think about before, _"Yori didn't want me to know because she fears the White Guardians."_

Ron closed his eyes and them put the wallet back into his pocket and continued to eat. His mind was blank and then the coming day and his responsibilities began to take form, _"See the General see if there is any thing that he needs me to attend to…I wish they'd start this war….Damned annoying sitting around in the middle of a field doing nothing."_

**I**

The plasma screen monitor at Rosalyn Cortez's Middle Eastern Desk flashed pictures from the IDF and UNIFIL meeting in Southern Lebanon, She studied the pictures looking for any new faces that could be potential players on the world stage that her boss General Wellington Sinclair the current Director of the CIA.

The faces moved by slowly as she examined each and every one, then a face caught her attention, _"What...What is he doing there?"_ She thought as she began to scan the other images looking for the new face.

She continued to scan the photographs from the media pool photographers, _"There he is again? Who is that he's talking to?"_

Rosalyn Cortez leaned back in her chair and chewed on the end of her ink pen, _"This is damn interesting._"

The phone rang and she answered it, "Middle East"

"Rosalyn anything new to report on the situation in Lebanon?"

Rosalyn knew the voice it was her boss CIA Director General Wellington Sinclair, "Yes sir, but I'm not sure of what it means?"

"I have a 2:30 with the President can you brief me on what you have before I head to the White House?"

"Yes sir, I should have everything together in about half an hour..." She told him before she was cut off.

"Make it fifteen minutes, just the highlights."

"Yes sir" She said as she hung up the phone.

Files, photos, maps, and a note pad were shoved into her small attaché' case, she looked at the plasma screen again and shook her head, _"I'll just run it by him and see how it flies."_

She stepped away from her desk and as she prepared to leave her desk she put a hand on the back of the chair of Helen Lawrence the Middle East Sections Secretary, "I have a meeting with the General, I will be out of the office for about half an hour...Anything happens over there I am to be alerted, understand."

Helen Lawrence was in her early 50's a career secretary with the spy agency and one of the most efficient secretaries in the CIA, she had sources all over the Washington and was plugged into all of the pertinent office gossip.

The daily gossip didn't interest Rosalyn but from time to time she would come across a gem that would be of real use to her. That is why she stopped when Helen raised her hand into the air, "...OK...I understand, no more Starbucks for Assistant Director Malloy." She said as she hung up the phone.

Helen now directed her full attention to the head of the Middle East Desk, "Allan has called three times, I told him you were out of the office."

Rosalyn nodded, "He wants to pick up Bobby for the weekend, I'll call him when I get off work."

Helen nodded, "Don't forget to remind the General that today is his wife's birthday."

She smiled and nodded and Helen gave her a knowing wink, _"I swear the woman knows everything."_

"I'll find a spot to mention it while passing."

Rosalyn smiled and turned from the Secretary, _"A little brown nosing for brownie points never hurts."_

She walked to the bank of elevators and inserted the key to the special elevator that led the Director's office; she was one of eight people to hold the private key due to the sensitive nature of her work.

The elevator arrived and Rosalyn stepped in, a cantankerous older voice barked at from the speaker just underneath the buttons, "You packin' Rosalyn?"

The voice belonged to Joe Bargetzi the head of the Secret Service detail in charge of protecting the Director of the CIA. He had been with the Secret Service for over twenty-five years and was looking forward to one day soon collecting his government pension and moving back to Allenton, PA where he was originally from.

Rosalyn looked at the camera mounted in the ceiling of the elevator and shook her head, "Not today Joe." She told him as she pressed the button for the Directors floor.

"Awwwwwww, geez how's an old guy like me going to get any excitement around here."

Rosalyn laughed as the door opened, "Careful for what you wish for Joe...Is he in the office?"

Joe smiled, "Of course he's in, where else would he be...Freakin' workaholic...errrrr...I mean..."

Rosalyn smiled and nodded, _"Cindy must be at lunch, her desk is empty."_

"I know what you mean Joe." Said as she walked by him and knocked lightly on the office door.

The door opened and a rather frazzled looking Cindy Trammel stepped out of the office,

"The Director is expecting you?"

Rosalyn entered the office, "Director Sinclair, good to see you."

Wellington Sinclair sat behind a large oak desk that had documents piled up all around the desk, the main now in his sixties leaned back in his large leather chair from where he ran the most powerful spy agency in the world and looked at his young subordinate, "What you got for me?"

She sat down in front of the desk, "A mixed bag sir, the Israeli's have now massed close to 40,000 troops just inside the Lebanon border...So far no air or sea assaults have occurred or for that matter any military activity at all."

Rosalyn reached into her attaché case and produced a sheaf of documents and pictures, "These were just relayed to us by the Japanese embassy, and apparently Hezbollah has just received via Iran at least 4 North Korean BM-14 rocket launchers, armed with 140mm Katyusha rockets outfitted for the use of a chemical agent."

The Director weighed the information, "Is there a correlation between the halt of the Israeli attack and the missiles?"

"Unsure at this time, we are monitoring the radio traffic between Tel Aviv and the Northern Command, it's inconclusive."

The Director nodded, "What in your estimate would be the Israeli response if Hezbollah launches a chemical war?"

Rosalyn Cortez knew this question was coming, she let out a deep breath and licked her lips, "Sir, Tehran, Damascus and Beirut had better like the sight of mushrooms because they are going to see a lot of clouds."

The Director nodded, "You believe the Israeli's would proceed with operation Samson?"

"Yes sir"

What else have you got, "The Venezuelan Army contingent is not leaving, they appear to be working with the Lebanese Army, and Islamic Resistance to fight against the Israeli's."

The military man in the Director Sinclair laughed, "The Venezuelan's...Those poor stupid bastards will be slaughtered if they try to go toe to toe with the IDF...Pardon the French Rosalyn."

She nodded, "Admittedly Venezuela in the Middle East appears to have picked a poor place to try and gain international gravitas, but after they signed a defense pact with Syria in 2006...I'm sure they feel obligated to help out their ally."

"Any information on where what the chemical agent that will be used and a general area of where the launchers can be found?"

"Not at this time."

"What is the nuclear capability of Israel?"

Rosalyn pulled her note book out, "Not a lot is known Israel launched a spy satellite a couple of years ago. So we know they have ICBM capability, the major portion of their arsenal is housed in hardened concrete bunkers thru out the country; they have mobile launchers that can be deployed at a moments notice into the Negev desert and into the Golan Heights."

The Director leaned back into his chair and stared at the ceiling, "This is going to be bad, I have that feeling...One little goof up and everyone is chucking nukes at everyone else...Anything else that I should know?"

Rosalyn bobbed her head slightly, "One more thing...could be nothing...Could be..."

"Let's hear it."

She handed him a stack of pictures, "See if there is anyone in these pictures that looks familiar to you."

He flipped through the pictures and focused his attention on one, "The missing Sergeant from Colorado?"

Rosalyn nodded, "Severely wounded in Gaza City he is now cleared for active duty with the Golani Brigade in just under three weeks...He is now carrying the rank of second lieutenant and is calling himself Ronald Ben Stoppable these days."

"And the importance of these photos is...what?"

Rosalyn reached over and pointed at the Japanese soldier, "The man he is talking to is an operative of the Japanese Secret Service, we have no record of him in our files nor is there any record of his existence in Japan. He has been sighted up and down the Korean peninsula and is believed to be behind the untimely deaths of several of North Korea's ruling elite."

The Director continued to look over the photos, "So how exactly does young Ronald Ben Stoppable know this man?"

Rosalyn smiled and nodded again, "You see my quandary, we have an American ex-patriot involved with a Japanese intelligence agent in a foreign country that is about to go to war."

"Any way to pull in and question Mr. Stoppable?"

Rosalyn smiled, "His mother informed us that he is expected to arrive in back in the States in May for a wedding...I think we can arrange for him to be picked up the minute his plane touches the ground."

Wellington Sinclair smiled, "I like it...I have to go and brief the President know...See if you can get a line on where those launchers are...We may have to tell the Mossad so they can knock them out early."

Rosalyn stood and nodded and turned to leave, then innocently turned to face her boss, "Sir, don't forget it's your wife's birthday today."

The director threw up his hands and punched the intercom button, "Cindy, I need you to go shopping and buy my wife a birthday present...What did you get her last year by the way?"

The voice of Cindy Trammel was slightly flustered, "Uh...yes sir...I bought her a scarf set...If I remember right."

The Director nodded, "Oh yes...She hated it, buy something different."

Rosalyn chuckled softly as she left the room to return to her desk, _"Good ol' Helen comes thru again."_

**II**

Bonnie Rockwaller sat on the floor in front of Ron's duffle bag holding the small engagement ring that she believed that he intended to give to Kim Possible on his return to Middleton sometime near the end of May, only 4 short weeks away.

The box opened and there was before her eyes the most beautiful engagement ring she had ever seen, the large diamond glistened in her eyes and she was entranced by the sparkle. She smiled evilly, _"My Precious"_

She began to giggle and closed the box, and then she opened it again, _"It is a very pretty ring…I wonder if…I don't think Ron would mind if I tried it on."_ She thought as she removed the ring from the small box.

The ring slipped on her finger easily, she stood and modeled it in the mirror and admired the ring on her finger, _"This is so wasted on Kim."_

She came close to jumping out of her skin as the familiar jingle of the Ronnuncator sounded she quickly tried to get the ring off but it wouldn't budge and then she picked up the device that resembled a cell phone and saw that it was Kim that was calling.

The smile came across her face easily, _"Time to plant a few seeds."_ She thought as she answered the device.

"Hello?"

She could see a much tweaked looking Kim Possible in the small video screen, "Bonnie…Ohhhhhhhhh Bonnie we so need to talk."

Bonnie shifted nervously, "Kim, Kim let me explain."

:"Explain, explain!"

"Kim, come on, give me a break so I can talk to you." Bonnie whined.

"I want to talk to Ron."

Bonnie closed her eyes and shook her head, "Ron's not here, he was called up."

The tone of Kim's voice changed from anger to concern, "What do you mean called up?"

"He left a few days ago; he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and sent north….He is in Lebanon by now." Bonnie told her evenly.

Kim thrust out her chin, "You're lying."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Why would I lie about something like this?"

"To keep me from talking to Ron."

Bonnie sighed heavily, and began to tear up, "Kim, I've been really working with Ron trying to get him ready to go back to Middleton in May and then he got those orders…"

"Oh I bet you've been working hard."

Bonnie added a twinge of desperation to her voice, "Kim, you don't know what it's like over here…The missiles…"

"I've been there I know all about it….I watch the news."

"Kim…Ron was hurt really bad in Gaza…Things are different for him now." Bonnie said as she tried to change the subject.

"What do you mean different?"

Bonnie set the hook, "You know he was hurt really bad…All he talks about is coming home and being with you…I can't compete with that…Kim this isn't High School anymore…He loves you."

"I know he loves me." Kim said knowingly.

"Kim…He's got scars…physical and mental scars…He's really self conscious about them." Bonnie said choking back tears.

Kim's demeanor was beginning to change, "Oh…I…knew he was hurt."

Now Bonnie knew she could tell her the truth about Ron and give her advice that she would promptly ignore the first chance she would get, "Kim, when they released him, he could hardly walk but I was stern with him...Made him do what the doctors said and do his exercises."

She could see Kim chewing her thumb nail, "Good…Good"

"Kim…When Ron's able to come home after this stupid war is over…Don't put any stress on him, he zones out really bad when he starts feeling stressed…Don't talk to him about what happened, when he's ready he'll tell you." Bonnie said quietly.

Kim's natural competitiveness began to rise to the surface, "I know all about what he went through and when he gets here he'll be OK and we'll make it just like it used to be."

Bonnie looked at the Ronnunicator, "What do you mean you know what he's been through…You don't have a clue…"

"Trust me Bonnie…I know all about it." Kim said confidently and then the Ronnunicator went dark.

Bonnie shook her head, _"Poor Ron, Kim's going to screw everything up…I just hope he's able to survive it."_ She thought sadly as she continued to pull at the engagement ring trying to get it off of her finger

She relaxed her hand and twisted the ring and it came right off her finger, _"Figures it would come off now…I should have showed it to Kim…Nahhhhhhh that would have been too over the top."_ She thought as she placed the ring back in its box and hid it once again in Ron's duffle bag.

**III**

Geneva Switzerland is the seat of many international organizations, including the European headquarters of the United Nations and several other international bodies, such as the World Health Organization, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the World Trade Organization and the worlds most prestigious privately funded intelligence agency in the world, Global Justice.

Dr. Betty Director at age 46 was one of the world's most respected experts in law enforcement, counter terrorism and organized crime.

Over the course of many years Dr. Betty Director through her proxy Global Justice had parlayed her knowledge to the highest bidder, Her ability to play both sides of the street had helped her build Global Justice into one of the top players in the worlds intelligence agencies and had given her the leverage she had needed in order to bring governments to their knees when they would attempt to interfere with Global Justice operations.

The ultimate goal of Dr. Betty Director was nothing short of brilliant, play both sides in the game of world terror against each other, then as the world terrorists organizations became more and more deadly efficient, she in turn would help to defang individual countries intelligence apparatuses until only one organization was left holding all the keys.

That organization would of course be Global Justice, the one stop headquarters for all your intelligence needs. Global Justice would provide the world with all the intelligence that it could use but at a price.

There were a few countries that stood in the way of her plan, older established countries such as the United State's CIA, England's MI6, France's Directorate-General of External Security (DGSE), Germany's Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), China's Ministry of the State (MSS), and Japan with their newly formed Secret Service.

Betty Director had examined the world's intelligence agencies and decided that Israel would be the first country to have its intelligence service toppled. Her plan was simple use the coming war with Lebanon as a platform to encourage the Mossad to return the practice of targeted assassination

Once Mossad returned to their old ways and turned Europe and the Middle East into a battlefield of the spy's. It would only be a matter of time before one of their operations went wrong and Israel would be called to explain itself to the United Nations, and the World Court.

Global Justice would do its part with the U.N. in order to help expose the wrong doing of Mossad. This would force the world body to put pressure on the nation to put an end once and for all to the evil, corrupt and out of control Mossad.

The plans were being set into motion, it might take several months or it might take several years but she was sure that the Mossad would once again return to the old ways.

For today however she was headed towards the large conference room on 55th floor to meet with her current clients the Iranian Government. She personally detested the Mullahs of Iran that ruled their nation but she was a realist and their money would spend just like any other countries.

She sat in the large leather chair that sat above the other chairs, a reminder to visitors of just who was in charge of Global Justice. She turned a cold eye towards the Iranian representative, "What do we owe the honor of your unannounced visit."

The man in the well tailored grey Italian suit smiled, "Our Government…"

"Is concerned about why the IDF has stopped its invasion of Southern Lebanon." Dr. Director finished for the man.

The representative swallowed hard, he now had a new healthy respect for just how vast the Global Justice Intelligence network truly was, "Y…Yes Dr. Director."

Dr. Director crossed her legs, the skin tight one piece spandex suit she wore clinging tightly to a very toned and athletic body. She afforded herself a few hours a day to train and maintain her firm body; the body was that of a woman many years younger than Betty's 46 years.

She cleared her throat and fixed her remaining ice cold blue eye on the representative, she only had one eye. She had lost the other eye in a fight long ago to her twin brother Gemini over a child's toy. She won the fight but lost the eye in the process, it was a pivotal moment in her life, and from that moment on she dedicated herself to the pursuit of righteous power to do what in her mind was good and her brother turned towards the life of super villainy.

"You may return to your embassy and wire Tehran that all is in order, I have my best people on the ground in Lebanon and they inform me that invasion will continue within the next six hours."

"M…Madam Director, we would like to know which direction that Israel will attack first…If…if that is acceptable to you?" The man stumbled nervously.

Dr. Director smiled, "Yes of course you like those plans but before we can supply those plans we may need to…renegotiate our monetary understanding."

The man smile and nodded, "I have been authorized to transfer whatever funds are needed into the Global Justice accounts."

"Return to your embassy, you will be notified shortly with the answers you seek." Dr. Director replied as she stood to leave the room.

The meeting was over and the Iranian representative had sense enough to know it, when Betty director left the conference room the man breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his brow with his handkerchief, _"I am glad that soon we will no longer be doing business with this woman."_

**IV**

General Tova turned before the small assembled group of fellow officers and selected Journalists, "I have known this young Golani soldier for only a short time and he has proven himself very capable since returning to us from Gaza City."

The General opened a small wooden box, "Second Lieutenant Ronald Ben Stoppable step forward please."

A very nervous looking Ron Stoppable stepped up and took his place next to the General. The General continued on with the presentation ceremony, "The Knesset has seen fit to award you the Medal of Valor and the title Hero of Israel for your outstanding bravery and heroic achievements that you made while on duty in Gaza City."

The General pinned the red and green ribbon on Ron's chest and handed him a box containing the actual medal, Ron accepted the medal and saluted the General, "Thank you officer."

The camera flashes went off and Ron stood before the media representatives with a frozen grin on his face, _"Now I know why I was called up, the General needed a photo op."_ He thought sadly as looked at the gold medal inside the wooden box.

General Tova held up his hands, "Lieutenant Stoppable will now be available for questions?"

Ron blinked as the General pointed towards a man in the front of the crowd, "Lt. Stoppable, there have been rumors of a mystery weapon that reportedly was used by you in the capture of the Palestinian Authority Defense building…Any truth to the rumors?"

He shifted his weight from on foot to the other, "I only know of the weapons that I carried were not out of the ordinary."

The General pointed to a young woman, "Have you and your fiancée Bonnie Rottweiler set a date for your upcoming marriage?"

Ron giggled nervously, "Yes…Well Bonnie Rockwaller has yet to inform me of a date."

There were a few laughs and the General slapped Ron on the back and nearly knocked him over, "I see we know who will be in charge of his household." He said with a laugh as he pointed at another reporter.

"What are your plans for after this upcoming military action?"

"I will be going on leave and returning to the United States to visit my family, they had a hard time while I was missing and I want to see my parents and my baby sister." Ron said with a grin.

The press conference was over and Ron let out a deep breath as the General pulled him aside, "I see you were also voted Outstanding Soldier of your basic training class, you make a career of the IDF and you could go far Lieutenant."

"I…I have given that some thought, thank you General."

He was then dismissed with orders to return to the Head Quarters at 13:30 hours. He walked back to the humvee and saw Sam waiting for him with a crisp salute. Ron returned it and Sam asked excitedly, "Is it true, is it true?"

Ron nodded, "Yes unfortunately, I have been awarded a medal."

Sam took the box that Ron handed him and looked at the medal, "That is the Medal of Valor, do you know what this means?"

He laughed and nodded, "Get blown up and they hand you a wooden box if you don't get put into one?"

Sam smiled, "No, you are a Hero of Israel, you get to meet and have dinner with the Prime Minister and you get to live tax free for the rest of your life."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "If we keep having military actions I may not live long enough to worry about taxes."

Ron took the box back from Sam and placed it in the backseat of the humvee. He backed away from the machine to close the door and then he spotted someone very familiar to him in a red paratrooper beret, _"Du, what's Du doing here?"_

Ron motioned for Sam to follow him, "You ever meet a real live spy?"

Sam kept up easily as Ron was still limping, "No" He said somewhat puzzled.

Will Du and his six men stood around the valley trying to blend in while gathering intelligence at the same time, when he heard a voice, "Du….Du what are doing here?"

He turned to the source of the voice, _"The face seems familiar?"_

"I believe you are mistaken?"

Ron grinned, "That has to be the worst Israeli accent I've ever heard." He said in English.

Will glanced around and realized they were becoming the center of attention to a larger group of soldiers, all of them armed, "How dare you call me that." He said loudly as he threw a punch at Ron.

"_DUCK"_ The voice inside Ron's head screamed as the punch started to come his way, he leaned back and blow just grazed the front of his beret just enough to send it flying, "Du what the hell!"

Du threw another punch and Ron deflected it easily, then he noticed that Du's men were moving to surround him and then reality set in, _"I am going to take such an ass kicking."_

Ron brought up his fists and threw a punch back at Du. Du blocked his punch effortlessly and snap kicked Ron in his right knee. For a moment time seemed to stand still as Ron's world exploded in a blinding flash of white light as the intense pain coursed through his body and he let out a scream and fell to the ground.

Will Du and his men turned to leave but then Sam lunged onto his back and another Golani soldier grabbed one of Du's paratroopers and punched him in the mouth. Before Du could think of what to do next he was in the middle of a Golani vs. Paratrooper brawl and he still had the small boy on his back trying as hard as he could to punch his lights out.

Ron was trying hard to get to his feet but he kept being knocked around by Golani's and Paratroopers fighting everywhere he turned, then he spotted Sam still on Du's back. He stumbled towards the two and was pushed solidly by a blow to the small of his back that sent him towards the ground.

He lunged towards Du and Sam and before he could hit the ground he managed to catch Du just behind his knees causing him to fall backwards on to Ron. Sam rode Du to the ground and then scrambled from underneath him.

Sam regained his feet and started kicking Du, after the second kick Du grabbed Sam's planting foot and sent him backwards onto his butt. Sam tried to get to his feet again but Du still had him by the leg.

Ron managed to crawl from underneath Du and Sam and while Du still held Sam by the leg Ron punched Du as hard as he could in the groin Du yelped as Ron crawled the rest of the way up his body, he was now straddling him and on top.

"Payback time Willie." Ron screamed menacingly as he began to punch Will Du repeatedly in the face until somewhere after the second or third blow, Du lost consciousness.

It took three military policemen to pull Ron off of the paratrooper he was beating senseless, once he was pulled free of the man Ron looked around at Golani soldiers in handcuffs and the Global Justice paratroopers were strewn about on the ground unconscious.

Ron turned and saw Sam being placed in cuffs smiling with a busted lip; Ron smiled at him, "Not a bad fight."

Sam chuckled, "That was great, let us go find some more spies to beat up."

A motorcade of humvees pulled up and before the vehicles could stop moving General Tova was out of his humvee and headed towards Ron who quickly saluted, _"Uh oh"_

"What is the meaning of this, brawling with paratroopers…?"

Ron interrupted the General's rant, "Those are not paratroopers, they are Global Justice agents and that one there." Ron said pointing towards the unconscious agent, "Is Will Du, their top agent."

The medics brought Du to a sitting position, "I like to be referred to as number 1."

General Tova crouched down beside the man, "You will be taken to Tel Aviv for questioning."

Will Du smiled at the general confidently, "I must warn you right up front that I have full diplomatic immunity, so you will ultimately have no choice but to release me."

An evil smile crept across the General's face as he leaned over to face the man sitting on the ground, "Diplomatic Immunity only means something to diplomats, you see the IDF is very poor at diplomacy so it could be a very long time before you and your men ever again see the light of day."

The General pointed at the handcuffed Golani soldiers, "Turn them loose and arrest those poor slobs on the ground...Take them to Section 4 in Tel Aviv for questioning."

General Tova then turned his attention back towards Ron and Sam, "You two with me, you have some explaining to do."

Ron put his foot forward to follow the General collapsed to the ground holding his knee. General Tova turned and looked at him, Ron held up his hand, "It is nothing, I will be alright in a moment."

The General pointed to Sam, "Help him up and follow me."

Sam helped Ron to his feet and groaned under his weight, "What do you think will happen to us?" Sam whispered to him.

Ron wasn't sure himself so he shook his head, "No matter what happens, let me do all the talking."

The two soldiers piled into the back of General Tova's humvee and were taken back to the tent that served as the field headquarters. The General stepped out of the vehicle, "Follow me."

Sam helped Ron out of the humvee and they followed the General to his tent, there was a folding chair in the corner, he pointed to it, "Lieutenant, have a seat."

Ron plopped down in the seat and began to rub his knee. The General then eyed Sam's busted lip, "I see you were a part of the fight out there."

The boy turned to look at Ron and he nodded to him, "Yes General after the spy kicked the Lt. Stoppable I jumped him with every intention of doing him as much harm as I could."

General Tova began laughing, "You did well, you did very well. What is your name private?"

Sam stood up straight, "Private Sam Cello"

"You are now brevetted Corporal Sam Cello and you now not only in charge of driving Lt. Stoppable but you are to be his personal body guard." The General proclaimed happily.

Sam gave the general a big smile and saluted crisply, "Yes Officer"

Ron rolled his eyes at the thought of having a body guard, "I will never hear the end of this."

General Tova patted the boy on the shoulder, "You must now go and drive your humvee here and take Lt. Stoppable to see the battalion doctor."

Sam saluted and Ron out of the tent quickly.

The General's attitude now became more serious, "How did you know that this man was Global Justice?"

"Well my girlfriend and I used to fight criminals and every now and then we would bump into Will Du...I was surprised to see him here...I always thought he was our side?" Ron said sadly.

General Tova bristled, "Global Justice is no friend of Israel's, they are only out for Global Justice and no one else. Tell me Lieutenant who does Global Justice work for...Who do they answer to?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't know the United Nations?"

General Tova laughed bitterly, "The United Nations are also no friend of Israel's but no, they do not answer to them...Global Justice answers only to their board of directors and no one else."

Ron shook his head stunned at what the General was telling him, "I thought they were good guys."

General Tova began to pace the tent, "Your Will Du was undoable making his way around the build up recording information on troop strength and what the battle plan was to be...If you would not have gotten lucky, it is very probable that our army could have been ambushed and destroyed in detail."

Ron nodded, "Yes officer"

"I do not know how long we will be able to hold Du and his men before the politicians find out; I hope to keep him under wraps for a very long time."

"General, when will we begin to move forward?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

General Tova smiled, "In a hurry are you? Well the last time we visited Lebanon we were in a hurry and we paid dearly for it...I want to make sure we have no interruptions to our supply chain and I want to insure a significant force to remain on the border in case Syria has ideas of invading the north while we are destroying their alley."

The General sat heavily on his bed, "You and the Nahal rushed into Gaza City and you very nearly lost your life because of it...Tell me Lt. Stoppable how many aschzarits were there in your group when you went out to arrest your fugitives?"

Ron shrugged, "Two"

The General nodded, "Only two, you should have had a column at least backed up by armor and air support...Do you know you only had two aschzarits at your disposal?"

He waited for Ron to shake his head no before he continued, "Because you over shot your supply lines and you had no fuel, your company was the only one that had enough diesel to make the attempt and then your company could only spare two because they did not know when they would be refueled."

What the General was telling Ron was making sense, he was not issued hand grenades until they arrived in Gaza City, they had very few supplies and Sergeant Tsur had to wheel and deal to get him a new rifle, _"Now things are making sense, I didn't know what was going on because I had never been involved in anything as large as Gaza City."_

"I can see by the expression on your face that you know what I am telling you is the truth." The General said soberly.

Ron nodded and said quietly, "Yes general...I was wondering why it was taking so long for them to come and get me once I made contact."

"They had no diesel fuel; if we push off on this major ground campaign without adequate supply lines...We could have the exact same scenario happen all over again..." The General said quietly.

Ron nodded, "Yes, I see that now."

There was a soft rapping sound coming from the front of the tent, General Tova looked towards the sound and smiled, "That must be your body guard, you go have that knee checked out, I can see it swelling under your pants…I would hate to lose a fine killer such as yourself this close to a major operation."

Ron stood up, still wobbly and saluted, "Yes officer"

Sam entered the tent complete with an M16 slung over his shoulder, "I will help you to the humvee."

He put his arm around Sam and hobbled out the door, once inside the humvee he let his mind wonder over the new revelations, _"They couldn't come and get me because they had no fuel…They sent us into Gaza City with no real plan of what to do when we got there."_

"Lt. Stoppable there are pretty nurses at the aid station." Sam told him happily.

Ron nodded still lost in his thoughts, _"If it wouldn't have been for Private Kurtz and those school kids…All of my wounds would have been for nothing…nothing…"_

He was beginning to feel sick to his stomach as the humvee bounced its way towards the rear area. Sam turned to him and frowned, "You do not look so good."

He shook his head sadly, "I do not feel so good either."

They pulled up in front of a tent with a red cross on it, a familiar looking blonde medic with a French accent popped her head inside the humvee, "I see we have our first casualty."

Ron perked up and smiled, "Babbette?"

"Oui, we have been called up for this action, I was just getting settled back into Camp 80 when the call came." She said with a slight pout.

"This war is starting to look better to me all the time." Ron said as he began to try and flirt with her.

Babbette pointed to Sam, "Help bring him in."

Sam took Ron's weight on him once again as they entered the tent, Ron was not ready to give up just yet, "If I knew you were going to be here, I would have found a way to shower and shave."

"Your name is Ronnie, I remember you from the party in Tel Aviv and from Gaza City…I am sorry you were wounded so badly." She said sadly as she reached over to the side of Ron's head and began to play with his left ear.

Ron chuckled, "Yes…Well…hee, hee, hee…yea.'

She smiled at him and gave him a wink, "You have such magnificent ears, I could just chew them off."

The red blush began to overcome Ron as he was helped onto the examination table, "You are excused now Corporal Cello."

Sam eyed the blonde suspiciously, "You want me to stay in case she's a spy?"

Ron waived him out of the tent, "No, I will check her out myself…Top to bottom."

Babbette smiled at him obviously enjoying the attention, "Perhaps if there is time later, I could give you a sponge bath?"

Before Ron could continue flirting the Battalion doctor walked in, "I am Doctor Mehlman what seems to be the trouble today."

Ron quickly straighten up, "I was injured in a fight today, and my knee is very swollen."

The doctor was looking at a clip board and barely noticed Ron, "Get your pants off, so we can have a look."

He smiled at Babbette, "I believe I will need some help."

Babbette untied his boots and pulled them off while Ron took unbuckled his gun belt and slipped off his side arm. He then slid off the table and undid his pants; Babbette grabbed the waist band and sank to her knees as she pulled the pants off.

It was all Ron could do to keep from moaning, Babbette smiled suggestively at him from the floor before slapping his erection and standing back up. Ron's face was a bright crimson as he sat back down on the table.

The doctor took a look at his knee and then at his legs and then he turned and looked Ron in the eyes for the first time, "You should not be here."

Ron nodded, "Yes I know, I was called up and had to report."

The doctor nodded, "You have a lot of fluid build up on that knee, we are going to have the drain the fluid and then I will have to give you a cortisone shot for your pain…I will return shortly."

Babbette licked her lips as the doctor left, "He will be at least a half an hour we only just arrived and we are still not yet organized."

Ron smiled, "So what do we do now?"

Babbette smiled and returned to rubbing Ron's ears, "Now we have that sponge bath."

**V**

Kim sat on Monique's bed holding her knee after collapsing to the floor during a taped aerobics workout that they were watching in Monique's bedroom, "I don't know Monique it just felt like I had been kicked by a horse or something."

Monique frowned at her friend, "Girl you had me scared to death the way you went down on the ground like that."

"I was a little worried too…I've never really been hurt before." Kim said with a note of concern in her voice.

"So do you think it was the aerobics or did something happen to Ron?"

Kim shook her head, "Not sure but I think I had better ease up on the workouts for a bit."

Monique smiled, "Look at me down a pants size."

"Tirza is not going to be able to take his hands off of you." Kim told her with a wink.

"I can't wait for this war to be over…I hope he's able to come home with Ron." Monique said as her mind settled on her boyfriend on the other side of the world.

Kim jumped, "Something cold just went across my stomach."

Monique shook her head, "What?"

Ron jumped involuntarily as Babbette brought the sponge with the cold water onto his stomach and began to slowly bathe him, "I can see the attraction of a good sponge bath." Ron said happily as he lay on his back.

Babbette moved the sponge lower, "I will concentrate on your dirty parts now…no?"

"YES" Ron said eagerly as he waited for the sensation of the cold sponge on his crotch.

Babbette pulled Ron's underwear down and began to message his penis with the sponge.

Kim's eyes narrowed, "Ohhhhhhhh, that feels soooooooo good." She quickly covered her mouth, "Ron's getting laid, Bonnie lied to me."

Monique chuckled, "That wouldn't be the first time."

Kim motioned for Monique to hand her purse to her, "I'm calling Ron right now and tell him to quit having sex with Bonnie."

Monique made a face, "That's kind of weird Kim."

"I don't care."

She took out the Kimmunicator and linked up to Ron's duplicate device that was on the other side of the world and much to her surprise Bonnie answered the device, "Hey Kim"

"B…Bonnie…Are you sure Ron's not there?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "OK Kim, time to take a little tour of my apartment."

She walked over to the bathroom she turned the ronnunicator so that Kim could see the bathroom, "This is my bathroom, Ron are you hiding in there? No he's not because he's in Lebanon now."

Then Bonnie turned the device towards the kitchen, "Ron are you in there cooking me a delicious meal? No because Ron's not here, he's in Lebanon."

She quickly covered her mouth as if in shock, "Maybe Ron's sharing my bed and waiting for me to get off this thing so he can ravage me again."

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head as Bonnie walked into the bedroom and moved the device around, "Nope, no Ron here, so that must mean…"

"He's in Lebanon." Kim finished quietly.

Bonnie nodded her head, "Kim, I'm worried about him just as much as you, believe me I'd rather have him here calling me names for making him do his exercises but he's just not here."

Kim giggled, "He calls you names."

Bonnie frowned, "Yes, when the pain becomes too much or he gets frustrated that his body won't work for him…He'll call me…some choice names."

She rubbed the back of her neck and took in what Bonnie had just told her, _"I'd like to call you some choice names too."_

"I…I'm sorry Bonnie."

There was a loud droning noise in the background and Kim could see Bonnie's expression change, "Missile attack Kim…I have to go…Ron's in Lebanon…OK."

Kim nodded, "Go to the shelter Bonnie…Thanks."

Monique shook her head, "You know what he's doing then?"

She shook her head, "No idea"

"Look Kim, as long as there have been wars…Soldiers sometimes do some pretty bad things…If he's in Lebanon…He might be raping someone." Monique said as she played with her hair.

"MONIQUE…Ron would never do anything like that." Kim said in utter shock of what her friend had just suggested to her.

Kim's eyes narrowed and she began to pant, "That feels so good, can't stop now." She quickly covered her mouth, "NO…Ron's not raping anyone…It's consensual."

Monique made a face, "I don't think there are a lot of girl soldiers heading into Southern Lebanon, he's either with a prostitute or he's raping someone."

Ron lay back on the examination table panting heavily, "What did you hop off for?"

Babbette was rushing around cleaning up as fast as she could and trying to pull her pants up, "Because I am not protected and I can not deal with a baby in my life right now."

"Yes…you are right, sorry…" He said soberly as he thought about Yori and Marikio living their lives in Japan.

She kissed him as she helped him pull up his boxer shorts, "Your ears are so adorable."

Ron smiled, _"Weird…Ear fetish."_

"Babbette can I ask you a question?"

She nodded, "But of course Ronnie."

"My legs…How awful are they?" Ron asked nervously.

She took his hand and kissed him on the nose, "I have seen much worse."

Ron nodded, _"Of course she has, she's probably seen some horrific things as a medic."_

Doctor Mehlman walked back into the tent, "Found what I needed."

The doctor began to drain the fluid on Ron's knee and he squirmed and cried out from the pain. Babbette took his head in her hands, "You must remain still."

Kim screamed and began holding her knee again, "I don't think he's raping anyone." She whimpered as the waves of pain continued to course through her body.

Once the fluid was drained the hypodermic syringe was jammed into Ron's knee, he screamed from the pain and in his mind he could feel the liquid in the shot coming out of the end of the needle.

Kim became pale as the color drained from her face as she screamed again and grabbed her knee. Monique stared in horror as Kim writhed in pain on her bed. There was a knock on her door, her dad demanding to know what was going on.

Monique swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say but couldn't. She knew she had to say something so she fell back onto what she always said as a small child when such difficult questions would be asked, "NOTHING"

Ron lay on the table panting, _"I'll kill Du for this."_

The Doctor finished his work and wrapped Ron's knee, "I'm going to give you a knee brace to add support for the knee…Once you are sent back home you will need to seek further treatment.'

Ron swallowed hard and nodded, "He….help me to sit up."

Babbette took an arm and helped him to sit up slowly. Once he was upright he looked at the metal brace and cringed, "How long will the shot work?"

The Doctor shrugged, "It depends on how much abuse it receives…You are finished for today, you should be able to get around on it by tomorrow."

He nodded as a wave of nausea swept over him, "I do not feel so good."

Babbette quickly picked up a trash can and Ron began to throw up in it. He closed his eyes after he was finished and thought about nothing but going home.

Kim finally was able to look at Monique, "I think my wires are crossed, he's either having sex or surgery."

Monique shook he head, "I don't think he could do both at the same time."

She nodded and looked at her friend, "I think I'm going to head home, I feel awful."

"I'll help you downstairs." Monique told her.

Kim put her arm around Monique and began to hobble towards the door, "I can't wait for Ron to come home."

**A/N:This is a chapter that will setup many more stories down the road so I took this oportunity to introduce new elements to the story. Thanks for reading and reviewing. **


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Sometimes I get started and I just can't stop writing...No Kim, Bonnie, Monique this chapter, they will return in the next chapter. It's 4 AM and I have damn near 13,000 words...I give up...Thanks for reading and reviewiong.

* * *

It was night when he awoke; there was a lot of noise coming from outside the tent. He shook his head to clear out the cobwebs and began to look around, he thought of Sam, he called for him but there was no answer right away.

Ron tried to flex the injured leg, it bent without much pain. He looked down at his leg and tried to remember just what had happened, _"Oh yea, knee brace." _There was still a stabbing sensation where the fluid was drained off and where he received his cortisone shot but that was tolerable.

He flexed the knee again, _"Still hurts but not as bad as it did before Du kicked it."_

Sam peeked inside the tent, "The General wants to see you right away."

Ron nodded as he crawled out of the tent and tested his knee, "Sam, what is going on?"

"Rumor is we're going to be attacked." Sam said with a grin.

"WHAT?" Ron said now that Sam had captured his full attention.

Sam shrugged and nodded, "That is what I heard being whispered by two officers."

Ron turned in a circle, "Strike the tent, get the humvee loaded, and then take me to the General."

They took the tent down and loaded the humvee and began the slow drive to General Tova's headquarters as troops and artillery were coming and going and clogging up the road to where nothing was moving quickly.

* * *

They finally reached the tent, Ron ordered Sam to stay with the humvee as he entered the already crowded tent. He quickly saluted Major Motark, "I was told to report to the General."

The Major nodded, "He may be a while, but you might want to sit in on the briefing that is about to begin."

The General approached a large table that held a large map of Southern Lebanon. Ron because of his relatively low rank was on the outskirts of the briefing in the far left hand corner of the tent.

General Tova surveyed the officers, "At 14:30 I had a short and I repeat short conversation with a Colonel Mohammed Ali Al Mailah with the Southern Lebanese Army. He informs me that if we do not withdraw by 06:00 tomorrow morning then he and his allies will be forced to throw us out."

There was some chuckling by the officers that stood around the table. General Tova allowed himself a small smile, "So if we are to be attacked at 06:00 then we shall attack them at 03:00 and destroy their army piece by piece."

Ron could feel the battle fever building up, _"Good, destroy them, get the war over with and go home."_

General Tova introduced a Captain from a Golani recon team that had just returned from a mission ten kilometers from their lines, "This is Captain Mayer Ben Frankel, he is with the Golani recon team that has only recently returned. He will now inform us of what waits for us over the next set of hills."

The General stood back and the Captain stepped forward, "Right now there are two primary armies on the field, the Lebanese army and the Venezuelan army are massed just north or our position, we have estimated their strength to be between 8 to 10 thousand...So far we have seen little movement from Hezbollah, we believe they are reinforcing their network of tunnels in Bint Jubail and Habboush. We did encounter a small number of their fighters just outside of Habboush that were dressed in IDF uniforms...Since we knew that we were the only units operating in theater, we made quick work of them before withdrawing."

Major Motark raised a hand, "Captain Frankel, we have been hearing rotor blades to the north will they have air support?"

"We spotted 4 Russian MI-24 combat helicopters and relayed that information as well as the information on the eight MX-30V main battle tanks that were seen by our team." The noise level in the tent increased as the soldiers learned about the armor.

The General cut in on the Captain's briefing, "The Venezuelan's also have a small navel presence of 4 frigates in region and they have 15 Mirage III fighter jets in a hanger at a Lebanese military airport just south of Beirut...You can tell how confident their government in the lack of success of this mission, they have 30 brand new Russian SU 30 fighters and they send their obsolete planes here to show their support."

The General turned over the briefing to Captain Frankel once again, "As I was saying before and I will touch on this again, Hezbollah will try to trick you by wearing IDF uniforms so it is important for every man to be aware of where they are on the battlefield in relation to everyone else..."

Another officer raised a hand, "How vast are the tunnels and when do you expect us to begin to run into them?"

"That is a good question. Once you have moved into the interior of the country about 10 to 15 kilometers you will begin to run into sleepy little villages...They are not so sleepy, many of the houses have tunnel entrances to help move troops back and forth into the surrounding hillsides, the hillsides have a vast network of concrete reinforced tunnels complete with the ability to communicate with their forces and to direct artillery fire." Captain Frankel looked around, "Is there any further questions?"

General Tova took over the briefing and brought out satellite maps and began to break down the invasion for each unit, objectives, and expected resistance. Ron tuned the briefing out as he was not in command or had anything to do with the combat units.

He let his mind drift to Yori and the baby. He imagined taking Mariko to Swope Park and the Upperton Zoo, he was walking her around the zoo in a stroller and looking at the animals and at the large red balloon that had an image of an elephant printed on to it that he would buy for her.

General Tova could clearly see that his young Golani lieutenant had lost his focus, and decided it was time to bring him back to the room, "Lt. Stoppable"

"Yes General" Ron said becoming immediately aware that all eyes had now turned to him.

"Your platoon will be attached to Lt. Aiton's demolition platoon, which would be 'A' Company, 2nd platoon; you will be escorted by a column of armor from the 36th division for an end run from where your platoon is now." General Tova said pointing at a map and drawing an arched curve around the village of Habboush, "Once we get the enemy on the run he will most certainly try to draw us into a trap, you will go around the village of Habboush to cut the road leading to Tyre." General Tova pointed to a single road on the map.

"General, but what platoon am I with and where are they located?" Ron said in bewilderment.

The tent burst into laughter which made Ron feel like an idiot but he had not planned on going into combat when he was recalled. General Tova continued to fill him in, "Lt. Elon had to return to Israel on bereavement leave so you are now the field commander of Company C, 3rd Platoon, 51st battalion."

Ron looked at the General still not quite believing what he was hearing, "Where am I to find this platoon?"

The General pointed to the far left of the map, "You are our left flank, at the very end of the line...You will report to Captain Wiesel for further information after the briefing."

Ron nodded his understanding and now paid very close attention for the rest of the briefing, _"Wait a minute, Company C, 3rd Platoon, 51st battalion...Lt. Elon...Captain Wiesel...That's my old platoon."_

Once the briefing was over Captain Wiesel and General Tova and Major Motark were the only one's left in the tent other than Ron. General Tova pointed to an area on the map, "See how the road splits here just before Bint Jubail one road goes towards the village, the fork takes you to Habboush."

Captain Wiesel nodded, "Lt. Stoppable we believe that once that force on the other side of those hills began to get decimated that they will run for the port city of Tyre to negotiate for their end of the engagement."

Major Motark nodded, "They will make an effort to suck us into Habboush where a very nasty ambush is planed from the forces we've been able to detect..."

General Tova now cut in, "What we need your platoon and the others to do is to bypass the town, and get into the hills and get between the Lebanese army, and the Venezuelan army and block their access to the road...While you are doing that, we will have forces following you to prevent them from escaping from the village from the way they came."

Ron looked at the map, "Do we know of any tunnels in the area?"

General Tova frowned and shook his head, "They have tunnels and tank traps all over the region, so you will probably spend most of your time in the hills fighting the Hezbollah guerrillas while surrounded."

Captain Wiesel smiled, "That is why the demolition team is going to be with you, to blow up the captured tunnels."

Ron took a deep breath, _"I hope Hirotaka's map is accurate on those tunnel locations."_

"Lt. Stoppable, report to your platoon and get them ready." Captain Wiesel ordered.

"Yes officer." Ron said as he saluted and turned to leave.

General Tova watched Ron leave and looked at the other two officers, "Now we will find out just what kind of an officer he will make."

* * *

Ron was able to move around much better since the shot to the knee, he was still limping but not nearly as badly, he walked up the humvee and saw Sam standing about 20ft. away and called to him, "SAM, SAM, WE HAVE TO GO."

Sam ran to the driver's side door and jumped into the front seat, "Where are we going."

Ron pointed down the hill they were on, "That way as far as we can go."

They drove to a point where Ron was told to go to the furthest point west. He got out of the humvee and walked up to a soldier, "I am looking for Company 'C', 3rd platoon."

The soldier saluted, "Down the road."

Ron returned the salute and they drove further until Ron spotted Sergei and waived. Sergei smiled at him, "Ronnie"

"Lt. Ronnie...I am here to replace Lt. Elon." Ron said soberly.

Sergei nodded, "He had to return to Israel, his parent's home was struck by a missile...Now he has to bury them."

Ron nodded his head in understanding why he had to leave, "Well come with me Corporal Bunimovich you have just been appointed to my staff…Have the sergeants report to me."

Sergei saluted and then disappeared into the gloom of the night, Ron took out a packet of maps and tried to understand the position his platoon was occupying, _'Tree line on the far left…I bet Yori didn't tell me because of the Guardians."_

"Lt. Stoppable"

Ron looked up from the map and faced another Lieutenant, "Yes"

"I am Lt. Aiton…I am with the demolition unit that will be traveling with you." The man explained.

Ron smiled and shook the officer's hand, "Glad to see you...I am trying to figure our position, I have only just arrived."

Lt. Aiton pointed towards the humvee, "I will help you with what I know."

They walked over to the vehicle and Sam came over to have a look at the map and Ron handed him a flash light to illuminate the map, he then pointed to small wooded area on the map, "How thick is that tree line?"

"The tree line is not thick at all, bit at night it could hide a large group of men easily. Other than that it is mostly undergrowth, rocks, lots of rocks around here." Aiton said as he pointed at the map.

Ron squinted trying to determine the slope of the hill from the circles on the map that marked the tree line, "It slopes up a hill?"

"Yes and on the other side is our enemy."

"Really…That close?" Ron said as he looked up from the map.

Sergeant Shubaki walked up to the group, "Gaza City Madman went from saving Palestinians to killing them did we."

Ron looked at the sergeant, "Lt. Stoppable to you." He said evenly.

It was clear that Shubaki still thought Ron was an idiot; the only way to prove him wrong would be in the upcoming fight. Shubaki saluted and in a condescending voice said, "Forgive me officer."

"Sergeant, has there been any patrols into the wooded area to the left?" Ron asked pointing at the map.

"No officer we have only just arrived."

Ron frowned and rubbed his chin, "Take a 12 man patrol and see if you can find out if there is anyone in the tree line and try to get a look over that hill….I want to know what is out there."

Lt. Aiton looked at him, "You think they have a patrol in those trees?"

"If I were them I would want a look to see how we are aligned….I know I am sure interested in what is on the other side of that hill." Ron said as he tired to peer into the darkness.

Shubaki looked at the lieutenants, "What if we run into company?"

Ron blinked at the question, _"Well that's the real question isn't it? If I have them ignore the enemy patrol and hope they don't open up on them….They'll have a good idea on how we are massed, then they could drop artillery shells right into our lap…If I order him to engage them I start a war."_ He thought the dilemma over carefully and gave the sergeant his answer.

"Kill them" Ron said with a voice devoid of emotion.

Sgt. Shubaki smiled; "Yes officer" then he turned and left to pick his men for the patrol.

Another sergeant approached and saluted, "Sgt. Pelzner reporting as ordered."

He blinked at the man, "I remember you as Corporal Pelzner before I left for Camp 80."

The sergeant smiled, "Yes Officer, I was promoted in early March."

Ron smiled, "Mazal Tov, now on the map show me how our position is lined out."

Sergeant Pelzner looked at the map and pointed to a hill that was behind the line, "Our Achzarits are behind this hill, we are spread out in a thin line from this rocky hill here." He turned and pointed to Ron's right and then turned and pointed to the left, "all the way down to the tree line on the left."

He nodded as he looked down the line, "Are the men entrenched?"

"No officer as of yet we have received no orders."

Ron nodded and rubbed his chin, "Now you have them, order the men to dig holes ten meters apart from each other from that hill down to the tree line…Where are the mortar crews setup?"

"Not set up as of yet."

He looked towards the tree line, "Have them dig in along the line and have them target the tree line…If we start getting shot at I want them dropping shells in the trees."

Sgt. Pelzner nodded and then moved off to carry out Ron's orders.

Lt. Aiton looked at Ron's map, "You ever command troops in the field?"

Ron looked around to make sure on one was listening and then he lowered his voice, "No...I am just guessing at what needs to be done."

"Mind if I make a suggestion?"

He nodded his head appreciatively, "Please"

"Move your mortar crews from the line to the hillside over there." He motioned to Ron's right, "That way they can effectively cover your tree line and the valley."

Ron nodded his head and smiled as he examined the hill in relation to his map, "So that way it won't matter if they are firing long or short, they are still going to be hitting something...That is a good idea."

Lt. Aiton smiled, "Demolitions...Explosives expert."

He smiled and called for his driver, "SAM, SAM, I need you to run a message."

The boy came running up, "Who do I need to find?"

The map was still laid out and Ron pointed to it, "I need you to find Sgt. Pelzner and have him direct the mortar crews to dig in on that hill right there, just to our right...Tell him to order them to open up on that tree line if we are attacked...Understand?"

Ron made sure that Sam understood and had him repeat the message back to him. Once he was sure that Sam had memorized it correctly he sent the boy along with the message, and then he turned his attention back to Lt. Aiton, "Where are your men positioned."

Lt. Aiton pointed off in the distance, "They are still moving forward, we should have everything in place once the attack is launched."

Sergei returned with Tirza and he was happy to see Ron, "Lieutenant any news on Monique?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "No, no news, how are you fixed for supplies and where are the other medics?"

Tirza lost his smile, "They were picked up by other platoons, I am the only one and I need more saline packs, tourniquets and morphine sticks."

"Where is the radio operator?" Ron asked urgently as he looked around for the man.

Sergei pointed to a man further down the line, and then Sgt. Pelzner reappeared with Sam in tow, "The mortar crews are setting up on the hill as ordered."

Things were picking up speed now; soldiers were rushing about completing tasks and informing Ron as to what they had done. When he reached the radio operator, he forgot what he was going to ask the HQ for.

He stared at the radio operator and then Tirza reminded him, "Medics"

This jogged Ron's memory, "You there….Private…?"

The private quickly saluted, "Private Herzl"

"Pvt. Herzl, I need you to radio HQ and tell them that Lt. Stoppable needs 2 more medics, more saline packs, tourniquets and morphine sticks." He said carefully as he looked at a nodding Tirza.

The radio man turned from him and began the call, Lt. Aiton touched Ron's shoulder to get his attention, "I was not at the council of war, what is the plan?"

Ron looked startled for a moment and then caught himself, "Yes…Plan…We have one…of those…plan…things." He looked at Sergei, "Have the remaining Sergeants and Corporals gathered around that humvee at 01:30 and I will brief them."

"Sam, stay with the radio operator and find out what tank company is supposed to support us when we move out." Ron ordered the young soldier before a noise caught his attention.

Everyone in the platoon's attention was focused on the tree line where rifle fire and small explosions could be heard. The small arms fire grew more intense and then faded, Lt. Aiton leaned over to Ron and whispered, "Looks like you were right about that patrol."

"I just hope we got them and not the other way around." Ron said quietly.

"I understand you wish to talk to me."

Ron jumped at the sudden intrusion to his thoughts, "I am…yes…" He stammered and saluted quickly as he realized he was speaking to a captain.

"I am Captain Livni."

"Your are with the armor?" Ron asked.

The man nodded, "We have just arrived and are in formation just to the rear of your Achzarits in the rear."

"Have you been briefed?" Ron asked.

The man shook his head, "Not really, just general stuff, follow you guys."

Ron laughed nervously, "Yea…Actually it's follow you guys." He said pointing at the Captain for effect.

"I out rank you, it is follow the Achzarits, you support us."

"Officer, Achzarits are not much more armored then the tanks and you guys have the big guns…We really need you to support us." Ron said tactfully.

The captain turned to leave, "I will confer with my superiors on this but I am almost sure that you and your Achzarits are to take the point."

"We have a briefing at 01:30 if you would care to sit in." Ron called after him.

"I have the sinking feeling we are not going to have any armor support." Tirza said once the captain was out of earshot.

Ron let out a deep breath and said sadly, "If they do not support us I have the feeling you will become one busy medic."

Sergei ran up to him, "I have told everyone that needs to know and General Tova wants a word with you on the radio."

"Great, he probably wants to know about the gunfire from over this way." Ron said nervously.

Ron jogged back towards Pvt. Herzl and took the handset from him, _"Hey ran a little, not much pain…That shot really helped."_

"Lt. Stoppable here."

The sound of General Tova's voice crackled over the headset, "What is that firing coming from your direction."

Ron swallowed nervously, "I sent a patrol into the tree line to our immediate left…I gave them orders to get a look at things on the other side of the hill and if they meet any resistance to deal with it."

"What is the report from the patrol?"

"Ummmm" Ron looked around nervously and then spotted men coming out of the tree line, "I am waiting for a report now as they have just returned."

"Inform us as soon as the patrol reports….I am sending Capt. Wiesel to you with fresh satellite photos and other information that you will need."

Ron smiled happily as he believed he ducked a very sticky situation, and now he needed to put his foot into another sticky situation, "General, I have met Capt. Livni…He is under the impression that we are supporting him and not the other way around."

"I will deal with Livni and bring him up to speed myself."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you General…I will call once I have the report."

* * *

**  
**

Colonel Badeul looked at the hillside; it had been a few hours since he sent out a patrol to see how the opposition was laid out on the hills beyond his vision. They had not returned and he knew that this was trouble. He thought he could here the sounds of battle coming from over the hillside but he couldn't be sure.

"_Col. Al Mailah is an idiot, if I had my he would have been shot for warning the Israelis, now they are getting ready to hit us." _Col. Badeul thought angrily

He looked up on the hillside and saw movement going back over to the other side, _"I don't think my patrol is coming back."_

He called for an aide, "Inform the Lebanese we start shelling at 03:00."

The aide turned and ran to inform their allies about the change in plans, _"We won't be able to drive them back but if we can ruin enough companies…When they pursue we might be able to draw them into a quagmire in Habboush….Grind them to a halt and then we escape back to Tyre and a trip home."_

The Lebanese Army had been very visible up until a few hours ago. He began to believe that they were beginning to quietly withdraw without letting him know, _"We had close to 4,000 troops here and I will bet that there is just a little over 2,000 now…Lebanese are starting to desert."_

He watched his armor moving towards the front of the line, _"This is not a good plan…We should have left with the other UNIFIL forces."_

* * *

Sgt. Shubaki approached and saluted Ron, "We ran into a patrol, 12 men…never knew what hit them."

"Any wounded?" Tirza asked.

Shubaki shook his head, "Maybe a few that need a band aid, nothing more."

Ron was equally as excited as Shubaki was, realizing that odds were good he wasn't going to get into trouble, "Any prisoners?"

"Prisoners only slow things down…Might be some wounded back in the trees…If there are they are dead by now." Shubaki said happily.

They walked to the humvee and met up with Capt. Wiesel, Lt. Aiton, Sgt. Pelzner, Sgt. Benjamin, and Capt. Livni. Capt. Wiesel having just returned from HQ took charge of the briefing as he began to lay out satellite photographs of the area.

"As you can see from these pictures there are a lot of men and equipment over that hill, when the fighting starts…Notice I say 'When' and not 'If' the fighting starts because were going to be in a fight do not doubt this." He paused for everyone to look at the photographs.

Ron held up the photo to Shubaki, "Rocket launchers?"

Shubaki nodded, "We saw 10 of those units with crews and between 8 and 10 tanks, 4 helicopters, lots of men."

Capt. Wiesel nodded, "We see that in the photo, they have a lot of artillery positioned well behind us, ours is primarily still on the other side of the border…well within range….When the artillery barrage opens up make sure to have the men in their holes, because you will most certainly be receiving fire….Where are the mortar teams?"

Ron pointed to the right, "I placed them on that hillside." He said pointing behind the Captain.

Capt. Wiesel looked over the map, "Good position…When the artillery opens up, there should be elements from the IAF coming into the area almost immediately to hit their artillery and their tanks and any other target of opportunity…Once we have received word that they are pulling out…"

He stopped to find the position on the map, "Captain Livni will lead his tank column down into the valley with Lt. Stoppable and Lt. Aiton's platoons in support….The enemy will retreat towards the village of Habboush which is a known Hezbollah stronghold in an attempt to draw you in."

Capt. Wiesel made a sweeping motion to right of the village, "You will swing west and avoid the village and take positions behind the ring of hills and cut the road to Tyre on the other side of the Habboush."

Shubaki raised a hand, "What strength does Hezbollah have in the hills?"

"They have a series of tunnel networks, they control the hills…It is our belief that by swinging around the hills… Hezbollah will be so focused on Habboush that they will not suspect the flanking maneuver."

Ron was looking over the map, "So in order to take control of the road we need to take control of one of the hillsides?"

Captain Wiesel nodded and pointed to one particular hill on the map, "We believe that hill 310 is the key…As you can see the hills ring the village, 307, 308, 309 and so on…310 sits in the middle and if you seize that hill you can effectively cut communications to the other hills and maybe to the village."

Lt. Aiton spoke up next, "Any idea on troop strength in each hill?"

Capt. Wiesel held up his hands, "We are not sure but we believe it will be minimal as the majority of the forces will be in Habboush to stage their ambush."

"So once we breach the hillside, my unit will be blowing up connecting tunnels between 309 and 311 and any that lead to the village." Lt. Aiton said as he rubbed his chin.

Ron scratched at the growth of beard he had continued to examine the map; "Once the hill has fallen we will be reinforced?"

Capt. Wiesel smiled, "Gaza City Madman should not need any reinforcements."

The group began laughing, and Ron shook his head, "Gaza City Madman does not want to return to the hospital."

"There will be an army coming up behind you, all you need to worry about is seizing that road to prevent an escape."

The group was dismissed and Ron called for Sergei, "Find more staff, you have ran my legs off tonight."

Ron laughed, "You will look very thin and handsome for Bina…If we live through this…I need to see all the Achzarit drivers."

Sergei cringed, and Ron laughed at his discomfort; "Quickly now."

He turned and jogged off muttering, Ron laughed and shook his head, _"I'm going to pay for this when it's all over."_

"SAM, SAM, where are you?"

Sam walked up rubbing his eyes, "What?"

Ron leaned down, "Salute the officer."

"Oh Yes" Sam said as he quickly saluted.

"Where is your helmet and where is your rifle?"

Sam thought about it, "In the humvee."

Ron nodded, "Go and get them and retrieve my helmet and rifle while you are at it."

Sam left for the gear, the Achzarit drivers reported for their orders, Sergei hid in a hole so Ron would leave him alone. Ron found his hiding spot but left him alone. Time was flying and in a few minutes all hell would break loose and he wanted to know exactly where Sergei was.

He next looked for Tirza and found him in a hole getting his supplies ready, "Tirza…did we ever get any more medics?"

Tirza shook his head, "No, I am all you have." He informed Ron in a slightly annoyed voice.

Ron nodded, "Get your supplies we requested?"

"Some"

"You keep your head down and stay focused…I do not want to have to give Monique bad news." Ron told him seriously.

Tirza stopped what he was doing, nodded his head and went back to work. He was nervous, Ron could see that so he turned and walked away to let him think his thoughts, _"I wish I was headed home."_

Sam came running up and handed Ron his rifle and helmet. Ron had just placed his helmet on when he heard a loud screech and then an explosion well away from his position, "Find a hole Sam, we're under attack."

The shells began falling and then Ron heard from a distance a low booming sound, "That's ours."

He walked up and down the line telling everyone to stay in their holes, and then it occurred to him that he didn't have a hole, so he decided the best thing would be to keep moving.

The noise of the artillery barrage was deafening, Ron closed his eyes and knelt on the ground, and he heard a high pitched barooom from behind him and knew that was a Markava tank firing its gun.

He saw 4 jets fly over his position so fast that he couldn't hear them until after they had passed over and then the sky sounded as if it would tear apart from the sonic booms. Then off in the distance he could hear rotor blades, "Helicopters"

From around the side of the hill 4 Russian made MI24 attack helicopters came into view and began to open up with their 20mm cannons on the Israeli position. The strafing run was far enough away for Ron to stand and watch.

The helicopters began firing missiles and then Ron saw something that he would carry with him for the rest of his life. An Israeli solider stood with a shoulder fired anti aircraft missile and fired it at one of the helicopters.

The missile from launcher slammed into the cockpit vaporizing the pilot and co-pilots immediately and the helicopter banked and continued to fly along the line with other Israeli's soldiers rising and firing at it.

When it reached his position he jumped up and began firing at it as well before it banked and crashed into the tree line where it exploded. The cheers of the men loud and Ron let out a mighty 'Booyah' along with them.

The other three helicopters turned to flew before loosing another craft to the shoulder fired missile, _"Seeing that one go down must have scared the others."_ He thought as the other helicopters fled the battle.

Then from off in the distance Ron saw the real reason 4 apache longbow helicopters flown by the IAF thundered over head as they gave chase to the Russian built helicopters, _"There we go, things are moving right along."_

Ron looked at the hillside now illuminated by the burning helicopter and saw movement, "Where are my motars, Corporal Bunimovich report."

Sergei peeked out of his hole and then jumped out, he could tell by the tone of Ron's voice that he wasn't kidding around. Ron looked at him and pointed to the tree line and the enemy troops moving down the hill, "I ordered the mortar crews to fire on that hill and I see no shells falling over there go find out why."

Sergei saluted and ran to find the mortar positions on the hill, "Aagghhhh…More running."

Ron looked around and realized he had forgotten his field glasses back in the humvee, _"Damn should have had Sam bring me my pack."_

He continued to watch the hillside until he saw the explosions on the hillside, "About time." He said to himself as he saw the enemy troops scatter and then begin to fall back towards the top of the hill.

The smells of battle were beginning to waft their way up to Ron's nose, the smell of churned earth from the artillery shells, the sweet smell of timber from trees that were hit by mortar fire, the smell of cordite from the shells. He marveled at all the different smells until Sergei made his way back to find him, "They were still busy celebrating the helicopter that got shot down."

Ron was getting ready to respond to him when a loud high pitched screaming noise caught his attention. It several loud screeches that sounded like death as an old woman gone mad and screaming at the top of her lungs. He looked at Sergei and yelled, "DOWN"

They both fell on the ground as the shells began hitting close to where they were. Ron hugged the ground; one shell fell so close he felt himself lift off the ground a full inch before setting him back down.

He closed his eyes tightly as explosion after explosion rocked his position. Ron squeezed his eyes tightly in prayer as it began to rain dirt and debris down on him, once it was over he carefully rose to his knees and shook the dirt off of him and began looking for fresh wounds but there were none, "Sergei, you alright?"

Sergei stood up and nodded, "Close, they were very close….Must have been one of those missile launchers that Sgt. Shubaki had seen."

Ron nodded and stood up as well, "Yes…probably…hope they are out of ammo for those things…Head up the line looking for wounded; I'll head down this way…" He motioned towards the hill and Sergei walked away still brushing himself off.

He walked the line and saw men uncovering themselves, then he thought of his driver, "SAM…SAM…"

The boy peeked out of the hole, "Is it over?"

"No stay in that hole." Ron said as he walked down the line.

Sgt. Pelzner approached, "You are needed on the radio."

Ron followed the man back towards Pvt. Herzl, he crouched beside the man and took the handset, "Lt. Stoppable"

"Major Motark here, we just saw what happened in your line…what are your losses?"

Ron looked around and breathed easier as he saw men coming out of holes and shaking dirt off themselves, "None that I am aware of."

"That appears to have been their big finish from what the helicopter crews are telling us as they are flying out of the area. It appears they are starting to retreat….General Tova wants you to get on their butt and chase them."

Ron rubbed the back of his neck, "Understood"

He handed the handset back to Pvt. Herzl and stood up and looked at Sgt. Pelzner, "We are leaving everyone reports to the Achzarits we are giving chase."

Sgt. Pelzner saluted and quickly left to get his men moving Sergei returned and informed him that no one was hurt and Ron gave him the new orders and shook his head as he turned to go and spread the word, "More running"

Ron found Sam still in the hole, "We are moving out, time to go."

Sam looked up, "We are retreating?"

He shook his head and laughed, "No they will have to do much more than that before we run."

* * *

The war room deep beneath the CIA head quarters in Langley, Virginia was a buzz with activity, as the CIA monitored the out break of war between Israel and Hezboulla forces once again.

The large monitors inside the room were broadcasting real time satellite images from Israeli air bases and from the border of Southern Lebanon. The room was filled as 30 analysts poured over the data that was being accumulated on their work stations.

The Director of the CIA Wellington Sinclair was in the midst of a briefing from Rosalyn Cortez who had requested his presence in the war room as she believed that the war was beginning, "So what makes you think the Israeli's are launching air strikes?"

Rosalyn adjusted her glasses, "If you watch the screen sir you will see that we have real time satellite coverage of the Israeli airfields, they're jets are using the entire runway to take off. This usually indicates the planes are flying heavy with fuel and bombs."

Wellington Sinclair watched an F16 headed down the runway and just before the end of the runway it pulled up and flew to the north, "We received word from their Prime Minister yesterday that they would be on the move soon."

Rosalyn took a note from another analyst, "Artillery fire in the north, fighting has broken out."

Director Sinclair's cell phone rang, "Yes….Yes sir Mr. President…I understand…Yes…We are watching events unfold as they happen now….I understand….I will be in your office in one hour…Yes Sir."

Director Sinclair nodded and turned to leave the large underground room, "After I brief the President, I'll contact our airbase in Germany and start shipping the munitions the Israeli's have requested, looks like they're going to be using lots of bombs."

That meant only one thing to Rosalyn Cortez, _"Round the clock deliveries from Ramstein Germany to Tel Aviv Israel of bunker buster bombs and cluster munitions on board C5 Star Lifters for the duration of the war…It's going to be a long night."_

* * *

The column of armor crawled along the dirt road leading to Habboush, it was clear that the armor of Captain Livni were in no hurry to pursue the enemy. Ron's patience was starting to wear thin, especially when he could see the hills coming into view in front of him.

He turned on a pin light and pulled Hirotaka's map out of his shirt and compared it to his map and looked up at the dark shapes of the hills in the distance, _"I can enter 310 by...a hatch built into...what? I Wish Hirotaka's map was topographical...I could at least have an idea on how far up on the hill to look for the entrance."_

The column came to a halt and a voice over the radio crackled, "I can see the village and the enemy has fallen back into it."

Ron's temper was rising, "This is insane." He barked as he grabbed the microphone.

"Hold where you are we are coming up along your right side to have a look."

He motioned for Sam to fall out of line and drive towards the front. He reached the lead tanks and climbed out of the humvee to have a look. He climbed up on top of one of the Markava tanks and looked at the village thru his field glasses.

He could see what was left of their artillery and APC's inside the village, _"That's where they're at alright just waiting for us to follow them."_

"What you were expecting to see?" Captain Livni asked.

Ron nodded, "I do not see any armor but I know I counted at least 4 tanks burning on the roadside on the way up here."

"I believe the helicopters hit them while they were retreating."

He scratched at the beard on his face, "We leave the road here and swing around those hills and try and bottle them up...I will take point on this, give me about a ten minute head start and then follow me."

Captain Livni lifted an eyebrow, "Are you sure about this?"

Ron shrugged, "The humvee is faster and if they have any tank traps we can find them and radio back their location...We will be scouts."

"You be sure to check in with us at regular intervals."

Ron nodded and motioned to Sam, "Go back to the humvee and radio the lead Achzarit...See if you can find Corporal Bunimovich and have him report here immediately with his rifle and pack."

Sam saluted quickly and ran back towards the humvee and called the lead Achzarit on the radio to find Sergei. Captain Livni motioned for Ron to follow him, "Do you see all those big rocks lying about?"

Ron nodded that he did and the Captain continued, "The ground off the road is strewn with rocks like these so do not be in too big of a hurry. It is very easy to damage your equipment in this kind of terrain."

"We will be very observant." Ron said as he looked at the size of the rocks.

Lt. Aiton joined the conversation, "We headed off the road now?"

"I am going to go ahead and try to find the tunnel entrance to 310, have your platoon fall in with the armor...Does that appear to be a good plan?" Ron asked quietly so as no one else could hear.

"All except the 'I am going ahead part' of the plan"

Ron pointed at the humvee, "We can move faster in that and hopefully not arouse much interest in that."

"Well it might work but you will have to hit them quickly if you manage to reach 310 because if you do not...The tables could be turned on you very quickly." Lt. Aiton advised.

Sergei showed up with his face painted black, Ron pointed to him, "Any more"

He handed Ron his small can of black and Ron put his on before handing the can to Sam so he could do the same, "Ready to do some recon work?" He said to Sergei.

Sergei shrugged, "Just do not recon us into becoming missing like you did in Gaza."

Ron smiled as they walked back to the humvee, "Awww but it would be your chance to become a big time hero."

Sergei just shook his head as they climbed inside the vehicle, "Sam drive off the road and go around those hills...drive slowly and keep your lights off, no illumination of any kind...Understand?"

Sam nodded that he did and then drove off the road. Ron looked back at an uncertain Sergei, "They will give us ten minutes and then follow us."

The humvee made its way across the rocks and bumps; one of the bumps Ron bounced up and hit his head on the roof of the vehicle, after that he fastened his seat belt. They were beginning to lose sight of the column and were traveling into the unknown.

"Sergei you have any night vision goggles?" Ron asked.

"No"

Ron winced, "I forgot to requisition them...Damn so much going on..."

The drove slowly past their first hill, Ron whispered to them, "That is hill 312...We need 310."

They went past another large dark hillside and Ron pointed towards what he believed on the map was hill 310, "Sam pull up along those rocks there, remember your radio...we are going the rest of the way on foot."

Once the humvee was stashed they began to slowly move towards the hill 310, Ron smiled at Sergei and he shook his head, "What?"

"Machine gunner to the front." Ron said quietly.

"Very funny Ronnie, very funny." He whispered as they began to climb the hill.

Ron slipped on one of the rocks and fell on his right knee; he did all he could to keep from screaming, _"MOMMY...DAMN THAT HURTS."_

He felt a hand on his arm, it was Sam, "You alright?"

Ron grunted and nodded his head. Sergei came back to where he was sitting and whispered, "What are we looking for?"

"Tunnel entrance"

Sergei knelt down and pointed up the hillside, "See that impression there?"

Ron looked to where he pointed, "Barely"

"It looks like a cave to me." Sergei whispered.

"It will be daylight in about an hour...We really need to have a look." Ron whispered as he tried to get to his feet.

They climbed closer to the impression and sure enough it was an entrance hidden behind a camouflage net, Ron turned back towards Sam, "Sam stay near the entrance and radio Capt. Livni and Lt. Aiton that we have found the tunnel entrance to hill 310 and are moving inside."

With that being said he motioned for Sergei to follow him as they entered the hill. It was dark and on the surface appeared to be deserted, the worked they're way along a passage way that was going up hill, till they reached a larger room that was constructed with reinforced concrete and illuminated by a single hanging light bulb.

Underneath a single 40 watt light bulb was a table and chairs and two men drinking coffee and conversing in Arabic. Ron motioned for Sergei to head back down into the darkness and handed him his rifle.

Sergei looked at Ron as if he were crazy as he saw him pull the boot knife out, Ron saw the look, "I know what I am doing...Stay here." He whispered.

Ron crept back up the tunnel and he could feel the lotus blade take full form in his hands, he smiled the weight of the sword made him feel more comfortable as he walked out of the shadows and towards the two men.

One of the men seated tilted his head at the man with the glowing blue eyes before his head was sliced from his body. His companion that was seated with his back to Ron spat a mouthful of coffee out as he tried to get to his feet before falling to the ground headless.

There was a voice from in front of Ron and he ran towards it to catch another man as he entered the room and sever his head. He then explored the rest of the tunnel only to find it empty.

The sword once again took the form of the Gerber Silver Trident boot knife and Ron put it away quickly as he walked back to where he left Sergei. He looked at the men on the floor, "No virgins for you."

Once Sam and Sergei rejoined him in the concrete room the questions began, and Ron held up a hand, "I do not know how they lost their heads, they just did...I find sometimes it is best not to know."

Sergei looked around at the bodies, "This would not involve you glowing blue and floating would it?"

Ron shot him a look and Sergei swallowed hard and raised his hands, "I am satisfied not knowing."

Sam looked at Ron, "You glow blue?"

Ron growled, "NO I DO NOT GLOW BLUE."

Sergei shushed him as he could hear voices coming from another part of the hillside bunker, "More bad guys."

Ron shoved Sam back into the tunnel and hid in a corner opposite of Sergei, two more men entered the room and looked around in disbelief at the dismembered bodies, he looked up to scream out a warning but was cut down by Sergei with his Negev.

His companion turned to flee but was also shot down by the big Lithuanian machine gunner; Ron looked at his friend, "I really miss that gun."

Sergei smiled and patted the smoking weapon, "I think we better find out where those two came from and secure the hillside."

Ron nodded and turned to see Sam glaring at him, "What did you push me back for?"

"If we were to become captured or killed you would be able to escape and lead Lt. Aiton here." Ron said confidently.

Sam wasn't buying it as he still glared at him. Ron pointed back down the tunnel, "Head back to the entrance and let them know that we have engaged Hezbollah forces and are continuing forward...Request support as quickly as possible."

Ron watched as Sam made his way back down the dark passage, Sergei tapped him on the shoulder, "There is a ladder further down the passage."

"Where does it go?"

"Up" Sergei said with a smile.

He shook his head, "You are a regular comedian."

Sergei showed Ron to the ladder and he looked up to see a trap door, he handed Sergei his rifle and climbed the ladder carefully and pushed on the trap door, he could see a few men looking out of a parapet towards the village.

He lowered the door and made his way back down the ladder and whispered to Sergei, "Do you have a flash bang?"

Sergei nodded and handed Ron one, then once again Ron made his way up the ladder till he reached the top. Ron pulled the pin on the grenade and opened the trap door just enough to roll it towards the two men and then he pulled the door shut

He heard the grenade go off and charged thru the trap door with his glock drawn, he saw one of the bearded men attempting to reach for a rifle and Ron shot him in the head and then he looked to his friend and he was knocked out cold from the explosion.

Sergei made it up the ladder and looked at the unconscious man, "He is not Hezbollah."

Ron rolled the man over, he was in a military uniform, "Sergei...I do believe we have captured ourselves a real live Iranian."

Sergei happily went to the task of disarming the man and securing their prisoner as Ron took a look around the room. There was an opening that looked out onto the village below, two fixed machine guns and what appeared to be an artillery piece.

Their attention was focused once again at the sound of someone coming up the ladder, Ron pointed his Glock at the opening only to see Sam's head pop up through the floor. He spotted Ron with the gun trained on him, "DO NOT SHOOT ME."

Ron holstered the weapon, "Sam did I tell you to stay at the entrance?"

Sam nodded, "Lt. Aiton is here along with the others."

He smiled, "Good, time to blow stuff up."

Sergei chuckled and lifted his prisoner onto his shoulders, "Look out below." He called as he dropped the man down the trap door. The prisoner fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Sam began laughing and Ron shook his head, Sergei shrugged his shoulders, "He slipped."

"Who's throwing bodies down on us?"

They all began laughing as they left the parapet and made their way back to the tunnel. Ron was relieved to see Lt. Aiton, "I think our unconscious friend is the last of them." He told him as he stepped off the ladder.

"Captain Livni has sealed the road and they are going to start shelling the village shortly." Lt. Aiton informed him.

Ron nodded, "Good, don't want them to rest too comfortably down there."

Lt. Aiton nodded and motioned for them to head further down the tunnel where they reached another ladder that went down this time instead of up, "I believe this is the tunnel that connects to hill 309...We are going to blow it up and seal it off."

Ron took a walk further down the tunnel and then came back, "Be sure to let me know before you blow it."

"Afraid of being sealed in are we?" Lt. Aiton said with a laugh.

Ron walked as far as he dared and detected no movement before returning to watch the man work. Lt. Aiton began wiring his charges and looked at Ron, "So tell me about the decapitated men back at the entrance."

He shrugged, "Not much to tell, it seems to happen around me a lot these days."

Lt. Aiton motioned for Ron to move back up the ladder, "Ahhhhh Secret stuff."

The moved back to the ladder that lead to the parapet, Lt. Aiton trailing the wires behind him until they reached that point where he began to wire his detonator, "The boys are back at the near the entrance cutting the phone lines and data port lines...Pretty high technology for a mere militia." He said as he turned the handle to set off the explosives.

There was a loud bang, and then dust and dirt flew out of the hole. Once the smoke and dust cleared they walked back over to the tunnel entrance and Ron peered down into the hole and saw that it was blocked with dirt and concrete, "They will not be coming this way anytime soon."

Gunfire erupted from where they came in and the lieutenants ran towards the sound, Sam was running for Ron, "We found the tunnel that leads to hill 311."

"I can tell." Ron said as he was peering around a corner to see if he could find the source of the gunfire.

He could see a soldier was throwing a grenade into the hole where the tunnel came out, there was a loud 'BANG' and then silence. The soldier that threw the grenade peered inside the hole, "I think he has gone for help."

Lt. Aiton rushed past him on his way to the hole, "We need to hurry before they bring reinforcements."

Ron pointed to Sergei, 'Machine gunner to the front, kill anything that comes up that passage."

Sergei, Lt. Aiton and some of Lt. Aiton's men disappeared into the opening, Ron looked around impatiently, "Does anyone have an anti-tank rocket?"

The eight or so men standing around didn't know, Ron looked around on the floor and grabbed a severed head, "This will do for now." He said as he disappeared into the hole.

The remaining men just looked at one another and then they began whispering, "Gaza City Madman."

He slid behind Lt. Aiton and knelt by Sergei just as he began firing at the movement at the end of the darkened tunnel. The noise of the machine gun was deafening as the sound echoed off of the poured concrete walls.

When a lull in the firing took place Ron leaned down to make sure Sergei could hear him, "I believe they will fire a RPG round at us next…Keep the fire coming hot…I have an idea."

Sergei nodded and began firing again. Ron could see tracer rounds impacting on a man 75 meters away and then another, this one poor victim of Sergei's murderous fire dropped his RPG before he could fire the rocket.

Sergei stopped firing to reload; Ron took the temporary cease fire to hurl the severed head down the incline. The head bounced and rolled to the end of the tunnel where he saw men scrambling to get away from it, obviously mistaking it for a bomb.

"All done here" Lt. Aiton told him as he quickly climbed the ladder to get out of the tunnel. Sergei was next, followed by Ron who had a big grin on his face after hearing gasps and shrieks of horror coming from down the tunnel. When they were all clear the hole Lt. Aiton turned the handle on the detonator and brought the tunnel entrance from hill 311 to a close.

"I got at least 4 down there and with the other 3 from the other side of the room that makes 7….How many did you get so far Ronnie." Sergei asked feeling very pleased with himself.

Ron shook his head, "You only got two over there, that makes 6…If you count your 6…I have killed around 10 so far."

Sergei shook his head, "You can not take credit for the men I killed."

"I most certainly can…I am an officer, if I had not directed you to kill those guys…You would be standing around outside squeezing that tiny penis of yours thinking about Bina." Ron told him trying to keep a straight face.

Sergei shook his head in disgust, "You are a real bastard…Even for an Officer you are a real bastard."

Ron laughed, "No arguments from me, now…I have to go report, I think we can safely say we have captured and secured this hill."

Ron exited the hillside into morning sunshine, he squinted and shaded his eyes with his hand as he looked around. A hand reached out and tugged him back into the entrance; it was Sgt. Shubaki and growled quietly into Ron's ear, "Snipers do not expose yourself unnecessarily."

"What is our situation?" He asked trying to hide the shock of Shubaki's surprising him.

Sgt. Shubaki smiled, "We are being reinforced and have been ordered to stand down for a few hours."

He spotted Pvt. Herzl and motioned for him to come to him, and then he turned his attention to the sergeant, "Post a guard, have the men try to get some rest."

Pvt. Herzl stood and saluted Ron, he returned it and addressed the private, "Contact General Tova's HQ and inform him that the road to Tyre is sealed and we have captured hill 310…No casualties."

He rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of anything that he had forgotten and couldn't think of anything, "I am going to take a short nap, Sergeant see to it that I am awoke in four hours.

Sgt. Shubaki didn't like the order and Ron could tell but he was so tired that he didn't care. He walked back inside the hillside fortress found Sam fast asleep. He found a corner near him and sat on floor and began to rub his throbbing knee, _"Good to be an officer."_ He thought as he drifted off to sleep to sound of pounding artillery outside.

* * *

Colonel Baduel surveyed his surroundings, he was in the open center of the village undergoing constant air strikes, artillery and missile fire from what now appeared to be a ring of steel the Israeli forces had created as they surrounded the city.

His allies the Lebanese army were throwing their guns down and taking off their uniforms and disguising themselves as refugee's in order to flee the city. He watched in disgust as he watched his counter part with the Lebanese army give into the general panic.

Colonel Al Mailah was in the process of taking off his uniform and changing into civilian clothing that he had stolen earlier in the day, "Do what you want Baduel but the Israeli's are not going to take me prisoner…I will run and hide in Tyre until the end of the war, and if you were wise you would do so too."

The Venezuelan Colonel bristled at such a thought and sternly advised his counter part on what needed to be done, "Colonel Mailah, you need to rally what is left of your men and we will try and mount an attack against the center hill that over controls the road and we can break free of this stalemate."

Colonel Al Mailah's eyes were filled with panic as the artillery shells continued to fall around their position in the center of the village, "You are crazy Baduel, you must hide in the tunnels with the Hezbollah and let the Israeli's come to you if you want to fight them so badly."

Baduel's temper had reached its boiling point, "Our Hezbollah friends will not allow us into their tunnels as we are Catholics."

"That is your misfortune." Colonel Al Mailah told him with a smile.

"So what do you intend to do?" Colonel Baduel asked angrily.

Colonel Al Mailah straightened up proudly, "The Lebanese army will do as it always does go into hiding till the Israeli's decide to leave, come out and celebrate yet another victory over our Zionist foes."

Colonel Baduel had heard enough, he pulled his SIG P226 side arm and shot Colonel Al Mailah in the head, "No victory celebrations for you my weak friend…Major Flores, Report."

Major Flores rushed into the room and saw the dead body of their one time ally, "Sir?"

Colonel Baduel sneered, "Form the men, load up the APC's we are going to try and break out of here."

"Sir?" Major Flores said obviously questioning what he had just heard.

"YOU HEARD ME!" The Colonel screamed, then he looked up at the sky, his temporary HQ that he had taken refuge in had long ago lost its roof in the non-stop shelling, _"Any place is better than here."_

Major Flores quickly left the room, _"It appears the colonel still feels the need to fight."_

* * *

Tirza shook Ron awake, "It has been 4 hours, drink some water and eat this MRE."

Ron shook his head and looked around, "What is happening…We are still shelling the village?"

"Drink you do not want to become dehydrated…We have captured hill 311, 309…308, 312 were incomplete and unoccupied." Tirza told him.

Sergei knelt down, looking very worried, "Ronnie…The Iranian prisoner has woke up and has a broken ankle…He wants to file a formal complaint against the one that threw him to the ground."

Ron took a sip of water, "What? Who cares what he says?"

Sergei looked around, "There is talk about an investigation…I will forget about you glowing blue and floating if you forget about throwing him out of that parapet."

Ron took a long swig from the water bottle, "I did not see anything…It must of happened when the flash bang went off."

Sergei grinned, "I knew you would understand."

Tirza shook his head and taunted his friend, "You should have thrown him on his head, dead men tell no tales Sergei."

"Oh this coming from a medic, very understanding." Sergei taunted him back.

Ron waived a hand in the air, "What about the fighting?"

Sergei made a face, "Boring really, non stop artillery barrage, air strikes… Hezbollah has been chased from the hills so they are setting up shop in the village."

"Refugee's fleeing the city, a good portion of them are Lebanese military that are deserting…Venezuelan's are refusing to surrender….They are pretty much on their own now." Tirza told him.

Ron began to prepare the MRE, "Ahhhh…luff and eggs…You guys get any sleep?"

They both nodded, and Sergei pointed over to Sam, "Not as much as our short friend over there."

Tirza frowned, "Sergei, he's still a little boy, he needs his sleep."

Ron picked up his empty water bottle and threw it at Sam, "Wake up"

Sam jerked and looked around the room in a daze, "What…"

"Go get some water and food." Ron told him gruffly.

Sam stood up and shuffled away, "I have to pee first."

Tirza laughed and called after the boy, "We will hold a press conference."

"Corporal Bunimovich, find me Sgt. Shubaki or Sgt. Pelzer…Or Sgt….What's his name?" Ron said as he rose slowly to his feet.

Sergei winced, "You need to have Sam do more running."

Ron shook his head and explained patiently, "He is unfamiliar with the platoon."

Sergei walked off grumbling. Tirza watched him go and chuckled, "I think he wants you to get a bigger staff."

"I know…Sgt…I'll think of his name."

"Mier" Tirza reminded him.

"Sgt. Mier, yes…Thank you Tirza."

Tirza stepped in closer to him, "May I ask you a more personal question?" Ron nodded that Tirza could, "How are your legs doing?"

Ron looked around to see if anyone could hear him, "Right knee hurts, fell on it during the climb up here…Other wounds are fine." Ron then slid the lower plate around in his mouth, "Just have to remember to take my teeth out before I go to sleep."

Tirza nodded and also looked around to see if anyone was listening, "You let me know if you need a morphine stick."

"Thank you…I hope I will not have to ask." Ron said sadly.

Ron saw Sgt. Pelzner enter the room, "Officer, I am told you wanted to see me."

"How is the platoon positioned?"

"We are still rotating sleep cycles, we are at the base of the hill but the ground is too rocky to dig in." The sergeant told him.

He began to think of how best to disperse the men incase of a battle but he could not honestly see one happening with all the artillery being fired into the village, "Once the sleep rotation is over move the platoon to the front of the hill and take cover behind the big rocks till we hear from HQ."

The sergeant saluted and left the room. Ron looked for Sergei but he was not in the room, "Corporal Bunimovich Report."

Sergei re-entered the room obviously annoyed, "Yes officer"

"Let's go up to the parapet and have a look at what's going on." Ron said as he motioned for the big man to follow him.

They climbed the ladder to the top of the hillside bunker, Sergei looked at the big artillery piece, "They disabled the big gun."

"The machine guns are still functional." Ron said happily as he swept the village with one of the guns.

Sergei took the other one and they began to pretend they were firing them. This entertained them for a few minutes before the stopped and began to look for ammo, "7.62…NATO round…big bullet." Sergei told Ron happily.

Ron loaded the Fabrique National machine gun, "This is now my HQ till we are ordered to leave."

Sergei loaded his gun from the ammo box they had found, "Have Sam run up and down the ladder…My legs are tired."

"Now, now, how do you expect to catch Bina with such pitiful stamina?"

Sergei laughed, "Bina does not run, she stands her ground."

Sam had entered Ron's new makeshift HQ and laughed as the two friends teased each other back and forth, then he took a casual glance towards the village, "Lt. Stoppable, it looks like the enemy is trying to leave."

Ron turned to look and saw one tank and three APC's and infantry spread out behind that beginning to leave the village. He looked the whole scene over and then he looked at Sergei, "Suicide?"

Sergei tried to answer but was drowned out by an explosion that impacted just under their position inside the hill. They all fell to the ground to take cover from the blast.

"SAM, SAM, get out of here and find someone and order them to kill that tank." Ron ordered as he manned the machine gun he had just loaded.

Sergei began fire his gun, and pointed towards the valley between the village and the hillside, "No need, someone is already shelling the road."

Men began scrambling to run away from the tank as explosions obscured Ron's view of the vehicles and the road, Ron put the machine gun to his shoulder and found him a group of targets running forward and firing at the hill and squeezed the trigger. The gun bucked and began firing, brass shell casings began bounce off of the concrete floor.

The men in the valley at first didn't notice Ron firing at them until they began to see dust kicking up around them. Then they turned back to run to the village and were cut down, "Three more there Sergei."

He could hear Sergei's gun begin firing, "I knocked down 5…I have one running towards your gun…"

"Got him…One with a RPG….Kill him, kill him."

"I see him, I see him"

One of the Venezuelan APC's took a direct hit from an artillery piece and exploded, with the tank destroyed and with no chance of breaking thru the Israeli lines the attack disintegrated into kaos as the Venezuelan's turned and fled back to the village.

Ron and Sergei stopped firing along with the rest of the army as they watched the men run for the cover of the buildings. Ron looked out on the field and could see men writhing in pain from their wounds. It touched a spot inside of him only having recently been wounded. He shook his head, "They never had a chance."

Sergei nodded, "It was desperation…They will surely surrender now."

He had seen enough he walked to the ladder and left the parapet, "I have to check and see if we have any wounded."

He made his checks and found that no one had been hurt. Everyone had their story to tell about what easy targets the Venezuelan's had made. He was slightly sick to his stomach as one private happily informed him, 'It was so easy…I could not hardly miss.

Ron listened to the stories and smiled and patted his men on the back and told them what a good job they all did. Once that was done he walked back to the humvee and sat in the passenger's seat, _"Sergei and I shot them like it was a game…Zombie Massacre 4…I never really even thought…I was lucky in Gaza…Paratroopers showed up…Those poor guys in the field…dieing….dieing alone."_

He shivered as the thoughts crossed his mind, there was a knock on the hood of the humvee, it was Tirza, "Ronnie…Everyone shot at them…Not just you."

Ron chuckled sadly, "What makes you think that I was thinking about the battle?"

"Sergei said you were pretty pale…He's pretty quiet too...Sam is pestering him for the details." Tirza told him as he looked back at the hill.

Ron nodded and tried to explain, "Gaza City…It was…it was kill or be killed…Nothing like this…There was no chance for those guys and they knew it and they marched right out there anyway…I wonder…I wonder if I would have been able to do that if the roles had been reversed?"

Sam came running up the humvee, "Lt. Stoppable, I have to drive you to meet with the Venezuelan's."

He laughed and shook his head, "I do not want to talk with anyone right now."

"But they want to surrender."

"Well let them surrender to someone else." Ron said becoming slightly tweaked.

"Officer, you are being ordered to talk to them because of how well you handled the United Nations people, they do not speak Hebrew but they do speak English…The order has come down from General Tova." Sam persisted.

"Fine, drive me to where they want to meet, Tirza get in the back…Sam take us by the platoon first, I want to find out a little more."

Sam drove him towards the platoon, the men crowded around the humvee and Pvt. Herzl handed Ron the radio, "General Tova wishes to speak to you."

He took the radio, "Lt. Stoppable"

"I will be in your zone in a few hours…Accept the Venezuelan surrender, disarm them and hold them till we can assure their transport to Tyre…Do you have any questions."

"No officer"

"You have your orders; I will see you in a few hours…Tova out."

"Yes officer"

He handed the radio back to Pvt. Herzl and motioned for Sgt. Shubaki to get into the humvee, "Sergeant...I think I may need your help."

"Yes officer" Sgt. Shubaki said as he took a seat in the rear of the humvee.

They made their way in silence towards the road and turned towards the village of Habboush. They were greeted by the sight of an APC 500 meters from their lines sitting in the middle of the road flying a white flag above it. Ron had Sam stop 10 meters away from the APC, _"Show time"_ He thought nervously as he stepped from the vehicle.

The group of Israeli's walked towards the APC and stopped. The Venezuelan Colonel was clearly wounded a piece of shrapnel having pierced his body armor a Major helped steady the man as he marched out to meet with Ron.

"I am Colonel Jose Don Carlos Badeul the leader of the Venezuelan Army contingent; I wish to speak with your commanding officer to surrender my army."

Ron cleared his throat, "I am Lt. Ronald Ben Stoppable, and I have been authorized by General Moshe Ben Tova to accept your surrender."

The Colonel nodded, "I came here with 1,500 good men…I do not believe that I have half that now…My men are good men…Disarm us as you must but allow us to keep our dignity and do not take their money or personal possessions."

"Your men will surrender their arms, and stand in formation under guard…." He looked around quickly for a empty piece of ground, "…over in that field to your immediate right….You will be held here till we can arrange your return to Tyre."

Colonel Badeul nodded sadly and then drew his pistol from his holster and handed it to Ron butt first, "Your prisoner sir."

Ron accepted the sidearm and pointed to Tirza, "See to the Colonel."

There was a conversation between the Colonel and the Major is Spanish, when the conversation was over Major Flores took off his gun belt and threw it onto the ground and walked towards the field.

Ron turned and looked towards the Israeli side and found Lt. Aiton and waved him over, "Have your platoon see to the disarming of the Venezuelans."

Lt. Aiton nodded, "Then assemble them in that field over there?"

He nodded and waived Sgt. Shubaki over to him, "Find more medics and take our platoon out into the field and tend to their dead and wounded."

Shubaki nodded, "Yes Officer"

The procession of defeated soldiers began to file by, Ron stopped one man and took a grenade off of him, that he had forgotten as he dropped his weapons on the ground. He watched for a while longer and then turned and walked back to the humvee and Sam.

"What do you think we will have to do next?" Sam said absently.

He looked over his new pistol before putting it into his pack, "Clear the enemy out of that village down there."

They watched as soldier after soldier filed by until they were all disarmed. Lt. Aiton walked over towards Ron, "They only have 435 left out of the 1,500."

Ron let out a whistle, "That is a lot of casualties."

Tirza walked over his hands were covered in blood from working with the wounded colonel, "I have done all I can, he needs to be moved to a hospital."

Ron nodded and looked at Lt. Aiton, "Can your people handle it? I have my platoon in the valley looking for wounded."

Lt. Aiton called over a private and gave him the orders for the moving of the Colonel, then he turned his attention back to Ron as he pointed to big stash of weapons, "Want any more souvieneers?"

Ron's eyes lit up, "I think I will take a look."

Sam followed after him and they looked over the massive pile of discarded weapons, Ron picked up a massive looking rifle, "Mine"

"Mine" Sam said as he handled a bayonet.

Ron snatched it away, "It goes with the rifle."

Sam began to protest and then he shrugged and dug through the pile and found another one and a rifle, "Mine"

Ron snatched the rifle away from him, "You will shoot your eye out kid."

Then he laughed and handed the weapon back to Sam. He caught sight of a helicopter and watched it fly past the hills and come in for a landing. He let out a deep breath, "Looks like General Tova is here."

* * *

General Tova soon joined the army; he met for a moment with Col. Baduel before patting him on the arm walking towards Ron, "Lt. Stoppable…Wonderful job here."

Ron saluted crisply, "Thank You General."

General Tova spotted Ron's newest prize, "Ahhhhh an old FN FAL battle rifle, I have not seen one of these in years…We used to use them but they were just too expensive and far too heavy."

Ron handed the rifle to the General, "It is heavy."

The General looked the gun over and handed it back to Ron, "Back in the day it was the premier battle rifle chambered for 7.62mm."

Ron shouldered the rifle, "We hold the hills the town is still filled with..."

"What is the status of your platoon?" General Tova interupted him quietly.

"No wounded, no killed" Ron said sounding more than slightly perplexed about the question.

General Tova nodded, "How is your knee?"

Ron shrugged, "About the same…It's not too bad today.

"I want you to listen very carefully…I am going to pull your platoon out of the fight here and assign you to a very dangerous mission…Do you think you can handle this physically."

"Yes Officer" Ron said confidently.

"I will be here to meet with the other platoon leaders and talk about the battle and clearing the enemy from the town…Once I am done with this I will meet with you in private." The General Said.

He blinked and looked at the General, _"Great what has he got up his sleeves now to get me killed. " _He thought before he answered quietly. "Yes General"


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: Kim has a new sidekick, Josh makes a new friend, Kim is not Gay, Josh is however...and he has a thing for the bad boys. Adult Content warning...Someone is going to lose their cookies.**

**Bubba**

* * *

After his platoon finished with looking for survivors, Ron ordered the men to stand down and get some rest. He slept off and on, nervous about what kind of dangerous mission General Tova was going present him with.

Tirza knelt down by him and handed him a bottle of water, "Drink or you will become dehydrated."

Ron laughed quietly, "Christ on a stick Tirza Cohen can you not follow any order at all? Didn't I tell you to get some sleep?"

"I am only looking out for the platoon…Everything happens so fast, the men forget to drink water and before you know it they are collapsing." He told Ron unapologetically.

"Get some rest Tirza, plenty of time to get everyone hydrated later." Ron said quietly.

"Ronnie...I need an opinion...When we go to the America, should I take my older brooding Neil Diamond stuff or the newer more commercially viable Neil Diamond?"

Ron looked at him for a moment and ascertained that Tirza was sincere in his question. He scratched his beard and pretended to give the matter serious thought, "Hmmm….I would go with the moodier Neil…Makes you look like a brooding loner…I think Monique would like the misunderstood bad boy type." He answered trying as hard as he could not to laugh.

"Really?"

Ron smiled, "Oh Yes…Of course you might want to ask her what she wants to listen to first."

Tirza nodded his head and sat down beside Ron, "I have some good dance stuff that I think she would like….I will save Neil for when we are feeling romantic."

"I am not going to get any more sleep am I?"

Tirza laughed, "I am just trying to figure out what we are going to do together when I go to America…What is the first thing you are going to do Ronnie?"

Ron frowned for he really hadn't thought about it too much, "Well I want to see my mom and dad and my new sister…I guess that will be first."

"You still going to propose to Kim or are you going to tell her about Bonnie?"

Ron laughed softly, "I would have said no because there is nothing between me and Bonnie…I do not know…I do not think I will propose to anyone."

Tirza nodded, "You are in love with Bonnie….Admit it."

Ron laughed, "I would not go that far…I do think of her quite a bit…Most of my thoughts are, do not get shot in the legs or she will kill me."

They both laughed and then Ron began to think out loud of Middleton, "I will go by and see Ned…I am to be the best man at his wedding, I will see Kim…See if I can figure out some things…I want to go to Sizzler."

Tirza shook his head, "What is Sizzler?"

"A wonderful all you can eat place that serves really thick steaks…I have not eaten beef since I left home back in June….A year without any beef….Incredible…Never thought I would miss steak so much." Ron said sadly as he thought about Middleton.

"When do you think would be a good time to propose to Monique?"

Ron laughed nervously and threw up his hands, "Awwww…I do not know…You will know…Listen to your inner Neil."

They both began laughing and then Ron thought of Rufus, "I am going to get the most ferocious creature ever to be domesticated as a pet and put him in my pocket…Kim's brothers are watching out for my naked mole rat…Rufus…I really want to see Rufus."

"Naked mole rat?" Tirza asked not quite sure he was going to like the answer.

"My dad is allergic to everything."

Tirza nodded his head in understanding, "How are we going to all go to America?"

He bobbed his head, "That will be difficult…I will leave it to my friend Wade to figure out."

"Ahhhh"

Ron then smiled and thought of the Upperton Zoo and of his daughter, "I am going to take my baby sister to the zoo….Push her all over in her stroller and show her off. Ride the little zoo train…"

He looked over at Tirza and saw that he had fallen asleep, "Oh sure, now you go to sleep."

**

* * *

**

Kim Possible was bored; it had been nearly a week since she had her fight in the Upperton University Student Union. She was getting bored with work, now that the chair was off limits; there was little point in her staying there.

Little point except to try and get Ron into the chair so she could reclaim some of her 'free flowing whatchya ma call its' that Dr. Wong said she was losing and try to give back Ron some of his traits back that were pulling her school grades down.

She put in her six hours at the Space Center and was leaving for the day. She looked at her watch it was after 7:30. She knew dinner at home would be over and with the tweebs getting bigger she knew there would be no leftovers.

Kim passed the familiar Bueno Nacho on old route 203 and turned around and headed towards it, "I haven't had a nacho in ages...I'll pick some up for Rufus too." She thought as she headed into the fast food restaurant.

She walked in smiled and waived as she saw Ned, "Hey Ned...You guys still do the nacho night promotion, right?"

"Hey Kim, yeaaaaaaaaa we still do nacho night Thursday's." Ned answered cheerily.

"I'll take my usual...better make it two, why not, I'm buyin' Oh yea...uh huh." Kim sang hip hop style..

Ned gave her a strange look, "You feeling alright Kim, you kind of sounded like Ron there for a minute."

Kim quickly bit her lower lip and cautiously looked around, "No, no...I'm fine...I just have to feed Rufus...is all."

Ned smiled and nodded, "So...What is your usual?"

"A chicken chimerito, two nacos, Grande sized." Kim said happily.

Ned rang up her order, "That'll be $4.80...Hear anything new from Ron?"

"No...I haven't heard from him since they sent him into Lebanon."

He blinked and shook his head, "I thought he was wounded and coming home?"

"Change of plan."

"Well, he just has to make it home, otherwise I'll end up having to use Josh Mankey as my best man." Ned said quietly as he pointed to the boy in the first both who had blonde hair on top and black hair on the sides. He was wearing a tie die event t-shirt from the 5th annual Upperton Gay Rights Festival.

Kim turned to look at Josh just in time to see him lick his lips and blow Ned a kiss, "Oh...I think Josh likes you."

"He likes Ron more."

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Oh Really"

Ned chuckled as he fixed Kim a tray, "Yea, he wants to rub bath oil and stuff on him."

"Hey that's what I want to do." Kim said as she narrowed her eyes at her manly foe.

Kim took her tray and walked over to the booth where Josh was sitting, "Josh...Long time no see...I seem to remember you taking me on a date and ditching me."

Josh turned in his seat to face her, "Hey Kim...It's all good. You were too drunk for me to carry and Bruce kind of swept me off my feet that night."

She looked up from her food, "Bruce? You dumped me for a man?"

Josh smiled dreamily, "Not just any man, he's a firefighter and when he laid me down on his bed naked for the first time..."

Kim waived her hands in the air, "Josh...I'm trying to eat here."

He looked at her strangely, "I didn't think my being gay would upset you."

"Oh...It doesn't...I think." Kim said absently as she turned to look out the window.

"_Normally I'd want to know all the explicit stuff...Just for curiosity sake...Hmmm...Must be more of Ron's traits working their way to the surface."_ She thought as she began to eat her food once again.

Josh smiled seductively, "So tell me about Ron."

"NO" She told him forcefully before she took an agressive bite of her nacho.

"Huh"

The familiar ring of the Kimmunicator distracted the two. Kim's eyes lit up, "Finally a mission...What's the sitch' Wade?"

She pushed the connect button and Wade Load's face popped up on the small view screen, "Hey Kim, we got a hit on the site."

Kim frowned, "I'm not taking any more babysitting jobs."

Wade shook his head, "Its worse...See for yourself."

A video started playing that featured a man with a really bad German accent wearing a Santa Clause beard, "So Kim Possible, you thought you had seen the last of Frugal Lucre did you? If you do not come to my lair in my mom's basement before 5:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow, bad things are going to happen. Ahahahahaha"

The screen went blank, Kim stared at it sadly, "I remember when it was always Drakken and Shego and the world hung in the balance...I really miss those guys."

Wade nodded his head in agreement, "I'll start working on finding you a ride...Are you going to take Monique?"

Kim shook her head, "No she has an exam to get ready for."

"Think you'll need the battle suit?"

Kim flinched, "For Lucre...Puahleaseeeeeeeee."

"Well you can't go alone...Even if it's Frugal Lucre."

"Who could I take with me?" Then her gaze fell upon the gay man sitting across from her, "JOSH...How would you like to go on a real mission and save the world with me."

Josh had his compact open and was checking his makeup, "This is on the level right...Your not just trying to trick me into going on another date with you."

Kim glared at him, "NO"

He smiled and put the compact back into his fanny pack, "Have fanny pack will travel...When do we leave."

**

* * *

**

Sam shook Ron by the shoulder, "The General is ready to see you."

Ron looked around and tried to climb to his feet but he was stiff, "Owwwwwww...Fine...Yes...Take me to him."

They walked down the ramp leading out of the tunnel and made their way back to Sam's humvee. Ron saluted, the General nodded and began to explain the situation to him, "We are having remarkable success...Too remarkable actually."

The General spread a map out over the hood of the humvee, "Turns out our enemy has let us come this far with minimal resistance because they want to suck us in and then strike our army in hard in the center and on our right...The plan is not to defeat us but to kill and wound as many of us as possible."

Ron shrugged, "I thought that was the whole point behind war?"

General Tova smiled and dipped his head, "Yes it is...While they are fighting us they plan to continue launching wave after wave of missiles into Israel from this point here." The General then pointed to a hilly area on the map. "In these hills behind this abandoned village they are launching many of their missiles...They are well hidden, well entrenched and they mean to fight."

Ron looked at the map and tried to read the name of the village but couldn't see it in the poor light. The General continued his briefing, "We are unable to reach this area by vehicle as there are no roads and our air force has no real targets of opportunity to strike at."

"That's where we come in?" Ron asked.

"Yes that is where your platoon comes in, you will be assigned to support Captain Mayer Frankel's platoon on a forced 10 kilometer night march to the village of Aytarun, where you will hide out during the day before you and Captain Frankel's platoon set out to breach hills 438 and 439." The General explained.

Ron shifted his weight unconsciously, before being slapped on the back by Captain Frankel, "Do not look so worried there will be 4 other platoons assaulting the hillsides as well."

He quickly saluted, "Forgive me Captain I did not see you come in."

The Captain motioned for Ron to not worry about saluting, "Did you tell him the rest of the plan?"

General Tova smiled and shook his head, "Not yet...While you and the other platoons are keeping the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah entertained, we will take the bulk of our force and swing to the east, cross the Syrian border and destroy their army from behind."

Captain Frankel smiled and nodded, "They expect us to head north and we will surprise everyone and destroy their supply lines directly with Syria."

Ron smiled and nodded nervously, _"This is not going to be a good day."_

"I have a request to make."

The two men looked at each other cautiously, "What do you request Lieutenant?" The General asked.

"I would like to have my bodyguard Sam reassigned...I am afraid he will not survive a hard engagement." Ron said as he carefully chose his words.

General Tova nodded, "Send him to me, now go see to your men. While it is only 10 kilometers the terrain is very rugged, many, many rocks and boulders."

He saluted and walked out with Captain Frankel who turned to him, "Lieutenant we move out in half an hour."

Ron nodded and saluted and then turned to get his men ready to march.

**

* * *

**

"No Way, you are not taking Josh on a mission." Monique exclaimed trying to hold back the laughter from the other end of the cell phone.

Kim sat at her makeup table with her cell phone as she watched Rufus devour his naco night treat, "Yea...I just don't have any choice...I mean it's Lucre how bad could it really be?"

"Face it girl you just CLTHA."

Rufus popped up shaking his tail, "More?"

Kim shook her head, "I told you to chew slowly...Alright Monique, what's CLTHA mean?"

"Can't Leave The Hotties Alone...Your just trying to get into Josh's pants."

Now it was Kim's turn to laugh, "You mean panties, he's a tad bit gay these days."

"Oh yea...Remind me to keep Tirza away from him...I'd hate to have to get in a slap fight over Tirza with him."

Rufus was now licking the paper sack that the Bueno Nacho had come in. Kim made a face and rolled the trash up in a ball and threw it in her trash can, "I know you don't get Bueno Nacho very much, but you just have to learn to chew slowly."

"Girl, I know you ain't talkin' to me."

Kim gave Rufus a strange look before rolling her eyes, "No sorry I was distracted...So how do you know Josh likes Tirza?"

"KIM... you're being flighty again."

"Sorry, it's late and I...I'm scared that I'm starting to act more like Ron...I mean I didn't even want to hear the gory details of Josh's love life." She said sadly.

"Who would?"

Kim nodded her head and frowned, "Yea, you got a point."

"So what makes you think your starting to act like Ron?"

She flopped down on the bed on her stomach, "Well...You know I'm starting to manifest his little quirks...I was hungry for Beuno Nacho...and I want to hang around with Rufus."

Rufus looked up at her from the floor, "HEY"

She wrinkled her nose at him, "Sorry buddy"

"Kim you just miss Ron."

She stopped talking for a moment to think things thru in her mind, "Well there are other things."

"What other things?"

Kim began to chew on her thumb nail, "This goes no further than the two of us...You got it?"

"I won't say a word."

Kim rolled off the bed and opened the door to her room to make sure the tweebs weren't listening in, "Well...You promise you won't say anything to anyone?"

"I promise...what?"

Kim sat back down on her bed with her back to the mirror and brought her knees up to her chin, and in a voice that was a little louder than a whisper informed Monique that, "Sometimes...I find myself...looking at other...girls romantically."

"EWWWWWWWWWWWW"

"MONIQUE..."

"Like who...ME, you have the hots for me don't you."

"NO"

"WELL WHY NOT; I'M A STRONG PROUD BLACK WOMAN WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT ME."

"YES...NO...I don't know, just forget the whole thing...I...I wish Ron was here." Kim said sadly.

"Ok, girl, I'm gong to forget this conversation ever happened, you are not going gay."

"Monique"

"What?"

Kim was quiet for a moment, "I have this strange urge to take you to the Odyssey and have you sit in my lap and rub your back."

She had to jerk the phone away from her ear do to the loud high pitched scream coming from Monique, "THAT'S WHAT RON USED TO DO WHEN WE DATED...NO WAY."

"Told Ya" Kim said sadly.

"This is just too weird for me...I have to go study for this test tomorrow...Good luck with Josh and everything."

Kim nodded, "Thanks...Hey...its Thursday night...Sure you aren't up for Thursday night ritual?"

"Oh I'm sure."

Kim sighed sadly as she heard Monique hang up, _"I'm glad I didn't tell her I also had the urge to shove my tongue down her throat."_

**

* * *

**

Ron gave Sam his new orders and asked him to run his war trophies by Bonnie's apartment. Sam wanted to go on the mission but Ron told him that the General needed him and that where they were going he could not drive.

They geared up and began their march with Captain Frankel's platoon in the lead. They fell into line about ten feet separating each soldier from the other. They had reapplied their camouflage makeup and at Tirza's urging loaded up with as much water as they could carry.

The going was slow and treacherous as the ground was rocky and in the darkness it was easy to put your foot down wrong and turn an ankle or fall down. Ron had already stumbled twice as he struggled to keep up.

Night discipline was in effect so there was no talking up and down the line, which gave Ron time to think about the briefing he was given, _"So they intended for us to come this far? Trying to trap us inside the country? For what? I mean other than to try to kill as many of us as possible?"_

He saw a hand go up in front of him to stop the line; he knelt down along with the rest of the line. He was happy that he had a chance to rework his M4, which now supported a night scope, bipod, and silencer. He turned on the night scope and began to scan the horizon for movement. He didn't see any and once again the signal was given to move out.

The sky was cloudless and the stars were shinning bright, but he had little time to notice them as he saw the man fall down in front of him and curse, "If you'd only lose a few pounds Sergei you would not be so top heavy." He said quietly as he walked up on the man.

Sergei quickly rose to his feet, "Weight has nothing to do with it...Rocks are what the problem is." He whispered bitterly before resuming the march.

Something was eating at him, it was a problem that he could not get out of his head. The briefing was raising questions, _"Why tell us he's planning on attacking Syria if we're stuck doing this?"_

It kept after him till he could see the outskirts of the village; the signal was given once again to halt the line. So Ron took a knee and waited, _"Six platoons heading in there? Glad we're wearing colored arm bands are we would stand a good chance of shooting each other."_

They had been instructed that Hezbollah were disguising themselves as Israeli soldiers, so to help eliminate confusion and help identify the right soldiers from the imposters. Ron's platoon had blue armbands and Captain Frankel's platoon wore green armbands.

The call came back for Ron to move to the front of the line and talk with Captain Frankel. He made his way up the line till he found the man he was looking for. Captain Frankel pointed towards village, "Here we are, split into two lines you will occupy the structure to your far left...See it?"

Ron turned on the night vision scope and had a look, "The building that has no roof...Looks like it used to be a two story?"

"Yes that is the one; we will be directly across from you. We will hold up there until the rest of the platoons arrive."

He nodded and turned to leave the captain but was motioned back to him, "Do not engage any enemy forces...Stealth is the key here."

"Yes Officer"

Ron made his way back to his platoon and told them where they were heading. Once the command was given they moved out quickly and headed towards their objective, _"The ground here is crummy but they could have brought in vehicles...They have to know this."_

He spotted movement and Sergei held up his hand and took a knee. Ron scanned the village with his night vision scope, _"Closer I can see more...two...no three man patrol...They look like us...They have body armor...Can't see if they have an armband on though."_

The patrol rounded the corner of a bombed out building and were out of sight, Sergei gave the motion to move out and they slowly made their way towards their objective. The reached the building and quickly moved inside.

Ron whispered to the men as they passed him, "No smoking, no fires, no lights of any kind."

Once they were settled he felt a tap on the shoulder, it was Tirza handing him a water bottle, "Drink Ronnie, your sweating heavily." He whispered to him.

He took his helmet off and wiped his forehead on the long sleeve shirt he was wearing, "Thank you...I did not notice."

Ron crouched by the door and watched the abandoned street as he drank his water, _"If the ground isn't all that bad...Why did they make sure to tell me about attacking Syria?"_

"Lieutenant you are wanted on the radio."

Ron crept over to Pvt. Herzl, "Lt. Stoppable here."

"Your platoon is in position...yes?"

"Yes, when do we move out?" Ron asked quietly.

"Soon, we are waiting for red and purple to report in...Yellow and black platoons are on the other side of the village."

He closed his eyes and nodded as he tried to mentally picture where they were in relation to his platoon, "We will wait for a signal."

Ron signed off on the radio and began to look around the bombed out dwelling they were hiding in. He looked at Sergei, "Have everyone take a seat, stay away from the windows, no fires, no smoking….No talking."

Sergei nodded and left to go spread the word, Ron looked up at the sky thru the roofless building, looking for anything useful and then he spotted it. Part of the second floor wasn't blown away and the part that was left had a window, _"I might not be able to see much but I can at least look over a piece of the town."_

Ron dropped his pack on the floor and motioned for Sgt. Shubaki to boost him up to the next level, once he managed to pull himself up on the floor he pointed to his rifle and Shubaki passed it up to him, _"Time to have a look."_

He brought the rifle with the night vision scope up to his shoulder and began to look around the streets he could see, _"At least two patrols…Dressed like us…helmets, body armor, moving too casual to be the other platoons."_

He saw them stop and turn to respond to the alert that was being yelled by another patrol, then they began running up the street, _"Uh oh…What now?"_

The men were running for the other side of the village, _"Did they find the other platoons?"_

The silence was oppressive, nobody seemed to have the slightest idea what was happening outside of their little corner of the village. Off in the distance Ron could hear a booming noise, _"Artillery...Ours?"_

An explosion a few buildings away shook the damaged floor that Ron was standing on, _"No theirs."_ He thought as he jumped off the floor to the ground as another explosion rocked the building.

The walls shook and a cloud of dust and debris floated onto the platoon as it huddled against the walls of the building. Ron winced from the pain in his knee upon landing and moved quickly to Pvt. Herzl the radio operator, "Any orders from Captain Frankel?"

"No Officer...Any orders from you?"

Ron laughed nervously and yelled about the explosions, "Keep your head down, do not get killed."

A shell hit outside of the building and blew down a wall trapping several soldiers, Sergei and Sgt. Pelzner helped dig men out of the rubble. Tirza ran over to join them along with Ron; most of the men were dazed.

Ron looked at one man and could clearly see that he had a broken neck; a large chunk of the stone wall of the building had fallen on him. Out of the six men trapped one was dead; one had a broken leg and possible internal injuries, at least according to Tirza that is what he believed.

He motioned for everyone to come from away from the collapsed wall, he saw Pvt. Herzl waiving for him to take the radio, when he did it was Captain Frankel, "What are your losses so far?"

"One dead, one wounded, so far...WHAT?" Ron spoke loudly into the radio as it was still difficult to hear from the shells exploding around their building.

"I say again we have lost contact with Yellow and Black platoons, Red and Purple are on our immediate right."

Ron looked up now distracted by the silence.

"Did you hear me Lieutenant?"

Ron's attention was once again focused on the radio, "Sorry officer, I was distracted by the lack of shelling."

"They will be moving their patrols back into to the village...I do not believe that they know we are here but they know we are close."

He ran this thru his mind and it made sense, "What are your orders?"

"Bring your dead and wounded into our building, we will adjust our operations accordingly."

Ron agreed and signed out on the radio, "Stretcher bearers pick up that man and follow me, Sergei, one on one with Private...?"

"Stollie" Sergei told him.

He nodded as he put his pack on, "Follow me, we are going across the street, one at a time."

The door to their building had been blown down and now Ron peered across the street to the building on the right that had also lost its door. A man stood in the door way and motioned for him to cross.

Ron sprinted across the street with his rifle ready to shoot anyone that happened to see him. He met a smiling Captain Frankel, "Looks like your looking for trouble."

He laughed bitterly at the captain's comment, "No trouble usually finds me."

The next soldier came over, then the stretcher with the wounded man, then Tirza, then Sergei with the dead private, soon the rest of the platoon was inside the small building. Tirza checked over the wounded man and nodded to Ronnie, "We need to move him out soon."

Captain Frankel shook his head, "That will not be possible for a while...Lt. Stoppable, I want you to take command here, I intend to lead a twenty man team across the village to try and establish contact with the other two platoons."

He motioned for Ron to follow him across the building, "See that structure over to the right of us?"

Ron nodded, "The one with the arched windows?"

"Yes that's the one, Red and Purple are over there...Keep an eye on them and check in with them."

Ron nodded, "Yes officer."

The men that Captain Frankel chose to go on the mission were geared up and waiting by the doorway, "Lt. Stoppable, I will be taking my radio man with me...Do not call us...We will check in with you periodically."

He watched the men head out the doorway, "Yes officer"

"_Why do I get that feeling that we are nothing more than sitting ducks?"_

**

* * *

**

At exactly 5:00 PM sharp the mini-van pulled up outside a nondescript brownstone house in Philadelphia, PA. Depositing Kim and her new sidekick master of disguise Josh Mankey in front of the nondescript house of evil villain Frugal Lucre.

"Thanks for the ride Mr. LaVey." Kim said as she hoped out of the van.

"Oh it's no problem Kim, if you wouldn't have pointed out the obvious hypocrisy of organized religion I never would have turned to Satanism, drugs and alcohol for comfort, and then who knows I might still be shackled to the slavery of having a wife and children and pretending to be happy."

Josh popped his head back in the van, "It only took two dates with her for me to figure out that I was gay."

Mr. LaVey lifted an eyebrow, "Never thought about going gay…See Kim you helped me again."

Kim smiled uneasily as she pulled Josh away from the van, "Helping people is what I'm all about…I think."

She was wearing her traditional mission outfit, cargo pants, black commando sweater that stopped just above her belly button and her timberland boots. Josh on the other hand had decided to explore his famine side by wearing a blonde wig, pumps, and a little black dress that let all the men know that he was the girl on the make.

"Josh...Did you really need to dress up as a woman?" Kim asked him for the tenth time.

Josh narrowed his eyes as they approached the front door, "It's Josie and did you really have to dress as a repressed gay lumber jack?"

"Listen Jo...Josie this is standard mission wear, we're here to kick ass, not to seduce the bad guys." Kim growled in a low voice that only Josh could hear.

"Speak for yourself Kim; I'm totally down with the bad boys." Josie said happily.

The door to the house opened and there stood Frugal Lucre with his most menacing, maniacal sneer he could muster, "So Kim Possible...Hey, who's your cute friend?"

Josie quickly offered his hand, "Josie Mankey...I'm Kim's cousin."

Lucre looked her over, obviously very pleased with her appearance, "You can call me Francis…Francis Lurman...It's a real pleasure to finally meet a woman that knows how to dress like one, your cousin seems to favor the butch lumberjack look from the late 90's."

Kim bristled at this remark, "Hey, hey now, enough with the bad fashion talk, why did you call me all the way out here for...What's the evil plan I have to foil?"

Josie giggled, "Kim's really sensitive about the whole gender bender thing. If I told her once I told her a thousand times, if you're gay just come..."

"JOSIE"

Lucre began to laugh evilly, "Kim Possible is gay!"

Kim flushed red with anger, "I AM NOT GAY!"

Lucre broke off the laugh to a snicker, "Sure...Still in denial..."

Kim turned, "Come on Josie, we're going home."

"Not yet, not yet, I need your help." Lucre said as he pursued Kim down the walkway of his mother's house.

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, "My help?"

Lucre had them follow him to the alley behind the row house and he pointed towards an old 1992 powder blue, 4 door, Plymouth Acclaim, "Like my wheels, Ebay $200...Come with me and I'll explain why I need your help."

Josie took hold of Kim's wrist, "Should we get in the car with Francis? I mean we hardly know him."

"I assure you that I mean neither of you any harm." Lucre reassured Josie.

Kim nodded her head, "It'll be OK."

Josie clapped her hands, "Shotgun"

Before Kim could say anything Josh had taken the passenger seat next to Frugal Lucre forcing Kim to have to move a bunch of boxes and trash out of the way so she could sit in the back seat.

"Sorry about the mess but I kind of live in my car." Lucre explained.

She tore one of the boxes in half to sit on as she was afraid whatever the big black stain on the seat was would surely stain her mission clothes, "I see."

Lucre started the car and drove out of the alley, where the car promptly stalled in the street; once it restarted the car was off in a haze of blue oil smoke to their next destination. Which came as a surprise to no one it was Smarty Mart, "Ever since our last meeting I'm barred from working here but I can still shop here...as long as I don't have any relapses." Lucre explained.

Kim winced remembering that she had a restraining order against her from Club Banana after trying to beat up Monique when she was dating Ron, "So they let back into the place...Sweet...I mean...never mind."

Lucre sat in the car and looked at the store in orgasmic joy, "She works here."

Kim looked puzzled, "Who works here?"

"Judy Kuni...The only women I've ever loved." Lucre said sadly.

Josie was becoming annoyed, "Love, don't talk to me about love."

"Josie" Kim scolded.

Frugal Lucre turned to look at Kim, "I need you to have dinner with me in the snack bar in order to make her jealous."

Kim jaw dropped open, "What...You drug me out here across country...with...with my cousin just to scam some poor girl?"

"Kim if you don't do it, I will...Francis seems sincere enough" Josie said.

"Alright...Let's get this over with..." She said as she slid from out of the backseat of the car.

Frugal Lucre and Kim walked towards the entrance of the store, Kim felt as though she had to make small talk, "So what does Judy do here?"

"She's the head of security; she has to follow me around the store to make sure I'm not up to anything." Lucre said happily.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Great...that's just great."

They walked into the main entrance of the store where a happy, smiling brain met them at the door, "Hey Francis, flier?" The character asked as it handed Frugal a sales brochure.

"Not today, my date and I are just going to hit the snack bar." Francis said as he put his arm around a very embarrassed Kim Possible.

"Hey, she's hot!" The smiling brain said.

Francis smiled, "She digs me because I was in the joint."

"Oh yea...right...Well, shop smart...Shop Smarty Mart."

Kim bristled, "Stupid Brain."

"Now Kim, the Brain was just being friendly and helpful."

They made their way to the snack bar and Lucre held up his hand, "I'll order for the both of us."

The lady at the snack bar ambled over to the counter, "Well look at this Francis has a date...Big spender today huh?"

Frugal sneered, "I'll show you big spender, I'll take two 24oz cups of chicken bits, a half pound of potato wedges, and two free water cups."

The snack bar lady shook her head and in a well rehearsed mono tone voice proclaimed, "Wow, you beat us at our own game with your extraordinary knowledge of Smarty Mart's internal pricing procedure."

"Well Francis, isn't it a bit early for the snack bar?"

Kim turned and stared right into the full breasts of Judy Kuni head of security. Judy's black hair was pulled tightly into a bun on the top of her head; she stood all of 6'2 weighing in at a crisp 196 lbs of well chiseled muscle. She wore the standard issue Smarty Mart security uniform complete with a plastic badge and on her hip she sported a rather large can of pepper mace.

Frugal Lucre smiled happily, "Oh Hi Judy, I'd like to introduce..."

Judy didn't give Francis the chance to introduce her, "Kimberly Anne Possible, three arrests no convictions, currently there is a chain wide restraining order banning her presence from the Club Banana clothing chain, however she can still shop at the online store...If I remember right there are also two rather large civil suites that haven't made it to trial as of yet."

Kim giggled sheepishly, "Yea...Those were on my really bad days."

Frugal Lucre looked at Kim in disbelief, "You have a record?"

Kim bristled, "I was never convicted of anything."

"So Francis you still think there is some chance for forbidden love between the two of us?" Judy asked in her point blank no nonsense manner.

"What...What makes you think…I think that?" Lucre said nervously.

Judy rolled her eyes, "By trying to use this attractive woman to incite me to a jealous rage, forcing me to reveal my true feelings for you...Face it Francis, I'm not attracted to you."

Francis was crestfallen as he waived the plate of food away that the snack bar lady so carefully prepared for him, "I'm not hungry anymore."

Judy leaned in close to Kim and whispered in her ear, "Follow me Miss Possible."

Kim lifted an eye brow and followed the large security lady towards the back of the room, _"I wonder what this is all about."_

She followed Miss Judy down the front line of cash registers that were busy ringing up sales for happy Smarty Mart Shoppers. There Kim found a stairway that led to booth that had one way mirrors over looking the sales floor. They were headed to the security office.

They walked inside the office that was empty except for dozens of video monitors along the wall. Once inside the office Judy turned to face Kim, "I can have you picked up and put in jail right now if I want?"

Kim shook her head, "What?"

Judy smiled and turned the monitor to where Kim could read what was on it, "A little matter concerning a court order for you to not leave the tri-county area."

She narrowed her eyes at the woman, "So why don't you turn me in?"

The large woman laughed, "Let's cut to the chase, I'm gay and judging by how you're dressed, I'm willing to bet you are too...So let's just take off our clothes and have an hour or two of pleasure before you leave."

Kim eyes became big and round, "I'm not gay"

Judy laughed, "I'm never wrong about these things; I could sense you undressing me in your mind in that snack bar."

"Oh...I don't think so...This is sooooooooo not going to happen." She told the woman as she began to make her way to the door slowly.

"I'm big enough to make you do what I want...I'm well versed in self defense." The woman told her calmly.

Kim smiled, "Now you're talking my language, I'm well versed in 16 different forms of martial arts."

Judy looked impressed, "So you like it rough do you."

Kim smiled, lifted an eyebrow, licked her lips seductively and wiggled a finger at the big woman, "Bring it!"

The big woman snarled and lashed out with a right hook that Kim easily ducked, She followed Judy's missed punch with a vicious upper cut into the woman's ribs, the blow only glanced off the big woman's muscles causing minor discomfort if that to Judy.

Judy reached out quickly and grabbed her by the shoulder, this she was to discover was a mistake as Kim leaped into the air, placed her left foot into the woman's chest and with her right foot kicked her savagely in the chin as she turned a complete backwards summersault to land gracefully into a fighting crouch.

The big woman toppled over backwards slamming into the wall of video monitors before sliding to floor unconscious. Kim strolled over nonchalantly to make sure the woman was out. Which she was most definitely was.

She smiled and bobbed her head and started rapping, _"You thought you was all big and bad, tough butch dyke, uh huh, now your just a pile of crap on the floor...boo hoo...on you...Who's bad...I'm bad...Oh yea...I'm bad."_

The woman stirred so Kim cut the taunting short and fled from the office, she picked up Josie and Lucre on the way out, "We have to leave...NOW." She told them as she angrily pushed the brain mascot out of her way.

The Brain mascot toppled over backwards and was like a turtle on his back, unable to right himself as he flailed away with his arms and legs, "HELP ME, HELP ME, I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!" he wailed as Josie and Lucre rushed by him.

They ran into the parking lot, Kim tried to sit in front only to have Josie pull her back, "I'm shotgun Kimmie."

Lucre was confused, "What happened, what did she say about me?"

Kim was not in the mood for chit chat, "DRIVE DIRTBALL!"

The old blue Plymouth smoked its way out of the parking lot, Lucre stopped at a red light and turned to face Kim, "Now will you tell me what happened."

Kim looked behind them for squad cars, "Nothing...Nothing that they can make stick providing I can make it back to Middleton in time."

Josie and Lucre shook their heads and said in perfect unison, "What?"

"Jinx you owe me a soda...Now DRIVE!" Kim yelled as she pointed to the green traffic light.

The smoking car pulled away from the light and headed towards Frugal Lucre's lair, once they arrived Lucre began with the questioning, "Well did she like me, what did she say."

Kim took a deep breath, "Francis…She doesn't like you that way…She likes other…women."

Frugal Lucre blinked and then nodded his head, "I…I had heard that before…I just thought…If I liked her….She would like me back."

Josie patted Francis on the shoulder, "It doesn't work like that….Lets go inside and maybe I can help you feel better."

"I'll wait here; I have to get with Wade about getting a fast ride back to Middleton." Kim said as her gay sidekick and Frugal Lucre went inside the house.

Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator, "Wade, Josie…I mean Josh and I need a high speed ride back to Middleton…Please and thank you."

"Working on it Kim, what happened out there, there is an APB being released for your immediate arrest."

"I knew it…I should have killed her, dead women tell no tales." Kim said in aggravation.

"Killed?"

"Sorry Wade, Ron sneaking thru again…It went well Lucre is in love with Josh…I beat up the love of his life who was coming on to me…."

"This is going to be complicated isn't it Kim." Wade said with a grin.

Her shoulders slumped, "YES…How soon for the ride?"

"Ride should be there in 20 minutes…I'm going to reroute the APB, so it shouldn't hit the news wires or other law enforcement agencies for another hour or so." Wade informed her.

"You rock Wade, I'll go get Josie…er….Josh and have him ready to leave." Kim told him as she ended the transmission.

Kim walked up to the back door from the alley and knocked. Mrs. Lurman opened the door, "Ohhhhhhh Your another of Francis's little friends."

Kim smiled sadly and nodded, "Yes, I'm looking for Francis and my cousin."

Mrs. Lurman laughed, "Oh she's with Francis down stairs in his lair, that Josie's such a nice girl…I think it would be nice for Francis to finally get a girlfriend."

She tried hard not to laugh, "I better head downstairs, our ride will be here soon."

Down the stairs she went, at the bottom of the stairs she could hear them talking but still couldn't see where they went, she rounded a corner in the basement and found Lucre in a passionate kiss with Josie.

Kim stopped dead in her tracks, _"Oh my God, he's seducing Frugal Lucre…This is sooooo wrong."_

Frugal broke off the kiss, and spoke softly to Josie, "So you're really a man?"

"I'm a woman trapped in a man's body Francis." Josie whispered to him.

"I…I haven't done anything like this since I was in prison." Lucre said still struggling with his thoughts.

Josie fell to her knees and tugged Lucre's pants and underwear "Make me your woman Francis."

Lucre's head rolled back in ecstasy, "YESSSSSSSSSSS"

Kim's eyes were open wide and she sucked in her cheeks horrified by what she was seeing, _"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"_

She backed out of the basement as quick as she could, she bumped into Mrs. Lurman, "I brought you kids some cookies."

Kim smiled, and escorted the older woman back up the stairs, "They'll come in handy, Francis should be losing his cookies shortly."

"I don't understand?"

"I mean Francis will be hungry shortly….So do you think Francis and Josie make a good couple?" She asked nervously as she tried to keep the elderly woman from wondering into something she knew she couldn't handle.

Kim listened to Francis's life story with feigned interest as she looked out the window for her ride, _"Where is it Wade?"_

Finally a sliver mini van pulled up in the alley, Kim breathed a sigh of relief as she turned and opened the basement door yelled for Josh, "JOSIE…RIDE'S HERE."

Kim excused herself and walked outside, _"I don't believe this…I don't believe this…Josh…You…you…fag….No more missions for you….We're supposed to beat up the bad guys not…have oral sex with them."_

She took a seat in front and then her mind started to become crafty, _"I wonder if Killigan is gay? I mean he wears that skirt…and that little hat with the tassel on top…Josh could distract him by going oral and I could grab Killigan's three iron and bury it in the back of his skull over and over again until."_ She shook her head violently from side to side, _"Have to stop thinking like Ron…I'm not a killer…I'm not a lesbian."_

Josh finally waived good bye to Francis and climbed into the van, "Bye Francis."

Lucre waived goodbye, "Call me Josie…I'd call you but you know how expensive those long distance companies are."

Kim watched a wide grin cross Josh's face as the van pulled away, "You look very pleased with yourself."

"I made a new friend…So when's our next mission." Josh said with a grin

Kim smiled weakly, _"Never"_

"We'll see Josh…We'll see."

**

* * *

**

Officer Hoople entered the space center only to have Kim meet him at the entrance wearing a white lab coat, "Problem Officer Hoople?"

Officer Hoople laughed, "No, there seems to be some misunderstanding in Philadelphia….They are claiming you assaulted a Smarty Mart employee and took down their four million dollar security system."

Kim shook her head, "Nope, not me been working here since three…Which is 5:00 PM Eastern time."

Officer Hoople nodded his head, "I'll see to it personally that it's cleared up on the Philadelphia end…Can't be at two places at once can we."

Kim giggled, "Not like I have access to a top secret space plane that can whisk me across the country in a matter of minutes."

Officer Hoople laughed with Kim and nodded his head in agreement, "Me and the guys down at the station just want you to know that we aren't buying all the nonsense that the liberal media has been saying about you recently…We know you and that one guy….What's his name…Don."

"Ron" Kim corrected him.

"Right Ron, we know your one of the good guys." Hoople said with a grin.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Officer Hoople, coming from you that means a lot." Kim said happily.

"Hey good job on going to the Middle East and getting that Ron guy out of trouble, he's really kind of helpless without you isn't he?"

Kim giggled and shrugged, "Well…Ron's Ron…you know."

Officer Hoople shook his head, "I wonder what that boy was thinking when he decided to move over there?"

**

* * *

**

"_What was I thinking when I decided to move over here?"_ Ron thought as he lay on the ground covering the approach to the building from the street.

It was daylight now and the artillery shells continued to fall, there had been no word from Captain Frankel and his 20 men that had left during the night. There would be patrols by the Hezbollah and Lebanese army but so far they had managed to stay hidden from them.

Earlier near dawn Ron had made direct contact with Red and Purple platoons. After a quick council of war with the Lt. Chernofsky and a Captain Ovadia it was decided that Red and Purple would try and push further into the village and Ron with his Blue and Green platoons would hold position and serve as a makeshift hospital.

That is how things had remained for most of the day. It was an unusually warm spring in Lebanon and the temperature was well over 80 degrees. Ron's 4 hour guard shift had come to an end as Tirza popped him on the helmet and handed him a bottle of water.

"No Tirza, we are starting to run low, save it for someone who needs it worse." Ron said as he crawled away from the doorway to be relieved by a member of the Green recon platoon.

Ron crept inside the building as quietly as he could with Tirza following him, "Ronnie, you have lain in the sun for 4 hours, no one needs this more than you right now...Look at your uniform."

He looked at himself, his uniform was soaked from sweat, "I think I could use a drink...How is our food holding out."

"Two days, if we go on strict rations, five days perhaps." Tirza told him.

Their attention was diverted towards the sound of gunfire from way off in the distance, "You think they are assaulting the hill?" Tirza asked.

Ron shook his head, "No idea...I think they are still in the village."

Sergei duck walked over to Ron and Tirza, "You are all wet...You should have had my side of the building, very comfortable in the shade."

He shook his head and made his way to Pvt. Herzl, "Anything on the radio?"

"Not since two hours ago, Black and Yellow platoons are missing as is Captain Frankel and his men, Red and Purple report no contact with enemy as of yet." Private Herzl informed him.

Ron began rubbing the whiskers that now were starting to form a rather full beard, "Attempt..."

The radio crackled to life and Pvt. Herzl responded and handed the hand set towards Ron, "It's Captain Ovadia"

He nodded, "Yes officer"

"We have found 6 men from Captain Frankel's patrol, they were scattered early this morning...Captain Frankel is missing feared dead, Yellow and Black platoons have been cut off and are trying to make their way towards are position...We have been discovered and the patrol is withdrawing...Expect artillery bombardment to resume soon. What is your disposition?"

Ron licked his lips, "Unchanged...Haven't seen a patrol in nearly four hours."

"We will pass Yellow and Black back your way, they have many wounded...Try to raise division HQ and arrange to have the wounded removed this evening."

Ron heard the low booming noise in the distance, "Yes Officer"

The rounds began to impact a good distance from where Ron's group was hiding, "We have to go and find cover now." And the voice on the radio was gone.

The shelling stopped just as soon as it had started, Ron looked around, _"They're going to send in more men and go house to house...Try to pin us down."_

"Private Herzl try to raise division HQ, tell them we need to evacuate wounded."

"Lieutenant, Soldiers are coming."

Ron snuck back up to the doorway, "Those are not ours...No armbands and walking in the middle of the street." He whispered to the private.

The group of four soldiers stopped in the road and began talking very loudly in Arabic and finally one of the men pointed towards the building that Ron and his platoon had been in last night.

Another soldier stepped forward and hoisted a rocket to his shoulder and fired a rocket into the building. There was a loud roar from the explosion and debris began to rain down on Ron and his men due to the fact that the building they were hiding in lacked a roof, _"That's no RPG, that's an anti-tank missile."_

The men began laughing and one pointed at the building where Ron and his men were. Ron quickly shouldered his rifle and put the crosshairs of the 4x scope on the man with the anti-tank missile and once he reloaded and brought it up to his shoulder, he squeezed the trigger and sent a 5.56mm wake up call right through the man's eye forehead.

The man was sent backwards and Ron quickly shot the other three before they could figure out what had happened, "We need to go get them and drag them off that street."

He took Sgt. Shubaki, and Sergei with him into the street, "Drag them into another building and make sure they are visible."

Sergei looked at him strangely, "Why?"

Shubaki laughed, "Bad guys spot our phony IDF guys…Fire on them and we know where they are….Decoys."

Ron smiled, "Decoys"

"Make sure to strip them of guns, ammo, food, anything we can use." Shubaki reminded them.

"Nice American weapons." Sergei remarked as he began taking weapons off the bodies.

"American's rearmed the Lebanese army after the war two years ago." Shubaki informed him.

Loud explosions on the hillside caught their attention, "Air strike" Ron said as he began dragging the rocket man off the street.

"HIDE, men coming." Shubaki warned.

Ron dropped to the ground on the side of a bombed out building and watched the 5 men working their way towards their position house by house. Once they got closer he could see black armbands, _"Captain Frankel's men."_

Sergeant Shubaki stepped out of the shadows and leveled his rifle at the men, "Far enough…Identify yourselves."

"Shubaki bring them in here." Ron ordered.

The five exhausted men offered no resistance and were very happy to have found the group they started out with. Ron looked at one of the soldiers, "Private, tell me what happened to you and Captain Frankel?"

The Private looked at the bodies wearing the IDF uniforms, Ron held up his arm, "They didn't have arm bands….Now explain."

"We left from here and worked our way towards the northern part of the village, we were jumped by a patrol and we lost touch with the Captain."

Ron nodded remembering the radio conversation of moments ago, "Did you find Yellow and Black platoons?"

The soldier shook his head, "No…no they were not where they were supposed to be so we began looking other places."

"Sergei take these men back and have Tirza see to them."

With that said Ron's mind began to function, _"Captain Ovadia has six men, we have 5…11 men out of 21, 10 missiong…Damn."_

"Sergeant Shubaki we need to return to our building and see if we can get a hold of division HQ."

Shubaki nodded, "We are not going to have enough platoons for an attack at this rate."

They made it back into the building, and the men from Black platoon were hugging the men that remained behind, _"Well no chance of these guys being phony."_

Ron propped the anti-tank weapon in the corner for later use, Pvt. Herzl followed him and it was clear to Ron that he was excited, "Yes?"

"Divison HQ is sending out helicopters tonight to take our dead and wounded and they will be bringing us Paratroopers to help us out." The private told him excitedly.

He flinched, some little corner of his mind where his pride lived had become awakened, "Did I request help from the paratroopers?"

"No…no officer." The private responded obviously realizing he had just hit a sore spot with his lieutenant.

"If I did not ask them for help, how can they help me…They are just coming and that is all." Ron said bitterly.

The artillery barrage began again, shells fell from the sky, this time falling dangerously close to where Ron and his men were hiding. He looked at the sky, _"I think they are missing a patrol."_

Noise from the front of the building drew his attention from the shelling, men were scrambling inside. Ron recognized Captain Ovadia and he saluted, "Good to see you officer."

He began to reply but another explosion cut him off, "Sorry I think we brought the shells with us…Where can we place our wounded?"

Ron motioned for Tirza, "We have many wounded coming, make space for them."

He nodded and left, Ron pointed to Tirza as he left, "Follow that medic and he will show you."

More men came through the door some carrying wounded some carrying dead. Ron shook his head and motioned for Shubaki and the Sergeant came closer, "Form up our platoon, we are going to move back across the street….Our platoon is still combat effective and I want to keep it that way."

Sgt. Shubaki made the necessary commands and began to move the platoon out, Ron sat on the floor in front of the captain, "We had five more men show up from Captain Frankel's group…With your six that platoon is almost intact….There are 11 missing."

Captain Ovadia nodded, "Your group is almost intact, mine platoon and Lt. Chernofsky's platoon is almost intact…We will need to move out tonight to assault the hillside."

Ron nodded, "It will be dark in a few hours…We need to split the platoons up again incase of more shelling….I sent my platoon back across the road."

Captain Ovadia agreed and began to make preparations to split the rest of the men up, Ron decided it was time to cross the road and rejoin his platoon. The shelling had stopped again so he knew there would be a patrol in the area soon.

He stepped into the doorway and began to make a dash across the street, he felt a burning in his left calf before he heard the shot from the rifle that had just dropped him in the middle of the street.

Ron was down in the street and unsure which direction to move in, he began rolling to the direction he thought he had just come from cursing all the way as bullets hit the ground close to where he was.

He stopped rolling and brought his own rifle around to fire as gunfire erupted from the two buildings he felt a pair of grabbing him and pulling him back inside the building, "Not yet, not yet."

"Ronnie stop squirming or we will both be shot." Tirza yelled at him as he pulled him back in the building.

Tirza drug Ron and leaned him against the back wall and began to work on his left leg. The pain was beginning to set in now that he was calming down. He looked at the calf and then turned away, "DAMN….Bonnie is going to kill me."

Tirza began laughing, "Your are lucky that it was a ricochet, otherwise your calf would be just so much ground meat…The bullet did not exit…You will leave tonight on the helicopter…Your war is done for now."

Ron took off his helmet and ran his hand thru his hair, "No chance you could dig it out and patch me up?"

Tirza gave him that 'are you crazy' look, "You really want me to try surgery out here…I am just medic…" Then he grinned, "A Solitary Man."

Ron winced and gave a soft chuckle, "No more Neil Diamond."

Ron heard a shout from near the front of the room, "Patrol is pulling out…They are going to start shelling again."

"Great, that's all we need now." He said quietly as he put his helmet back on.

Tirza looked up at the sky, "I wonder if it would make a difference if we had a roof over our heads."

Explosions erupted all around their building and dust began settling on them. Ron smiled, "We would have more junk falling on us."

They heard the high pitched whine of a shell that was going to hit very close to them. Tirza threw himself on top of Ron the explosion was loud and pieces of the wall began to come down on top of them.

Ron's ears were still ringing as Tirza pulled himself off the top of him, "Hit the side of the building." Tirza said as he put his hand to his mouth and saw blood, "I think I bit my tongue."

Ron looked up and saw the blood had air bubbles in it and remembered from his first aid training back in basic training that it was likely a chest wound. He sat up carefully and put his hand on Tirza's shoulder, "Tirza…I think you have been hit."

Tirza tilted his head, "No…I would know.'

Ron began turning him looking for a wound but could see none until he ran his right hand under Tirza's left armpit and came back with blood, "Tirza you have been hit."

Tirza lifted his arm and there was a small hole in his uniform that was beginning to seep blood, "Looks like my war is over too."

A voice from the front called, "Lt. Stoppable your building was hit, most of your men are down."

Ron cringed, "Oh no….Sergei is over there….They got all of us."

Captain Ovadia crept close to Ron, "From what we can tell you have 9 killed and the rest wounded…Some bad…some not so bad…Once it becomes dark we will take you and the rest of the wounded out of town to await the helicopters."

Ron closed his eyes and nodded, "I understand."

The captain left and Ron turned his attention back to Tirza. He was now pale and his breathing was raspy, "Do you think Sergei is dead? I do not want to die either…I want to see Monique."

Ron was trying to keep his own emotions under control, "You are still going to see Monique…Your not going to die…I hope Sergei isn't dead."

They sat against the wall for a bit, one of the surviving medics laid Tirza out on the floor and began to treat him for shock. Ron watched emotionless. Soon the wounded from Ron's building began to make their way into the building.

He spotted Sergei he had his shirt torn off and his arm was bandaged, _"A shoulder wound…Not bad…Thank God…Now all I have to worry about is Tirza."_

Ron couldn't help but giggle when Sergei plopped down next to him, "So you got your fat ass blown up."

Sergei shook his head, "They got better with the artillery, it did not seem they could miss today…What's wrong with Tirza?"

"Chest wound."

Sergei winced, "Not bad I hope."

Ron said nothing as Captain Ovadia walked up and knelt down by Ron, "We are going to get you guys moved now….They have taken the hill from the rear…We were just a diversion."

The look was a mixture and elation on Ron's face, "We did all this for a damn diversion…What a waste."

"We took the missile launchers and found a stock pile of chemical weapons that they did not get a chance to launch…General Tova really took them by surprise." Captain Ovadia said with a smile.

They all sat quietly and waited for the helicopters to arrive. The only thiing that kept running through Ron's mind was, _"All of these guys killed...for a diversion."_

"Yea...He really showed them." He said sadly.

He finally had to turn his mind to other things, to Middleton, to home, a home far away that new nothing of death on this scale or of war or of pain, real pain. He could feel Tirza's grip become weaker and he knew he had to keep him alert or he too would slip away into the darkness and Ron could not bare the thought of watching his friend die and die for nothing, "Hey Tirza...I bet I know something that Monique likes that she has never told you."

Tirza's eyes were glassy, "Wh...what?"

Ron laughed at the memory, "She's a huge pro wrestling fan."

Tirza's eyes lit up and he chuckled softly, "Big men beating on each other?"

"Yes, big men beating on each other...She's a huge Pain King fan."

"I do not know that one." Tirza said softly.

Ron tilted his head and looked at the sky, it was becoming dark outside. Soon after it became dark the helicopters arrived and Ron was unceremoniously picked up by a paratrooper carried outside and flung into a waiting helicopter. Wounded after wounded was thrown on board and then the helicopter rose quickly and banked hard to the left released three flares to confuse the shoulder launched anti aircraft missiles.

He thought for a moment that the helicopter was hit and they were all going to crash in a fireball but after a time the helicopter leveled out and Ron pushed the other wounded men off of him and settled in for the flight back to Loewenstein Hospital in Ra'anana. Now another new fear began to creep into his mind,_"Great…Now I have to face Bonnie."_


	50. Chapter 50

Ahhhhhhh at last a nice 7,000 word chapter...No real warnings here just a transitional chapter to get Ron back to Middleton. Enjoy!

Bubba

* * *

She answered the knock at the door; there stood the same short IDF corporal that arrived yesterday, "Let me guess Ron has sent you back here with even more guns to put in my closet?"

Sam shook his head, "No Bonnie, I am to take you to Loewenstein Hospital, Lt. Stoppable has been wounded again and is being brought in with what is left of his platoon."

Bonnie looked at him in disbelief, "What…Wounded…Again…How badly…I mean has his parents been notified?"

"I do not know, I have not heard anything."

She ran around her living room in circles, "I need my purse…I need my phone…I need Ron's phone….Does Ron need anything?"

Sam shrugged, "I am not sure."

"Well quit standing there in the doorway and take me to him." Bonnie barked at him.

The trip to Ra'anana was spent in silence, ugly images of Ron tore to pieces again flashed through her mind, _"Damn war…missiles…Ron….Damn you Ron quit getting hurt...No more playing soldier, your going back to Middleton if I have to pick you up and throw you on that airplane myself."_

Sam turned into the entrance of the hospital and Bonnie was out of the humvee like a shot, she cleared the automatic doors and walked to the nurse's station, "I am looking for Ronald Stoppable."

The nurse looked him up on the computer, "He is in room 610…but it's after visiting hours."

Bonnie left for the elevators and jumped on the first one that had the doors open and pressed the sixth floor, _"She said 610 and not 618…right?"_

The door opened and she ran past the nurses station and found room 610 rather quickly and stormed in the door only to feel embarrassed, "Oh…Sorry I was looking for Ronald…Ron is that you?"

Ron smiled and nodded and waived her in, "I haven't shaved in a while."

Bonnie sat her stuff in a chair, "So how bad you hurt this time?"

"Not bad, I took a ricochet into my left calf muscle…They dug the bullet out already…Should be getting out tomorrow…I hope." He told her as he handed her the spent bullet that was removed from his leg.

She shook her head and refused to look at the bullet, "You look so different with that beard."

Ron chuckled, "We're out in the field so much, I just never thought about it."

She nodded, "Sam said most of the platoon was hurt?"

Ron frowned and nodded, "I made the rounds earlier, most of the lightly wounded have been released, six dead...I have to write letters later...Including to the widow of Captain Frankel...I don't quite know what to write...I'll work on that later I guess."

Bonnie climbed into bed with Ron taking him by surprise and lay on his chest, "I was thinking the worst."

The door opened and Sergei walked in and stopped as he saw that Ron had company, "Bad time?"

Ron shook his head, "Not yet."

Sergei walked into the room a little further and pointed to Bonnie, "I did not get one of those in my room?"

Ron chuckled, "You have to be an officer."

"Oh"

Ron smiled, "Sergei Bunimovich, this is Bonnie Rockwaller."

Sergei smiled, "Ah the famous Bonnie."

Bonnie gave him a small waive, "Hello Sergei"

Ron lifted his head up, "How's Tirza?"

Sergei shook his head, "Not good, he's out of surgery but…He will be mustered out of the service…He's disabled now."

"What?" Ron said in disbelief.

Sergei shook his head, "The shrapnel went thru a lung and pierced his heart…He will have a permanent hole in his heart…Or so I am told…His mother and sister are with him now."

Ron held Bonnie a little tighter and began to become emotional, "Oh no….Oh no…Poor Tirza…awwww man…I have to tell Monique."

Bonnie looked up, "Monique?"

"He was going to go back to Middleton with me and propose to her." Ron said painfully.

"Really?" Bonnie said slightly bewildered

Ron nodded and looked at Sergei who was walking towards the door, "How is your shoulder?"

He shrugged, "Hurts…I will let you know more about Tirza if I hear anything."

Ron waived as he left and then stared at the ceiling in his own little world. Bonnie wrinkled her nose, "Ron…You really stink. When's the last time you had a shower?"

Ron thought about the question and shrugged, "When did you drop me off at Bezeq?"

Bonnie slid out of bed and walked into the bathroom, a short time later Ron heard the water running into the tub. She returned wearing only her underwear, "Get up, time to get you cleaned up and lose that beard."

"Bon Bon doesn't like the beard?" Ron said with a grin as he struggled to his feet.

"It was interesting for a little bit, now get naked so we can get you clean." Bonnie ordered.

"Yes Officer"

Ron pulled the sheets back and slid out of the bed, "Owww…Pain…Need some help here."

Bonnie came to him and he put his arm around her and smiled, "Nice panties…I didn't know you were into bunnies."

Bonnie growled and began pulling him towards the bathroom, "Shut up Ron and start limping."

She helped Ron into the tub and he slid to into the warm water, she un-wrapped the tiny bar of soap and began to lather the wash rag, "Did you have to go and get yourself shot again?"

Ron shook his head, "Now if I wouldn't of got shot who would wash me?"

Bonnie didn't respond, she had a look on her face that Ron had never seen before. She continued to clean him up, she cleaned her way to his crotch and Ron leaned his head back and smiled, "Oh…I like it when you clean there."

Ron lifted his head when there was no response from Bonnie, "I think maybe I'm clean enough down there."

Bonnie's face was turning red, "You don't tell me when you're clean, I tell you."

She continued washing him, now she reached his chest and she was scrubbing as hard as she could her face twisted into a mask of pain. Ron knew something was wrong, "Bonnie…are you OK?"

Bonnie climbed into the tub with him and fell on his chest and began to cry. Ron didn't know what was going on but knew Bonnie was hurting so he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

She continued to cry and Ron kissed her forehead, "Bonnie what's wrong?" he said gently.

After a few minutes the crying stopped but she continued to cling to him, "Re...Remember...you...you told me to go to shelter...if there was a missile attack?"

Ron nodded that he did and stroked her hair. Bonnie quit talking but held on to him. Ron spoke quietly again hoping she would tell him what was wrong, "I remember."

It took a few minutes for Bonnie to tell him what had happened, "There was a warning...It must have been around 3:00 AM...I...I wanted to ignore it...I finally got out of bed and went to the shelter..."

Bonnie began crying again and Ron kissed her forehead again, "It's all right...I'm here...I'm right here."

Bonnie began to catch her breath again, "I...I got to the shelter...late...One...one of those damn missiles..." She began crying again, "hit it and killed everyone...They were all dead...and...I...I didn't know what to do."

Ron held her tight and kissed her check, "I'm sorry Bonnie...I'm so sorry."

"The police and the ambulances arrived and...I was screaming...I couldn't stop screaming..." Bonnie began crying again. "They took me to a hospital in Netanya and told me that everyone in the shelter was fine, that some people were injured and no one was killed, but I saw it, I saw it all."

She broke down again and Ron continued to hold her, "So when did you get out of the hospital?"

Bonnie closed her eyes, "Yesterday...I think...They said I has some shock trauma or something...Gave me some sedatives...I haven't taken them...It was awful." Bonnie told him as she continued to cry.

The water was starting to become cold before Bonnie looked up, "I...I didn't bring any shaving stuff for you."

Ron smiled as he helped her out of the water, "Maybe you will learn to like the beard?"

Bonnie put her hands on her hips and tilted her head from one side to the other, thinking it over and then mouthed the word, "No" and Ron knew he was going to be shaving soon.

Ron held out his hands and Bonnie helped him get out of the tub and hobble over to the sink and dried him off before she turned around and looked at the brown bath water, "Ewwww I was laying in that?"

He finished drying himself off and threw the towel at Bonnie, "Dry yourself off bunnie undies."

She shot him a glare, "Not a word about this when we get home."

Ron laughed and nodded, "As long as you don't go telling everyone about my false teeth."

"Deal...I'm so glad your back...I was...you know...worried." Bonnie said quietly.

"Yea...I did a lot of thinking over there...I don't think I'm going to do an proposing anytime soon...I mean...Kim's great and everything...I'm just...thinking things thru that's all."

Bonnie closed her eyes, "Ron...I don't want to get in the way of anything." She told him as she tied the towel around herself.

"I can't wait to get back home, but...I...I just have this fear that no one is going to know me anymore...I mean so much has changed over the year." Ron said sadly.

"Hard to believe this time last year, I thought you was a dork, then this time two years ago I was calling you a loser...So much has changed."

Ron laughed, "Yea, now you think I'm a dorky loser."

Bonnie took the towel off and threw it in his face, "That'll teach you."

Ron pulled the towel from around his head and threw it on the floor and held out his arms. Bonnie stepped into the embrace, "I'm so sorry about being a jerk to you in high school."

He chuckled softly, "It doesn't matter now...That's all in the past."

Bonnie pulled back from the embrace, "I brought your cell phone so you can call Kim or Monique or whoever and tell them about your friend."

"Ahhhhh the Ronnunicator...I should have taken it with me...I need to get dressed first...Kim would freak if she saw a naked bearded guy calling her." Ron said as he pulled Bonnie in for another hug.

**

* * *

**

"OK Girl, spill...How was the mission?" Monique asked excitedly.

Kim bobbed her head back and forth, "It was...different...Josh dressed as a girl."

"NO WAY" Monique exclaimed and then began laughing.

Kim joined her, laughing at Josh's new found passion of cross dressing, "Way…and then he tells everyone that I'm his cousin and begins calling himself Josie."

Monique laid her head down on the table and began roaring with laughter, "Oh…I can just see it."

Kim was smiling broadly and shaking her head, "So anyway, turns out Lucre just wants me to go out with him to make this girl at Smarty Mart jealous….Turns out the gal is a lesbian and has the hots for me."

"NO WAY" Monique gasps as she starts to break into another round of laughter.

Kim nodded her head, "Girl, let me tell…I am definitely not a lesbian…No attraction what so ever."

Monique smiled, "See I told you, your just missing Ron."

"Yea"

"So what happens next?"

Kim stopped laughing for a moment, "Monique…can I ask your honest opinion about something?"

Monique shrugged, "Sure"

"Do my mission clothes make me look gay?" Kim asked quietly.

"Well…" Monique began as she scrunched her face and rolled her eyes upward thinking over the best way to answer the question, "When you were wearing the flats or the athletic shoes….That was fine…But honestly girl…Those big ass Timberland boots just make you look….ultra butch."

Kim flinched, "B…but the boots are so cool and when you kick someone in the head they generally go unconscious…I kicked Ron in the face and it was all he could do to stay upright."

"You asked…So what happens next?" Monique prodded her to continue the story.

"Well we go through the whole you're going to have sex with me routine and I tell her, 'so not happening', we fight, I knock her out….Time to get moving right?"

"Yea"

"So I run out of the security office and collect Josie and Lucre, he drives us back to his mom's house…Josh…er…Josie goes in with Lucre and I stay outside to call Wade, right."

Monique begins giggling waiting for the payoff, "Yea"

Kim begins laughing and shaking her head, "So I go back into Lucre's Lair and their they are in the basement tongue kissing."

"Ewwwwww…NO WAY."

"Anyway to make a long story short Josh falls to his knees pulls Lucre's pants and underwear down and begins doing his thing…'Make me your woman Francis'" Kim said trying to imitate Josh.

"NO WAY…Right in front of you?" Monique said in surprise.

Kim giggled, "No…They didn't know I was there."

Monique looked around, "So you got to watch your old boyfriend engage in gay sex…How weird must that have been?"

"Oh No…I had to stop Lucre's mom from coming into the basement."

Monique covered her face with both hands, "Oh my God, you never would have been able to explain that."

Kim shook her head, "Not in a million years."

Monique gave Kim a knowing look, "Now for the real question…Is Josh going on anymore missions?"

Kim let out a deep breath and closed her eyes, "I don't know…Yesterday I thought it was a total disaster…Now…after thinking it over...Maybe it didn't really go so badly."

Monique chuckled and then their attention was broken by the familiar jingle of Kimmunicator. Kim pulled the device out of her purse and looked at the call waiting, "Ron…must be Bonnie." She said as she answered it.

"Hell…" She stopped as the face of a bearded man filled the screen.

"Hey KP…I got wounded again…Wars done for me." The man said.

"R…Ron?"

"Ahhhhh the beard, haven't had a chance to shave yet."

Monique curiosity was peeked, "Let me see, let me see." Kim turned the Kimmunicator so Monique could see him, "OH MY GOD, Ron…You look like a blonde Big Foot…Lose the beard, honey'"

The phone turned on Ron's end and there was Bonnie, "Don't worry as soon as he gets home I'm making him shave…Now I have to go see if my underwear is dry."

Kim's eyes shot open, _"As soon as he gets home?"_

"Underwear dry?"

Ron giggled sheepishly, "Yea…yea…well….That's a long story…Look I really called because I need to talk to Monique."

Kim narrowed her eyes, "So you don't want to talk to me."

Ron's face became serious, "Kim, Tirza's hurt bad…I need to talk to Monique."

Monique heard the name Tirza and took the Kimmunicator from her, "What about Tirza."

Ron was quiet for a moment trying to organize his thoughts, "We had a bad time of it, we took a lot of shelling from artillery, and everyone took a hit."

"What happened to Tirza." Monique said becoming distressed.

"He was treating me after I was shot and another wave of shelling began, one landed close and he was hit…From what…"

"No…No…Tirza's not dead is he?" Monique began to panic.

"No, no, nothing like that…From what Sergei told me…A small piece of metal went in just under his left armpit, went thru his lung and went thru his heart…He has a hole in his heart now…He's alive but they are going to discharge him from the IDF now that he is disabled."

Monique's lower lip began quivering, "So…I…I'll just have to fill that hole in his heart." Monique began crying, "Can I talk to him….I want to talk to Tirza."

Ron nodded, "I've got Bonnie helping me down to his room…His family is with him from what Sergei told me."

Ron stopped outside of Tirza's room and tapped on the door, a young girl answered, "Yes"

"I am Ronald Stoppable, I am looking for Tirza Cohen's room?"

The girl smiled and nodded and motioned for him to come into the room, "Tirza is sleeping now."

Ron held up the Ronnunicator and the girl could see Monique on the screen, "Yes…Hallo Monique…I am Mehira…Tirza is asleep."

Monique smiled through the tears, "You speak English well…I…I never had a chance to meet any of Tirza's family."

Mehira smiled and nodded, "I learn it in school. Let me introduce you to my mother….Momma…it's Monique." She whispered as she handed the older woman the phone.

Monique smiled and couldn't help but notice the worry on his mother's face, she was sure hers looked the same, "Shalom…Tirza…talk…much about…you…yes."

She wiped her eyes, "He writes about you too…He takes after you."

The older woman looked at her daughter who explained what Monique had just said. She nodded and smiled, "Yes…he is."

Ron leaned over and whispered into Mehira's ear, "How is he doing?"

Mehira shook her head, "He is very sad…He loved the IDF and feels betrayed now that he is hurt."

Tirza opened his eyes, "I hear Monique?"

Ron laughed, and Tirza's mother handed the phone to Tirza. He smiled and pointed, "Monique?"

Monique began to cry, "Hey baby…How are you feeling."

Tirza frowned, "Oh this is nothing be up and around in a few days."

"I…I'm glad to see you…I almost forgot how your voice sounded." Monique told him as she wiped her eyes.

"I…I have missed you too…I want to come to America with Ronnie…to see you again." Tirza said quietly.

Monique smiled, "I can't wait to see you."

Tirza wiped his eyes, "I have bad news…They will not let me be…soldier anymore….I do not know what to do now."

Monique began to sob, "We'll find something for you to do baby…You don't worry about that now…OK."

Tirza nodded sadly, "OK"

Mehira leaned over towards Ron, "He must rest now."

Ron nodded, "Any idea on when he will be released?"

Mehira nodded, "Next week…I think…Maybe sooner."

Monique had overheard Ron's conversation with Mehira and knew her visit with Tirza was coming to an end, "Tirza, you come home with Ron…I need to see you…OK."

Tirza smiled, "We will listen Neil Diamond and watch your Pain King on Television."

"Aughhhhhhhh He didn't tell you I like wrestling did he…RON."

Ron blushed and rolled his eyes, "Maybe that's one little secret Tirza should have found out on his own."

Ron took the Ronnunicator from him and grasped Tirza's hand and said in Hebrew, "You get better fast brother…Much to do in United States."

Tirza smiled and nodded, "See Monique baby."

"Yes, see Monique." Ron said as he excused himself from the room.

He turned his attention back to the Ronnunicator, "I think you made Tirza's day."

Monique was still fuming, "Did you have to tell him about Pain King?"

Ron stopped hobbling down the hallway and focused his full attention on Monique, "Tirza was going into shock and I was afraid he was going to die….So I gave him something to concentrate on…The wrestling just came into my head."

Monique's let her momentary embarrassment go, "Oh…I didn't know…Sorry."

Bonnie walked up beside Ron and made sure that she was seen on the Ronnicator with him, "No big…I'm getting pretty tired myself, it's getting late here…Bonnie here, has a lot of work ahead of her so Kim doesn't see me limping around with a cane…Give Kim my love and I'll talk to her when I find out how I'm coming home." Ron said as he reached the door to his room.

Monique nodded, "OK…I'll do that…Thanks for letting me see Tirza."

Ron smiled, "No big….See ya Monique."

He broke the connection and the screen went blank as hobbled back into his room with the aide of Bonnie, "Very funny Bonnie…I am going to have to spend a half hour explaining to Kim why your underwear was wet."

Bonnie began laughing her sinister laugh and took Ron by the arm, "You just tell her it's none of her business."

Ron nodded as sat down on the bed, "I will try that…I don't think it's going to work though."

**

* * *

**

"Did you see how thin Tirza looked...First thing I'm going to do is get that boy fed." Monique said as she finished wiping tears from her eyes.

Kim smirked, "How could I see anything after you took the Kimmunicator from me."

Monique shot her a look and Kim knew no apology was coming her way, "Girl when he said Tirza's been hurt...It became the Monicator."

She nodded not feeling like a fight, "Ron was wounded again but I didn't get to find out how bad...I didn't feel anything...So it couldn't have been too bad." She reasoned.

"There you go that just proves you don't have this psychic link with Ron...You just miss his hairy old self."

Kim was still in no mood for joking around, "And what did Bonnie mean by when he gets home?"

Monique rolled her eyes, "Girl Bonnie's just trying to play you, and you're falling right into it."

"Underwear dry?" Kim said still not ready to stop jellin' just yet.

Monique shrugged, "No idea about that one."

Kim frowned, "Maybe your right...Maybe this chair thing...I don't know."

Monique squeezed her arm, "Still feel like going gay with me."

Kim bristled, "NO"

She smiled and began chuckling, "See, no psychic link...Just a little loneliness...Don't let Bonnie play you and I have to go to class, big exam."

Kim waived at her friend as she got up from the table and left, _"Bonnie is up to something...I just wish I knew what it was."_

**

* * *

**

"So General Tova just told you to drive me around did he?" Ron said as he teased Sam.

"He said to make sure you stay out of trouble."

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "Well we'll make a quick trip to Bat Yam and pick up some things I want to take home with me next week."

"I think I have become your family's driver now as well, I picked up Bonnie from the hospital last week after her attack."

Ron looked at him, "What attack?"

"Nurse that wheeled her out said it was a panic attack, missile hit close by the shelter she was going to and she...she did not tell you?" Sam asked as he suddenly realized that this was all news to Ron.

He shook his head, "My first night back...She said the shelter was hit and everyone died."

Sam shook his head, "No one died...It just scared her real bad from what I was told."

Ron closed his eyes and nodded, _"Poor Bonnie...I thought she was acting weird for last week or so...I'll have to cut my visit short to the Oester's."_

They entered Bat Yam and Ron felt an ease come over him, this city was beginning to feel more and more like home. He had Sam drive him by the beach; the women were starting to come out in their bikinis so he made Sam drive by a second and third time, just to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"This is our fourth trip by, maybe we should be going to the Oester's now." Sam asked impatiently.

Ron nodded, "Uh huh...Slow down...Honk, yea honk at the girl with the dental floss thong."

Sam did as he was told but he wasn't real happy with Ron, "What would Bonnie think?"

Ron looked at him and nodded and waived at the girl as they drove by, "Keep going Sam...I have to get back to Netanya."

"_Have to keep my loins in check...Stop lusting, but damn she looked good...I love the beach...I just love the beach"_ He thought as he pointed out the streets to get to the Oester's house.

They pulled up in the driveway and Sharon was waiting for them at the door. She gave Ron a big hug as he hobbled up to her with his cane, "We've missed you so much, it is so good to see you."

Ron returned the hug, "I have missed you all too."

Sima came to the door dressed in what Ron considered a way to skimpy bikini, "Shalom Ronnie I am going to the beach to work on my tan."

Ron let out a scream, "Not like that...You go put on some clothes...Now!"

Sam quickly cut in front of Ron, "Hi my name's Same Cello, I am Ronnie's driver...I mean Lt. Stoppable's driver...I drove him all through the war...He might have mentioned me."

Sima shook her head trying to remember, "No"

"SAM" Ron shouted in shock and dismay.

Sima began laughing, "You do not like my swimsuit?"

Ron was beginning to stammer, and he pointed at Sima and looked at Sharon, "Your going to let her go to the beach in that?"

Sharon began laughing and waived Sima on, "Ron...it is what all the girls are wearing at the beach this year...Your are just shocked that Sima has filled out so much since last summer."

Ron put both of his hands on top of his head, "I would send Sam with you as a body guard but I do not think that I can trust him...No...No I was not prepared for this."

Sam quickly looked at Sima, "Need a ride?"

Sima turned up her nose, "I am not interested in younger boys."

"I am older than I look ask..."

"SAM...wait in the humvee." Ron barked.

"Awww" Sam walked towards the vehicle clearly dejected.

Ron watched Sima leave and shook his head, "I do not know about this."

Sharon pulled Ron inside the house, "Have you spoken with your mother lately."

Ron nodded, "I talked to her last week after I was released from the hospital...She says to tell you hello."

Sharon smiled and nodded, "We got her last letter to us only a few days ago. She worries about you a lot."

Ron grimaced, "I know...I told her I was fine."

"If you were fine you would have gone up those steps to your room by now." Sharon pointed out.

Ron rubbed his face and placed his cane against the wall, "I know...I guess I will go upstairs now."

Sharon took Ron by his arm and one stair at a time made their way to the third floor; once they got there Ron quickly sat on the bed wiping sweat, "I wish I did not have to wear long sleeves all the time."

"You could try wearing short sleeves." Sharon suggested.

Ron looked sadly at his right arm, "No...no...I can not even look at it myself...I do not know how Bonnie does it."

Sharon patted him on the shoulder, "I will let you tend to your things, call me when your ready to go down stairs."

Ron began going through his clothes, shorts, and short sleeve shirts were going to IDF relief for needy veterans now that Ron could no longer wear them. He packed his old clock radio up that wouldn't operate on the Israeli electrical power. There were other odds and ends that he brought along and never used or wore.

Once he was finished packing his things, he stood up and walked towards the balcony of his room, _"Sima grew up a lot...I haven't seen her since I was brought in from Gaza City, never noticed how much she'd grown over the year."_

Ron sat on a patio chair and closed his eyes and listened to the sea, _"Bat Yam is so different than Middleton...I could sit here and just listen to the sea for hours."_

He remembered his conversation with Sam, _"Poor Bonnie...I know she was scared of the missiles...Might be why she's been acting so weird lately...She said they have her on sedatives."_

Ron began to fall asleep, the warm sunlight on his face was lulling him into drowsiness, his head tilted forward and his chin dipped into his chest and he was asleep. He heard a voice in the distance calling to him. He recognized the voice it was Sam, for a moment he was afraid he was in Lebanon and then he opened his eyes and looked around, "Sam...What is the problem?"

Sam came into the room, "No problem, just wondering if you need anything taken down to the humvee?"

He nodded, stood up and pointed to his bag, "Take that down, call Sharon for me...We need to leave."

Sharon came and helped Ron back down the steps, Sima decided to hang around the house to say good bye to Ron. She gave him a big hug and pressed her chest into his before Ron pulled away, "You...Don't tempt Sgt. Ronnie."

Sam held his arms open, "You may tempt me."

Sima knocked his beret off of his head, "You are a little boy."

Sam picked up his beret, "I thought you were a lieutenant?"

Ron shook his head, "Was a lieutenant...I lost my brevetted promotion now that I am out of the war...I have been assigned the permanent rank of Sergeant."

"So does that mean that I am no longer a corporal?"

He nodded, "Afraid so."

Sima decided to change the subject, "So when do you leave for the United States?"

"Next week sometime...I had better contact Wade and finalize the travel arrangements...I will be just a moment." Ron said as he pulled his Ronnunicator out.

"Wade you there?"

The connection was dark for a bit and then a familiar face came on the screen, "Hey Ron, do you know what time it is here?"

"Nope...Hey, I need a ride to the States for me and a few friends.

Wade rubbed his eyes trying to wake up, "How many friends?"

Ron face became twisted in extreme concentration, "Let's see, Me, Sergei, Tirza...Bina invited herself along..."

"I want to go." Sima chimed in.

Sam's eyes lit up, "So do I."

Ron looked at Sima, "You ask your mother first." Then he pointed at Sam, "Do you have enough leave?"

"Hang on Ron that's 8 people." Wade said in disbelief.

Ron shrugged, "Shouldn't be a problem for a guy that rocks like you do."

"Ron, I'm not a travel agent...I'll be lucky if I could just get you home."

He nodded his head and he knew it was time to turn up the guilt, "I understand Wade...You know...If I would have misled a friend into going on a mission in which his life was altered forever..."

"I'll work on it...When do you want to leave for Middleton?" Wade said glumly.

"Next Tuesday...I thank you and Sima thanks you." Ron said as he turned the Ronnunicator around to show Wade Sima in a bikini.

"Hallo Wade." Sima waived at him and smiled.

Ron turned the device around and saw Wade drooling and then he frantically began to punch keys on the keyboard, "I'm on it Ron."

"You really do rock Wade."

**

* * *

**

Sam dropped Ron off at Bonnie's apartment, it was just becoming dark outside and he was excited knowing that Wade was on the transportation job and he would soon be headed home.

He put the key in the door and turned the lock and walked into the darkened apartment, he reached over and turned on the light and found Bonnie lying in the middle of the floor, "BONNIE"

Ron dropped his cane and made his way to where she lay and fell to floor, "BONNIE...BONNIE." He yelled as he shook her.

Bonnie's eyes opened and little and then closed again and he shook her some more, "Come on Bonnie...Wake up...I need you here...PLEASE WAKE UP BONNIE."

Ron rolled to the end table and dialed 101 and called for an ambulance and returned to Bonnie and began shaking her again, "I called for an ambulance...BONNIE WAKE UP."

Bonnie's eyes opened again and rolled back in her head, "BONNIE, WAKE UP...DON'T LEAVE ME HERE."

Ron began to cry because he didn't know what else to do; he rocked her back and forth in his lap as he waited for the ambulance. He wasn't sure how long he waited before the EMT's arrived and began to work on reviving Bonnie.

They asked Ron what she had taken and he wondered around the apartment until he found a bottle sitting by the stove in the kitchen. He ran the bottle back into the living room, "I found this."

One of the EMT's took the bottle and read the label, "Do you know how many she took?"

Ron shook his head, "I just walked into the apartment and found her lying on the floor."

They put her on a gurney and Ron grabbed her purse and his cane and rode with her to the emergency room in Laniado Hospital in Netanya. They were met by Doctors and the Police, "How long has Bonnie been on Xanax? How many did she take? How long had she been unconcious."

He answered as best as he could and stayed with her until they made him leave the emergancy room to wait in the waiting room where he began to beat himself up mentaly, _"I should have taken her with me to Bat Yam, I shouldn't have had Sam drive by the beach so many times, I should have called Wade after I returned home...I only wanted to eat dinner with Bonnie and watch TV."_

Ron closed his eyes tightly and began to rock back and forth on the couch, praying as he never prayed before, _"Bonnie never really did anything evil, she may have been mean from time to time but nothing to deserve this."_

He began to cry again, _"She was just so afraid of those missiles...I shouldn't have left her alone."_

The hours went by and Ron's mind continued to run away with itself before a nurse entered the room, "Mr. Stoppable, we are moving Bonnie to a room now if you would like to fallow me."

Ron stood up and grabbed his cane Bonnie's purse he looked at a clock on the wall, 3:30 AM, _"Poor Bonnie's been here nearly eight hours."_

There was a police man outside the door and Ron nodded to him, "Mr. Stoppable we believe the overdose to be accidental, your fiancee' only remembers taking two in the afternoon and then waking up a while later and talking two more."

Ron licked his lips, "How...How many did she take?"

"After we pumped her stomach there were about eight pills, it is not uncommon for a person under the influence to become disoriented and take too many...There will be no charges brought to bare in this case."

Ron nodded and pointed at the door, "I would like to sit with her if I could."

"You can go on inside…I think we are done here." The officer told him as he stepped back away from the door.

Ron opened the door cautiously and saw Bonnie lying on the bed, her eyes were red from crying and she held out her arms to him. Ron dropped his cane in the corner and hobbled over to her and took her into his arms and began to cry, "I thought you were going to die...I saw you on the floor."

Bonnie began crying again, "I feel like such an idiot...Did you call my parents?"

Ron shook his head, "No there wasn't enough time."

Bonnie held him tightly, "Please don't tell them...I'll never hear the end of it from sisters...Please don't tell anyone about this Ron."

Ron pulled back and nodded, "I won't tell anyone else but don't you ever take those pills again."

He felt her nodding her head, "Never"

"Why didn't you tell me about going to the hospital last week?"

Bonnie continued to hug him and stroked his hair, "I was afraid you'd think I was weak or that I was going crazy...I'm just so scared when you aren't there...and that damn missile warning sounds."

Ron nodded, "We had to undergo artillery attacks, same idea, nothing to do except lay there and hope one doesn't land in your lap."

"The Hospital gave me the pills and told me to take them when I felt jumpy...I've been jumpy a lot today." Bonnie said sadly.

Ron nodded his understanding, "I got news today, Wade is going to hook me up with a ride next Tuesday to Middleton..." He trailed off his thought as another one entered his mind, "How can I leave...I can't leave you like this."

Bonnie began to laugh a very tired laugh, "Oh no you don't…Your going back to Middleton next Tuesday if I have to pick you up and throw you onto that airplane."

He laughed softley, "You never know, with Wade it might be a submarine."

There wasn't an immediate answer and then finally Bonnie said, "Whatever"

**

* * *

**

The plans were moving forward for Ron's return to Middleton, after a few days in the hospital to insure that Bonnie was not suicidal she was released with her Xanax bottle and a fresh perscription.

Ron promptly flushed both pills and perscription with playful protests, "Come on Ron, I already took too many, let's live on the edge and do all the things on the warning label."

He waived bye bye to the pills as the swirled in a circle as the disappeared down the toilet, "Oh yea, I was really looking forward to taking a handful and mixing them with alcohol."

Sam came and picked them up and then Ron began the job of organizing the trip home, he contacted Sergei, Tirza was out of the hospital and going through the paper work to turn him back into the dreaded civilian.

Sima had come north and moved in with Bonnie and Ron in Netanya, once again Ron was kicked out of the bedroom and onto the couch. Which suited Ron just fine since Bonnie was on her second round of no sex for you obsession.

Ron had still not heard from Wade and was starting to become nervous when finally on the night before the trip the familiar jingle rang out on the Ronnunicator, "Hey Wade…I hope you have good news?"

"Hey Ron…I need you to be at Ben Gurion airport tommorow morning at 9:00 AM your time, procede to the IAF section of the airport, a C-17 Globemaster III that will be making a delivery of munitions for the IAF to continue the air war against Lebanon." Wade took a sip of soda and continued.

"Once the plane is empty it will be refueled for the return trip to Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma home of the 97th Air Mobility Wing to undergo routine maintanance and from there you will then board a shuttle to Upperton International Air Port." Wade said happily.

Ron blinked at the screen, "Wow…You rock Wade."

The African American computer genius leaned back in his chair, "Don't I know it."

Bonnie's computer kicked on and the printer began printing, "Uh…Wade…Bonnie's computer going haywire is because of you…right?"

Wade shrugged in the after glow of his crowning acheivement of his craft, "Just routine orders to get you and your friends access to the airfield in Israel and orders to give to the load master once on board the cargo plane."

Ron looked at the top document and began laughing, "Hebrew…excellent….General Elazar Ben Load."

Wade smiled and nodded, "That was the hold up…Learning Hebrew was tough."

"Yea tell me about it." Ron said as he looked over the next set of orders coming out of the printer, "You are hearby ordered to deliver these individuals to Altus Air Force Base Oklahoma. Highly classified ask them no questions nor make inquiries about their mission by order of General Wade Load, C Section Commanding."

Wade smiled, "Ahhhh C Section…How I came into the world."

Ron winced, "Too much information Wade…Do me a favor, I'm going to be running a pretty tight schedule here, contact Kim and let her know the travel plans."

"Can do Ron." With that Wade signed off.

Bonnie smiled, "Wade take care of everything."

Ron smiled, "Booyah…I'm going home."

Bonnie smiled and pointed towards the bedroom, "Great now get those guns out of my closet."

**VI**

Ron arrived at the gate at 8:30 AM and found Sergei, Tirza, Bina and Sam waiting for him. He got out of the car still leaning heavily on his cane, Sima came out next and waived at Sergei which drew an instant glare from Bina.

Now it was time to say goodbye to Bonnie. Ron gave her a hug, "Your going to be alright?"

Bonnie nodded, "I'll be coming home in a month….See you then I guess."

Ron nodded, "Thanks for helping me get around…I couldn't of done it without you."

She hugged him, "Thanks for calling that ambulance for me…Now you don't let Kim drag you out on any hairbrained missions…Got it."

Ron nodded, "No missions."

She watched him turn and walk towards his friends, _"Balls in your court Kimmie...Just don't screw Ron up too much."_

Ron looked at the group dressed in civilian attire and shook his head, especially at Bina who was dressed in a t-shirt that said 'Guns and Moses' in Hebrew over the screen printed image of an uzi machine gun, red shorts and flip flops and to cap it all off a pair of impossibly large sunglasses.

Tirza looked pale and gaunt but ready for the big trip, "We leave now to go see Monique."

Ron nodded and patted his orders, "We leave now to go see Monique."

Bina stepped forward, "You will introduce me to rich doctor who will marry me and take me away from all this."

Ron nodded his head patiently, "Bina…I believe I threatened to break your neck on our last meeting."

Bina nodded, "You were very rude."

"Offer still stands." Ron said with a wicked grin.

They walked to the gate and Ron handed the guard Wade's orders. He read them and looked at the group, "I will of course have to verify this."

"_Uh oh"_

The guard picked up the phone and dialed the number on the orders that Ron handed him, there was a loud pop from the receiver and the guard jumped and then spoke into the phone.

Ron then clearly heard the voice of Wade trying to speak in Hebrew, "Question my orders not." Then the line went dead.

The guard shrugged and waived them on thru, "General Load must be insane or drunk."

Ron smiled at the guard, "Question his orders not."

They hitched a ride on a baggage carrier to the C-17 that was still being unloaded. Pallet after pallet of bombs were being taken off the plane by forklift and taken to the other side of the airport where they could be loaded directly onto the planes to fly north into Lebanon for airstrikes.

Ron found the load master and handed him the orders, "We have two more skids going out and then you and your party can get on board."

Once boarded and refueled the plane took off for a return trip to the United States. It had been nearly a year since Ron had left for Israel. Now he was returning home, but home is no longer quite like it used to be.


	51. Chapter 51

A/N: I was going to break this down to two chapters but I decided against it. What's a 14,500 word chapter amoungst friends anyway. Many thanks to my reviewers, next chapter will be Ned's bachelor party from hell...Oh yea, minor language alert...Sam enjoys cursing.

* * *

The flight home had been uneventful. Ron had to seat Sam on the opposite side of the plane from Sima. He decided to sit him next to Bina who he felt could keep him in line. Bina actually seemed to enjoy Sam's attention. Much to Sergei's displeasure, "Bina does not like being bothered by one so small." 

"Keep it up fat boy, you are just jealous because Bina likes me and not you." Sam taunted as Bina wrapped her arms around him and began playing with his hair.

"He is so cute; I think I will keep him as a pet." Bina said happily.

Sam smiled and enjoyed Bina's attentions, "Woof"

Sergei turned to Ron unsure what to say now, Ron shrugged, "Do not look at me; I am frightened enough since this is the only time I have ever seen Bina smile."

'Look at Tirza" Sergei said as he rose from his jump seat.

Ron turned to look at Tirza and realized what Sergei was talking about; he had fallen asleep and was sliding out of the jump seat. He stood up and walked across the large transport airplane and helped Sergei put Tirza back in his seat, "Strap him in Ronnie…Maybe he should not have made the trip."

Tirza's head bobbed up, "I am fine, just very tired."

Ron began to buckle him into the jump seat, "I will buckle you in and you can sleep all you want them."

Tirza smiled, "Monique will make me feel better."

Sergei laughed, "Ask her if she has a friend."

"Bina making life hard on you?" Tirza asked.

Sergei shrugged, "No more than usual."

Sima was now taking an interest in what was going on, "Sergei, have you ever tried telling her that you like her?"

Sergei looked shocked, "You are crazy, Bina would laugh me out of the plane."

"What? I have not seen you guys since back in February and you still have not told her you like her?" Ron said incredulously.

Sergei was becoming defensive, "I have been busy…"

Ron walked away, "I do not want to hear it."

Sima frowned at him, "Tell her you like her and maybe she will be nice to you."

"Ha, lot you know, she is hateful woman." Sergei explained.

Ron sat in the jump seat next to Tirza and tried to tune out the conversation. Tirza rolled his head and looked over to him, "How are your legs feeling?"

"Let's see right knee hurts, left calf hurts, I just have to figure out a way to walk around without that damn cane…Do not want Kim to see me limping around." He said sadly.

Tirza frowned, "You should not worry about what Kim will think, if you need the cane, use the cane."

"How are you feeling?" Ron asked trying to change the subject.

Tirza looked at his chest, "I am still weak, they had to open up my chest, it still hurts."

Now it was Ron's turn to frown, "I will have a word with Monique; make sure she takes it easy on you."

"I almost stayed home…I am afraid that Monique will not like me anymore." He told Ron sadly.

Ron nodded, "I know the feeling, I am very worried about going home…Everything will be fine you will see."

Tirza nodded and closed his eyes to try and go back to sleep. Ron turned away from him just in time to see Sam go sailing through the air towards the back of the plane. He shook his head, _"He shouldn't have tried to feel up Bina."_

**

* * *

**

The reception committee at Upperton International Airport was small, Kim and Monique had driven up as well as Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable who had brought Kaley with them to see her older brother. She was fast asleep in the stroller

No one really spoke very much; everyone was lost in their own private thoughts about what kind of person Ron had become after his military service and with his wounds. Kim in particular was worried, Ron had never found the time to have a conversation with her over the Kimmunicator, _"I wish we could use the chair, I wish I knew what was going on with him."_

They were all in a small waiting room on the other side of the airfield where the military charters fly in and out of the large airport. Mrs. Stoppable walked over to Monique and tried to make conversation with her, "So how many people did Ron say he was bringing with him?"

Monique stopped biting her thumb nail, "Huh…Oh…Um…Let's see, Sergei, Bina, Sam, Sima and of course my Tirza."

Mrs. Stoppable gave Monique a strange look, "Where did you say you met this Tirza again."

Kim quickly interrupted since she didn't want the Stoppable's to know about the January trip they made to Israel, "Is that Ron's plane?"

Monique breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Kim after Mrs. Stoppable left to look at the plane, "That was close."

"I think that is Ronnie's plane." Mrs. Stoppable said excitedly.

The small Lear Jet landed and taxied towards the hanger where it stopped, Ron looked out the window towards the terminal. He smiled when he saw his mother and father and the small stroller with his sister in it.

He saw Monique and then he saw Kim and he frowned, _"Have to lose the cane don't want her to see how bad I'm hurt."_

"Hey Tirza, see Monique waiting inside there for you."

Tirza smiled, "Yes, I see my Monique Baby."

The door opened and Ron stood up and grabbed his bags, looked at his cane and limped up the isle without it, "Sergei help Tirza out."

The girls came out first followed by Sam and his bag, Ron with his two bags, then Tirza and Sergei bringing up the rear. Ron walked down the stairs slowly and pointed to a door that lead to the waiting room where he was almost immediately bowled over by Kim. Who covered him with kisses, Ron blushed red from embarrassment and tried to talk between kisses, "Hey…KP…great…seeing…you...too."

He pried himself away from Kim when he saw his mother, he tried his best not to cry but he couldn't help himself as he took her in his arms and began to sob, "I'm sorry mom…I didn't mean to put you guys through so much…I'm sorry."

His mother pulled back after kissing giving him a kiss, "Let me look at you…Your so skinny, you need to eat."

He hugged his father tight, "Dad"

He heard a loud scream from behind him and knew that Monique had spotted Tirza coming through the door, "Tirzaaaaaaaaa"

Tirza smiled happily when Monique wrapped her arms around him and gave him a number of kisses, "I missed you so much."

Ron's dad pulled back from the hug, "I have a new member of the Stoppable household to introduce to you."

Ron sat down on a couch in front of the stroller and peered into the stroller and smiled, "Ohhhhhhhhhhh look at you, look at you, ain't you just the prettiest little thing."

He reached in and carefully picked up his baby sister, _"I have got to make it to Japan and see Yori."_

"I see she has her brother's good looks, eh'" He said as he looked at Kim.

Ron carefully sat her back in the stroller, "So you're Kaley Brianna." He said proudly as he wiped a tear from his eye.

His dad put a hand on his shoulders, "I think we had better leave now."

The group left the terminal and walked towards the parking lot, Ron decided it was time for introductions, "Kim, Monique, Mom, Dad, Baby Sister, this is Tirza Cohen, Sergei Bunimovich, Bina…Whatever her last name is, Sima Oester, and my personal driver and body guard Sam Cello."

Mrs. Stoppable hugged Sima and spoke to her in Hebrew, "Your mother has told me so much about you…You will of course leave the boys in Middleton alone."

Sima giggled, "You have been talking to my mother."

They made it back to the cars, "OK, who is riding with who?"

They spent the next couple of minutes trying to figure out where everyone was going to fit, everyone had a seat except for Sam. Ron rubbed his chin until he had a thought, "Kim is your trunk empty?'

Kim nodded, "Yes"

She opened the trunk and Ron pointed at Sam, "Get in."

Sam looked at him bewildered, "You have to be joking?"

Ron looked at the trunk and back at the station wagon, "I have a better idea."

Ron threw his bags in the trunk of Kim's car, "Everyone put your bags in here."

His dad came over and pointed towards the old Crown Victoria station wagon, "If we open the back tailgate he can fit in the back of the wagon."

He nodded, "That's what I was thinking." Ron turned and spoke to Sam in Hebrew, "Follow my father he has a spot for you."

"Ron, do you want to ride with me?" Kim asked hopefully.

Ron thought about it, "I think I want to ride with mom and dad, I want to spend a little more time with my baby sister."

Monique and Tirza had already staked out their claim to the backseat, "Come here Tirza and sit next to me."

Ron pointed to Bima, "Sit next to Tirza, Sergei up front…Full car."

Kim slid behind the steering wheel, "Meeting up at your house?"

He nodded, "I think so…DAD, WE HEADING BACK TO THE HOUSE?" He saw his dad nod his head, "Yea, back to the house." He said with a smile.

Ron walked past the back of the wagon and saw Sam sitting in the jump seat in the back of the wagon, "Better than the trunk of the car."

He smiled and waived, Sima sat on the other side of baby seat in the backseat, Ron waited for his mother to strap the baby into the baby seat. She crawled out of the back seat and gave him a big hug, "I see Kim is still hanging around."

"Mom"

His mother opened the front passenger door, but before she could get in she turned, "Don't screw this up with Bonnie."

Ron rolled his eyes, "We will talk about this when we get home."

He sat in the seat behind his mother and began playing with his little sister who had woken up due to all the excitement, "Yea, look at you…You are so pretty, yes you are."

Kaley looked at Ron with her big round brown eyes and looked him over and then began to cry. Ron began laughing, "Noooooo, don't cry, don't cry…at least until you get to know me then you can cry."

Sima looked over at him, "She is not used to strangers."

Ron frowned and nodded, "Yes, I am sure you are right."

Ron's mother turned around in the front seat, "I forgot to tell you, we converted your room into a home office about six months ago…You and your friends will be bunking in the basement….Except the girls of course, we're going to move Kaley into our room and they will share Kaley's room."

Ron nodded, _"Wow…They moved me out."_

Then he tried to force himself to sound happy. "Basement will be fine…It'll be like living in the barracks."

Kim followed the Crown Victoria station wagon on the highway, _"Ron seemed pretty distant…I wonder what he and Bonnie have been up to?"_

She looked up in the rearview mirror and watched Monique with Tirza talking in the backseat, _"They're getting along alright…Maybe Ron just needs more time…I don't know."_

"So Kim is this Ronnie's old car?"

Kim looked over at Sergei, "What…umm….Yes, this was his flower shoe." Then she cringed, "Sorry my Hebrew isn't very good."

Sergei chuckled, "I remember Ronnie's being not so good, I speak goodly English."

Tirza looked up from being smothered with kisses, "I speak goodly English too."

Monique pulled her face back to hers, "I'm more interested in your French right now."

Bina laughed, "I speak English like shit."

Sergei turned around, "You did not tell me you could speak English."

"You never asked me."

Sergei shook his head, "So is this Ronnie's old car?"

Kim nodded her head, "Mostly, the kickin' sound system is mine…along with the graphics."

They finally arrived back at the Stoppable's, Ron stood outside the house and looked at the front door. Kim walked up beside him, "You alright?"

Ron nodded, "House looks the same…My room is a home office now."

"What?"

Ron shrugged, "Mom said they converted the room about six months ago."

Kim rubbed his back, "I guess that means I can't sneak in for a late night visit anymore."

Ron chuckled, "Not unless you want three other men watching us."

Kim shook her head, "no"

He grabbed his bags, "Wait for me, I want to get settled in and then I want to pick up Rufus."

Kim saw his right leg tremble, "Here let me help."

"I GOT IT." Ron snapped and then shook his head, "Sorry, tired, I got it."

Kim nodded, "Yea…tired." She said quietly as she watched him limp into the garage.

His knee was beginning to act up as he walked into the garage; he dropped one of the heavier bags onto the floor and then peered down the stairs into the basement, _"I don't know if I can carry these things down the stairs."_

His father slapped him on the back, "Your blocking the stairs."

Ron laughed nervously, "I better leave this bag in the garage." He said as he dropped on one of the large duffle bags onto the floor and began to walk down the stairs, one step at a time.

The pain in his knee and calf kept telling him to stop but he made it to the bottom and found him a cot and quickly sat down. He wiped his face and waited for his legs to stop hurting, _"Never thought about stairs."_

He rubbed his knee as he watched Sergei, Sam, and Tirza come down the stairs. Sam found him a cot under a window, leaving Sergei and Tirza to pick out their bunks. Tirza threw his bag on the bunk directly across from Ron and then sat down heavily, "How are your legs holding up?"

Ron waived a hand at him, "Do not worry about me…Go worry about Monique."

Tirza laughed, "I have to catch my breath first…I am not used to stairs."

He nodded, "My legs hurt, I was not counting on stairs…My room used to be upstairs but…I still did not think about stairs."

"I thought as much." Tirza said with a grin.

The girls came down stairs, Bina looked around, "Looks like barracks with a low roof."

Kim sat down next to him and slapped his sore knee, "You ready to go see Rufus."

Ron's eyes bulged from his head, "Oh…yea." He stood up quickly trying to mask his pain, "Let's go see Rufus shall we."

He looked up the stairwell and started up the stairs as best he could. When he reached the top he swayed back and forth as the blood rushed from his head leaving him dizzy, and then forced himself forward into the garage. Kim followed just behind him, "Are you alright?'

"Oh…Yea, still a little stiff from the airplane ride." Ron said uneasily.

Kim frowned and nodded, "Can you walk down to the house or…"

"I can walk." Ron said quietly.

She took him by the arm, "Well let's just walk down there together then."

Everyone followed Ron down to Kim's house each of them had heard about the ferocious Rufus and how Ron had tamed him. Ron was walking slowly and he would stop from time to time to give his friends a chance to turn back, "Rufus may be hungry, if he is I don't know if I can control him."

Kim shook her head, "I think we're all willing to take that chance Ron."

Ron laughed and continued moving towards Kim's house, they walked inside and Ron saw Mrs. Dr. P. for the first time in a year and hugged her, "I didn't mean to be gone so long."

Mrs. Dr. P. held him at arms length and looked him over, "Long sleeves."

Ron laughed sheepishly and began to rub his right arm, "Yea…I have to wear them now."

She nodded her head sadly understanding Ron's problem, "JIM, RON'S BACK."

Mr. Dr. P. walked into the living room, "Ronald…Good to see you." He said as he hugged him.

"Hey Mr. Dr. P."

Kim pointed at Ron's friends, "That is Sergei, the one with Monique is the famous Tirza, Sima Oester, she's the daughter of the people Ron is living with over in Israel, Bina…who I really have no idea why she is here and…some guy named Sam."

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "Good enough on the introductions."

Jim and Tim walked into the room and greeted Ron, "Hey Ron, Rufus is waiting for you."

"I'll be right back, I have to get Rufus." He said as he began to follow the twins.

"You have to see the orbital space plane we're building for Rufus to fly, it should be ready to launch in the fall." Tim said happily.

Jim raised an eyebrow, "If we stay on schedule and don't have any more explosions."

Ron looked at him nervously, "Explosions?"

Jim smiled, "Unmanned…er…Un mole rat prototypes."

Tim pointed at the sun room, "He's in there."

"Guys…Let me have a few minutes with him alone."

Jim and Tim nodded and walked back into the living room.

Ron took a deep breath and opened the door; he smiled as he saw Rufus playing with an empty Chinese take out box, "All gone?"

Rufus looked up at the familiar voice and then there was a loud screech, "YEAAAA"

He jumped into Ron's arms and Ron quickly closed the door behind him and sat in a lawn chair in the sun room and began to nuzzle Rufus to his face and cry, "I'm so sorry buddy, I got hurt, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I left you, I'm sorry I left."

Ron began sobbing and Rufus patted his cheek sympathetically, "Oh…Poor Boy."

He heard a noise from the other room and quickly straightened up and wiped his eyes on his sleeves, "Let's go out front, I have some friends who want to meet you."

Ron quickly put Rufus in his pocket and walked out front, "Alright, if I may have your attention….Now presenting the most ferocious creature to ever be domesticated and tamed by yours truly…Rufus."

Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket, "TA DAAAAAAAAA"

He was greeted with silence and then a few snickers and then laughter as Ron picked him up and gave him a kiss, "What?"

Sergei shook his head, "Ronnie that is not a ferocious beast that is a penis with legs."

Ron gasped, "HE IS NOT!"

Tirza nodded his head and began laughing, "You do not want to know what it looks like when you are kissing its head."

Kim began laughing, "When Josh and I were dating he made that comment once."

Ron brought Rufus closer to him, _"Yea, Josh would be an expert on penises."_

"It's not true…Rufus doesn't look like a penis with legs, don't listen to em' buddy."

Rufus glared at the group and began to growl, "Bring it on, bring it on"

Bina nodded her head, "He does look like a penis." And then she began laughing hysterically.

He looked at Rufus and returned him to his pocket, "Don't worry buddy, daddy still loves you."

Mrs. Dr. P. could something was just not right with Ron, she figured if she could get Ron to eat with them she might be able to get a handle on what was bothering him, "Ron would you and your friends like to stay for diner?"

Ron gave a weary smile, "I'll take a pass Mrs. Dr. P….I'm feeling pretty tired so I think I'll just head on back home."

Everyone else was basically in agreement with Ron and began to break up and head back to his house except for Monique, "Tirza's staying, he needs to get fattened up…and I need some Tirza time."

Kim took Ron by the arm, "I'll be back mom, I'm just going to make sure Ron gets home alright."

The group walked back up the street; Ron was still moving slow but covered it up well by engaging Kim in conversation, "Hey KP, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Kim thought about it, "Class, work, normal stuff."

Ron nodded, "I'm going to take Kaley to Swope Park, hit the Upperton Zoo…I was just wondering if you could go along?"

"I can cut class." Kim said happily.

He stopped walking in his tracks and turned to face her, "Cut class…You?"

Kim smiled sheepishly, "I can blow a class off, I still need to make it in to work though."

They finally reached the Ron's house, he turned and looked at the house again, "Well…I think I'll head in and see if Kaley's still up…Play with her some more and then head off to bed."

He gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks for coming out to the airport …I'll see you tomorrow."

Kim watched Ron and his friends go inside the house, _"That was…strange. Maybe he's just tired from the flight."_

Mrs. Dr. P. watched the group go up the hill, _"He has a lot of pain when he walks, moving slowly, and maybe he's just tired like he says."_ She thought sadly to herself.

Monique was in the kitchen with Tirza, "So Tirza, what do you think of the United States."

Tirza laughed, "Oklahoma…depressing didn't get to see much of it. Middleton is much better because Monique is here."

Monique squealed, "He always says just the right thing."

Mr. Dr. P. looked at Tirza, "I hear you were having missile problems over in Israel."

Tirza smiled, "IDF will handle missiles….Where Ronnie and I were at it was artillery problems."

Jim looked up from the plate that Mrs. Dr. P. had sat in front of him, "Is it true Ron got blown up."

Kim walked into the kitchen having returned from Ron's house, "Tim, that's enough talk about being blown up. I'm sure Tirza is tired of talking about the war."

"Jim"

"Whatever" Kim said as she sat down next to Tirza.

Monique pointed towards Tirza's plate, "Eat, I'm going to make sure Tirza gets some weight on him while he's over here."

Tirza looked at the plate, "Beef?"

Mrs. Dr. P. chuckled and nodded, "Yes beef stroganoff."

"Mom…Did Ron seem kind of distant to you?" Kim asked unsure of what she was feeling.

"I'm sure he was just tired."

Tirza spoke up between mouthfuls of food, "Ronnie has much on his mind."

Kim narrowed her gaze at him, "Like what?"

He realized that he had just put himself on the hot seat and that maybe he shouldn't have said anything, "Ummm…Well…He had to visit his wounded men, write lots of reports before he left and he had to write six letters to the families of the soldiers that were killed and one to the family of Captain Frankel."

Mr. Dr. P. lifted an eyebrow, "Ronald writing reports?"

Tim laughed, "Ron hates writing anything."

Jim continued on, "Or doing anything that would requires serious thought."

Tirza smiled uneasily, _"They do not think Ronnie is very smart."_

"Maybe they were short letters?"

Kim gave Tirza a sideways glance, "So tell me, how's Bonnie doing these days?"

The room seemed to stop all activity at the mention of Bonnie's name and Tirza could detect a distinct twenty degree drop in the room temperature. He knew he had to answer this question very carefully or better yet avoid it altogether, "I am not certain; I only met Bonnie when she dropped us off at the airport….I guess she is doing well."

Kim forced a smile on her face and nodded, "Good, good, that's very good."

Monique chuckled nervously, "Finish up Tirza and then I'll walk you back to Ron's house…You look pretty tired."

Tirza recognized a life line when he saw one, "Yes…I am very tired from the flight…It was a very long flight."

**

* * *

**

Ron sat in the kitchen with Kaley on his knee answering the battery of questions his parents were firing at him, "They're going to be here around a month before they have to head back, Sergei is heading back to Lithuania for a month to see his mom, and the others have to report back for duty."

His father nodded, "So who will be staying for the second month then?"

"Me, Sima and Tirza"

Rufus stared at the infant in Ron's arms, "Baby Sister?"

Ron chuckled and made a face at Kaley, "Yep, only the best bon-digity baby sister on the planet."

His mother smiled as she watched Ron play with the baby, "Why doesn't Tirza have to return after a month?"

"He was wounded and has been discharged from service." Ron answered soberly.

His father rubbed his chin, "So have you given any thoughts about what you are going to do when you get out of the army?"

"I don't know, go to college I guess."

His mother raised an eyebrow, "You guess"

Mr. Stoppable looked at his wife, "Miri"

"Well he needs to start thinking about his future and…"

"Mom, I am thinking about the future. I'm just not sure what to do yet." Ron said trying to calm his mother down.

There was silence around the table, before Miri Stoppable decided to change the subject, "So have you and Bonnie set a date for the wedding yet?"

Ron rolled his eyes, "Look…Mom, Bonnie…did the whole engagement thing to get at Kim…We have never really been engaged."

Ron's mother shook her head, "I refuse to believe she has no feelings for you, she was with you all the time while you were hurt…If she didn't have feelings for you she would have ran for the hills."

"I…I have thought about that…I won't deny that…I do have feelings for her." Ron said quietly.

"Then what's the hold up Ronald." His mother demanded to know.

"I'm still trying to figure things out...I mean...I don't know." Ron said dejectedly.

His father decided to change the subject once again, "I see you are wearing long sleeves and that your legs are still bothering you, what are you doing about that?"

"Ummm...The friends of the IDF have set me up with a physical therapist at the beginning of July...I'm trying to have Tirza looked at as well."

His mother tilted her head, "Why Tirza."

Ron made a face at the baby and shrugged, "He was discharged from the IDF, so he no longer has any medical benefits."

His father shook his head, "That's crazy."

"Israel is a small country, they don't have the veteran support the way we do here...I could have applied for early discharge after Gaza city but... I would be in the same boat then." He told his parents sadly.

"So in other words, if you don't stay in you won't receive any health care for your wounds." His mother summed it up bitterly.

"They have their national health insurance but it's not very good...So yes that is about the size of it." Ron said soberly.

Miri Stoppable shook her head, "If I knew all this was going to happen, I never would have let you leave."

Ron began laughing, "If I knew all this was going to happen I'd still be upstairs hiding under my bed."

Kaley started to giggle and Ron put his nose to hers, "See that was funny wasn't it."

His father shook his head unable to conceal a smile at how well Ron was getting along with the baby, "So what are your plans for the week?"

"Well tomorrow, I'm going to take Kaley to the Upperton Zoo and then try to work up a bachelor party for Ned...I guess that means I better let Ned know I'm in town...Monday is the rehearsal and Tuesday is the wedding."

His mother frowned, "It sounds like it's going to be a busy week."

He nodded, "I think it is going to be a busy month."

"Well, I'm headed to the store tomorrow after work you need any long sleeve shirts?"

Ron blushed, "No...Bonnie already went shopping for me."

His mother began shaking her head, "I don't believe you...Marry that girl already."

**

* * *

**

Ron arose early the next morning; it was primary to his plan of making sure he got to the shower first. He watched the morning news on the television. There was nothing much to report from Israel other than they were still fighting in Lebanon.

He made a pot of coffee when his mother came downstairs to see what was going on, "You're up early."

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "Still trying to get used to the time change, surprising how little difference there is between 5 AM over here and 5 AM over there."

"Well I'm headed back to bed."

"Better get you shower in now or wait in line in a few hours." Ron warned her.

His mother closed her eyes, "Oh yea...Better get it in now."

"What time does Kaley get up?"

"About 7:00 usually...So Bonnie took good care of you."

It was obvious that his mother wasn't going to leave it alone so Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea, Bonnie was great...I'm just afraid..." He broke his thought off.

"What?"

Ron looked out the window trying to think of the right words, "That the only reason we became close was due to the war and that...You know...If she was over here...She might not feel the same about me."

His mother nodded, "Ahhhh that is a problem...Well she started the whole engagement thing before you went into Gaza City."

"Yea but that was to get at Kim, not really much to do about me...It's just confusing...I mean, I love Kim...or at least I think I used to or maybe I never did...I don't know." Ron said sadly as he waived his hand in the air.

"Bonnie made quite an impression on you didn't she?"

Ron chuckled, "Yea...I was going to come back here and propose to Kim...Even bought the ring, then...She's just not the Bonnie I knew in high school...That Bonnie hated me."

"I noticed you were kind of standoffish with Kim at the airport."

Ron took a drink of the hot coffee, "I'm just not comfortable...with her the way I used to be...I don't know if it's because of the way I think she'll react when she gets a look at my body now...or...I don't know."

His mother was curious, "How bad off is your body?"

Ron shrugged, "Right knee hurts, left calf hurts, so I have to walk differently which makes the knee hurt even more..." Then he rolled up his right sleeve.

His mother flinched, "Oh Ronald"

"Not very pretty, legs don't look much better...I have a bruise on my chest that will never go away...Bonnie's seen it all and it doesn't seem to bother her...I have no idea what Kim would think." He said sadly.

His mother hugged him, "I don't know what to tell you?"

Ron sighed, "Split second my life was turned inside out forever...I don't know what to do either."

"Do you remember getting wounded?"

He had a far away look in his eyes as he struggled to remember what had gone on that day in Gaza City, "I remember fighting near the front of the building and then waking up on a helicopter taking me to the hospital...I remember...Someone telling me to stay on my side or I would drown in my own blood." His mother gasped and Ron was shocked back into reality, "Sorry, sorry, it just popped into my head."

It looked as if Miri Stoppable were going to cry and then she just shook her head, "I'm going back upstairs...For God's sake Ronnie once your legs get healed get out of the army."

Ron pursed his lips together, _"Good advice...but what would I do?"_

He took his coffee into the living room and began watching cartoons and dozed off in front of the TV set. He began to dream he was in Yamanouchi running thru the mountains, he turned and looked next to him on the path and there was a girl of around ten years of age keeping up with him.

She had dark brown skin, brown hair and big round brown eyes that had a distinct twinkle to them. He slowed to look at her as she ran by him she turned to him, "Father is running slowly today."

Ron came awake as if a current of electricity had just passed thru his body. He looked around the living room, the sun was well up in the sky and Sam was walking past him to the stairs. He smiled and waived at Ron, "Piss off."

He waived and wiped his mouth, _"I have got to find a way to get to Japan...Yori why didn't you tell me? Did Sam just tell me to piss off?"_

Ron gathered himself off the couch and walked slowly up the stairs to see Sam waiting in line for the bathroom, "Did you just tell me to piss off?"

Sam smiled, "Bina is teaching Sima and me English, she says that is how to say hello in America."

Ron shook his head, "Try saying hello, telling the wrong person to piss off is likely to get you in a fight."

Sima came out of the bedroom she was sharing with Bina, "Piss off Ronnie."

He rolled his eyes, "Never mind."

**

* * *

**

Kim pulled into the driveway, it was just after nine in the morning and she was nervous. She was expecting an adoring Ron to embrace her at the air port, give her many deep kisses and profess his undying love for her and to fall to his knees and propose marriage.

Instead she got a very tired young man who was polite but not overly amorous. She hadn't slept well as she tried to hash out the various fears that crept into her head. Was he in a relationship with Bonnie? Was he just tired from the flight? Is he wounded worse than he is letting on?

Now that it was morning the questions kept coming as she sat in front of the house in her car, _"OK girl…We can do this…He's not in a relationship with Bonnie….Remember she said she was fixing him up for me…So when is the last time Bonnie ever did anything nice for me?"_

She got out of the car and looked herself over, khaki cargo pants, tan flats a white blouse, nice work clothes. She didn't want to frighten Ron off and stress him too much by dressing provocatively. Kim walked towards the front door, _"Remember what Bonnie said, don't stress him, don't ask questions when he's ready to talk…he'll talk."_ She thought as she knocked on the door.

Sergei answered the door, "He is in the kitchen spoiling his sister."

Kim giggled and shook her head, "Ron loves babies."

Sergei shrugged, "Who doesn't."

She walked back to the kitchen and saw Ron trying to entertain Kaley by balancing a spoon on the end of his nose. Kim brightened up as she rushed into the room and took the spoon from Ron and went looking for the peanut butter, "Wait, I figured this one out."

Ron looked at her strangely, "OK"

She found the peanut butter and took and scoop out of the jar with the spoon and slapped on the end of Ron's nose where it stuck. Ron stared at the spoon on the end of his nose and then at Kim. She shuffled backwards worried that she had done something wrong.

Ron narrowed his eyes as he looked over the spoon, "Peanut butter…I wonder why I never thought of that?"

Kim giggled and hugged him, "Great minds think alike."

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "Obviously"

He took the spoon off his nose and ate the peanut butter, and then he reached over and picked up the small spoon and tried to feed Kaley again, "Yum Yum, here it comes."

She took a small bite and then spat it back out. Kim giggled, "She doesn't like it."

Ron laughed, "Strained peas…." Then he focused on the infant, "Can't have the yummy bananas unless you eat the yuckie peas."

Kaley looked at the spoon with the green muck on it and turned her head; Kim snickered, "Let me try."

"Knock yourself out."

Kim took the spoon and pretended to eat a little of the peas, "Yum, Yum" Then she tried to feed the baby but Kaley pushed the spoon away. Kim frowned, "OK baby, you asked for it….Here comes the plane…vrooooooooom…."

The spoon sailed around and into Kaley's mouth, "See….she spat it back out…I give up."

Ron laughed, "I have a new plan…Forget the peas, feed her the bananas."

Kim shook her head and backed out of the way, "Monique made it here yet?"

He continued feeding Kaley, "Haven't seen her yet…Tirza's out front watching TV."

There was a knock at the door and Sam jumped up to answer it. He opened the door and smiled, "Piss off."

Monique stood in the door way dressed to kill, black mid rift, leather mini skirt, black leather knee high boots, Monique was a woman on the prowl. She looked at the Sam, "You did not just say what I thought you said."

Tirza brightened up "Monique"

"Tirza" She screamed as she pushed past Sam.

Tirza kissed her and rewarded her with a hug, "You have to forgive Sam, Bina is teaching him English."

Monique had her eyes closed and inhaled deeply before opening her eyes and spotting Kim, "Hey girl, when we leaving for the zoo?"

She looked to Ron and in a cutesy baby voice he told her, "As soon as the bananas are all gone."

Kim giggled, "You are positively ate up with that baby aren't you."

Ron smiled and nodded, "And why not? After 18 years as an only child, the novelty hasn't worn off yet."

Monique sat in Tirza's lap, "Hey baby...Have breakfast yet?"

Tirza smiled, "I had some toast earlier."

"Thought as much." She reached into her purse and pulled out a donut, "Eat"

Sergei looked on seated on the Stoppable's couch, he turned to Bina at the other end of the couch, "Why do you not bring me food?"

Sam patted Sergei on the shoulder, "Because Bina has no vehicle capable of carrying enough food to keep you fed."

Sergei lunged for Sam who was not quick enough to avoid the large man's grasp. Sergei pulled him close to him and put him in a head lock, "This is what I am capable of with my bad shoulder, do not confuse muscle for fat short man."

Sam made a fist and punched Sergei square in the testicles. Sergei let out a yell and fell back on the couch, "Aughhhh The little bastard punched me in the balls."

Sam ran to the other side of Bina, "That's so you do not confuse size for ability to fight."

Sergei shook his finger at Sam, "We will see who has the last laugh little man."

Sima and Bina began laughing, "That will teach you to pick on someone your own size." Sima said as she continued to laugh.

Sam held out his arms for a hug, "Did I impress the ladies?"

Sima shook her head, "Not that much."

Bina held out her arms, "I thought you were wonderful, now what is our English word of the day?"

Sam smiled, "Asshole"

Bina smiled and nodded her head, "And what is Sergei?"

Sergei pointed at Sam, "You say it and it is on brother."

Kim and Ron were trying to feed his sister in the kitchen but couldn't help but laugh at Sergei's predicament. Ron looked at Kim, "Now you see why the General made him my chauffer and body guard."

Kim was still laughing, "He did a good job of keeping you out of trouble in Lebanon I see."

Ron winced at the mention of Lebanon, "Yea...well...I think Kaley has had enough food."

Kim nodded and found a wash rag and began to clean the baby up, "Go get her things ready to go and I'll finish cleaning up here."

Ron nodded, "Good call on the peanut butter, the spoon on the nose thing has vexed me for many years."

Monique kissed Tirza after he finished the donut, "Good, now you will have the energy you need to kiss me all day."

Tirza smiled, "Are we going to the zoo?"

Monique nodded, "We'll be taking my car so we can have a little privacy and..."

"Listen to Neil Diamond." Tirza said excitedly.

Her smile froze on her face, "Not one of the top 10 things I was thinking about but if it makes you happy..."

Ron came out of the kitchen carrying three bags and took them out the door to his mom's station wagon. Tirza watched his progress across the room and smiled, "He must be excited, he's hardly limping today."

Kim walked into the living room with a stroller, "He forgot the stroller, and next he'll forget the baby...Who's riding with who?"

Bina laughed quietly as she watched Sergei rub his groin, "Kim, are you riding with Ronnie?"

She shook her head, "No, I have to leave around one o'clock and go to work."

"Tirza's riding with me!" Monique shouted happily.

Sima smiled, "I will ride with Ronnie."

Tirza just grinned and nodded his head happily, Bina looked at Sergei, "Who are you riding with?"

Sergei looked around, "I will ride with Ronnie."

Bina nodded, "I will ride with the red headed girl."

Sam who was still staying at arms length from Sergei decided he couldn't leave well enough alone. So he gave the large man one more parting shot, "I think to keep Sergei from receiving further injuries that I too should ride with the red headed woman."

Sergei pointed at him, "Before the end of this trip you can count on me getting even little man."

Ron came back into the house, "Kim has the stroller, Kaley...Rufus...and then I'm ready."

Sergei shook his head, "Must the penis with legs go with us?"

"You not feeling inadequate after that shot Sam gave you...Not feeling a little mole rat envy." Ron said with a grin.

Sergei shook his head, "You are not right Ronnie."

"Rufus...Come on boy...Time to go to the zoo."

Rufus came out from where he had been sleeping and rubbed his eyes, "Zoo?"

Ron smiled, "Major cool snackage."

This captured the naked mole rats attention and he scampered up Ron's leg and disappeared into his pocket. Ron smiled and patted the lump, "Good boy...Now to get Kaley and off we go."

Once Kaley was safely in her car seat the motorcade took off towards Upperton and the Upperton Zoo nestled in picturesque Swope Park. It was a home coming of sorts for Ron as he hadn't been to the park since he ran cross country in high school the previous year.

As he took the exit off the highway he began to look for the route that he had ran that day, he had a decent finish but not as good as he had hoped for. Still it was fun remembering his other trip to Upperton where he won the 5K run to clinch the Colorado State Championship for Cross Country for Middleton High School in the large football stadium of Upperton University.

"Ronnie, do you know where you are going?" Sergei asked.

He blinked brought back to the real world, "What...Yes...I'm following Monique." Then he saw the sign, "See Zoo exit...keep right."

Sima took in all the sights, "So many cars, this must be a very popular zoo."

They found parking spots close by each other and met up at the station wagon, where Ron began the job of preparing baby for her day out, "Ron how much longer?"

"Kim, I have to get her covered in sunscreen and then get her little hat on and then make sure I have bottle, diapers...5 minutes." Ron said clearly becoming exasperated with the whole exercise..

"_Moving a baby around is like moving a small army, nothing goes fast...Camera...It is in my duffle bag...along with my Glock...Should I bring the Glock...No...Lotus Blade...Yes."_ Ron thought excitedly as he rifled through his bag and found the knife which quickly transformed into a money clip, _"Clever magic sword."_

He pulled $200 from his wallet and stuck it in the clip before dropping the money and the camera into his pocket. Kim was becoming impatient with the hold up, "Come on Ron, I have to be at work in two hours."

Ron wheeled his baby sister around the front of the wagon, "Here she is." He said happily.

Kim began laughing at the baby in the bonnet and sunglasses, "She's a sleep Ron...She's not going to see anything."

He shrugged, "No but I will."

The group paid their admission, Ron picked up Sam's as he didn't have any cash at all and they began to tour the zoo. Sergei tried to stand with and talk with Bina as they went through the zoo but she continued to find ways to avoid him.

Sima was having similar problems with Sam, as she had to repeatedly scold him, "No, I do not think that I am wearing too many clothes."

Kim hooked an arm around Ron's as they pushed the baby stroller around the zoo, an elderly woman looked inside the stroller and smiled, "The little angel, you can clearly see how she takes after the father." She said as she directed the comment towards Ron.

Ron was beaming, "If we are lucky she won't inherit her mother's temper."

The woman chuckled and looked at Kim, "Do you plan on having anymore soon?"

Kim's jaw fell open, "Huh...uh..."

Ron began giggling, "She told me the other night she wants at least 5."

The elderly woman laughed, "Well the one hasn't hurt your figure any, four more should be no problem at all...I have to go find my grand children now, you take care."

Ron waived at the woman as she walked away. Kim was beat red, "You just loved that didn't you?"

"Oh Yea"

Ron looked around and realized the group had split up and had gone their separate ways, he spotted a sign for the monkey house, _"Do I dare...I been through a war for crying out loud, how bad can monkeys be?"_

Ron sat on a bench across from the monkey compound, "I need to take a break...Legs are a little tired"

Kim nodded and sat down next to him, "Pretty day...So...how are you feeling?"

Ron looked at the monkeys who had stopped what they were doing and was all lined up looking at him. He looked at Kim nervously, "Uh...well...I'm doing OK, I guess...Kind of weird being back."

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek, "I get off at six if you want to make a run to Quarry Lake and get...reacquainted."

He began laughing nervously, "I...I don't know if I'm ready...for that...I'm not...the same as I used to be."

"Oh...oh...uh...Right...Well we can do something else?" Kim said hopefully.

Ron nodded, "You can give us a tour of your school."

Kim nodded, "I guess...I could do that but...I was hoping for a little alone..."

"Is that Monique and Tirza on the zoo train? It is...What is she trying to do to him? Oh NO MONIQUE THIS IS A FAMILY ZOO." Ron yelled as he began to laugh.

Kim laughed as she watched her friend trying to straddle Tirza on the miniature train, she shook her head, "That nut...I have to use the restroom Ron, I'll be right back."

Ron nodded, "I'll be right here."

Kim walked towards the restroom in a funk, _"I'm dressed nice, not provocatively, but attractive...I'm just not getting any response from him...Something is wrong that he isn't telling me."_

Ron was looking at the sky thru the trees before he turned his attention back to the monkey compound, now all the monkeys were standing in a line saluting and people were starting to turn their attention to him.

He blinked and got up from the bench and pushed the stroller over towards the railing, he giggled at the people looking at him, "Monkeys...go figure."

Kim looked at her self in the mirror, _"Bonnie said he's really sensitive about his wounds…I wish I could tell him about…I have to tell him sometime…better wait till he's used to being around me again."_

Ron glared at the monkeys as they continued to stand in a parade ground salute, "Stop it...Act...Natural."

The monkeys began to put their arms behind their backs and walk around the compound looking skyward. One monkey leaned against a tree and began looking at his finger nails; another leaned up against the rocks of an artificial cave, clasped his hands and began twiddling his thumbs.

Ron sighed and shook his head. A little boy pulled on the leg of his pants, "Mister how did you get them to do that?"

Before Ron could answer Kim walked up and pointed at the impromptu show, "Are monkeys supposed to do that stuff?"

He shrugged, Kim turned up her nose, "Let's get out of here monkeys give me the creeps."

Ron smiled and began pushing the stroller thru the crowd, "Good idea."

They continued on for another hour together looking at the animals and then it was time for Kim to leave for work, "Have Monique take you guys to the University and I'll meet you all there around 6:30, OK?"

Ron smiled, "That sounds great Kim." He gave her a hug and another kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for helping with Kaley today."

Kim pursed her lips, "No big...Ron...you know...you can always talk to me...about anything...I'm here for you."

He nodded, "Thanks KP."

Ron watched Kim walk away, _"Sorry Kim...I know what your wanting, I just wish...I had some ice cream."_ He thought happily as he spied an ice cream vendor.

He bought two dove bars and nudged his pocket, "Rufus want some ice cream?"

The little naked mole rat popped his head out of the pocket, "Oh yea, ice cream."

Ron opened the box and tore the bag open and handed one to Rufus and then tore his out of the bag. He heard cooing coming from the stroller and knew that Kaley was awake. He turned the stroller to face him and took a bite of the ice cream,"mmmmm...Kaley want some ice cream?"

He put the ice cream bar near Kaley's mouth at first she made a face and then her eyes opened up all the way, "Yea...you like that don't you?"

Ron tried to take the ice cream bar to get a bite but Kaley grabbed a hold of him with both hands and began to cry. Ron began laughing, "Oh not going to share with your big brother are you?"

He let his sister work at the ice cream a little while longer and then turned his attention to Rufus who had just let out a mighty belch, "More?"

"Pig"

Ron looked back down at his sister and realized the ice cream bar was beginning to melt all over her, "Aghhhh, messy baby."

He threw away what was left of the ice cream and cleaned Kaley up, he put a dish towel over his shoulder and burped her and she vomited all over his back. Ron began laughing, "You planned this didn't you."

He put Kaley back into the stroller and began cleaning himself off when he saw Sergei running his way, _"Oh now what happened?"_

"Ronnie you need to come quickly, Monique and Tirza are being thrown out of the zoo for lewd displays of affection." Sergei explained as he tried to catch his breath.

Ron shook his head, "Monique..."

He made his way behind Sergei as quickly as he could pushing a stroller towards the front of the zoo where the two were being held in a secluded area out of direct sight of the other zoo visitors. Tirza sat on a bench while Monique was giving her opinion to a zoo security guard with both barrels, "So it's okay for animals to screw in the open is it?"

Ron began laughing motioning for Monique to take Tirza and leave, "Hey, what seems to be the problem here?"

The security guard looked at Ron, "None of your concern..."

"I never even got my panties down..." Monique said angrily.

Tirza smiled, "I like your zoo train."

The security guard had enough and began to pull his baton when Sam and Sima came running up. Ron looked at Sam and told him in Hebrew, "Quickly show the guard how well you speak English."

Sam looked at the security guard and smiled, "Piss off asshole."

The guard forgot all about Tirza and Monique and turned to face Sam, which was all the distraction Ron needed as he delivered a right cross that put the security guard to sleep.

Sergei grabbed the man before he could slump to the ground, "What do I do with him?"

Ron looked around and spotted four large green trash barrels, "Lay him over there behind those dumpsters."

Sergei pulled the unconscious man out of sight, "Yes Officer"

Monique scrunched up her face, "Boy, you smell like sour milk...Kaley puke on you?"

"Oh yea"

Sima was becoming nervous, "What do we do now?"

Ron looked around and detected no activity being directed their way, "Leave as discreetly as possible."

**

* * *

**

The group moved on to the center of Ron's world for many years growing up in Middleton, Bueno Nacho. The small army invaded the one time center of all evil in desperate pursuit of lunch.

Ron put Kaley in a pumpkin seat and walked into the restaurant and grabbed a high chair and turned it upside down next to his usual booth and placed the pumpkin seat on top of it. He spotted Ned and waived, _"No…Ned's not trying to grow a beard is he?"_

"Hey Ned, bet you never thought I'd ever be bringing a baby in here."

Ned was intrigued and came around the front of the restaurant, "Ron, glad to see your back…So which girlfriend did you father this one with?" He asked looking at Bina.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "She's not mine, this little cutie is my baby sister Kaley."

Ned laughed, "No way. So you're not an only child anymore."

Once the baby was settled he turned his attention back to Ned and shook his hand, "Good to see you buddy."

"I was getting worried we lost you there for a while." Ned said as took the hand.

Ron shook his head, "Nawwwww, Couldn't miss the big wedding…You are still getting married…right?"

Ned laughed and nodded his head, "Yea I'm still getting married. Tina is obsessed with the whole thing right down to the DJ."

"I bought some friends to experience your fine quisine...The big hungry looking man is Sergei Bunimovich, The smaller man being smothered by Monique is Tirza Cohen, the little guy is Sam Cello my driver and body guard, this pretty girl is Sima Oester, she's the daughter of the people I'm living with in Israel." Ron then made a face and pointed towards the other girl, "Bina."

After the introductions were made, Ned excused himself to return to the back to help prepare food during the lunch time rush, "I'll be back out in a bit."

Ron nodded and waived and then looked to Monique, "Can you get me two chicken chimeritos Grande sized with a coke…Order for Sam and Sima too. " He asked as he handed her a $20 bill.

"You got it Ronnie"

Ron looked towards the front to make sure Tirza was well out of ear shot and then he wiggled a finger for Monique to come closer. When she did he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Be very careful with Tirza, they had to open his chest up and he's still pretty weak."

Monique blinked, "He didn't tell me that…Why didn't he tell me that?"

"Sometimes guys don't want their girlfriends to know how badly their really hurt…They're afraid they won't love them anymore." Ron said quietly.

"Oh…Oh" Then Monique took off for the serving line and took Tirza by the hand.

Ron turned back towards his sister, "Now let's see if we have a yummy bottle in the bag for you."

He dug around in one of the bags and pulled a bottle out of the bag and prepared it for Kaley, he checked the temperature by rolling up his left sleeve and shook a little milk out of the nipple onto his fore arm, "Nope…little cold."

Kaley's big brown eyes followed Ron's every move. She knew it was lunch time the minute she saw the bottle. He pulled the bottle steamer out of the bag as Sima sat down across from him, "Sima can you keep on eye on Kaley while I get the bottle ready."

Sima was eyeing her food rather suspiciously and nodded, "I will watch her…You are going to have to assign someone to watch Sam…He is driving me crazy."

Ron smiled and took Rufus out of his pocket, "You keep an eye on Kaley too…I think Sergei would be more than happy to watch Sam for you."

Sima rolled her eyes as Ron got up and headed towards the restroom to warm up the bottle. He filled the little up of the steamer with water and plugged it in and waited for the bottle to warm up, _"Place hasn't changed much…I wonder if Tina is going to make Ned shave off that sad looking goatee?"_

He checked the bottles temperature again, _"All those years hanging out with KP on those babysitting jobs finally paid off._

"Yep, just right."

Ron returned to the table and handed Kaley the bottle, the baby grabbed a hold of it and began inhaling the formula. Monique was watching the whole thing from a few tables over with Tirza, "Hey Ron, looks like you got your parenting skills down."

He smiled and shrugged, _"Girl you don't know half of it."_ He thought as he sat down at the table and looked at the mess on the tray, "Rufus did you start with out me?"

The naked mole rat was leaning up against the napkin dispenser with a big bulge in his tummy. He smiled and let out a tremendous belch before sighing contentedly. Ron shook his head, "My penis with legs just ate my food…I'll be back."

Ron went thru the food line again, "Hey Ned, another order of chicken chimeritos…Rufus ate mine."

Ned laughed, "Same old Rufus."

Ron nodded, "Hey Ned…What's with the whole beard thing?"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about that…Last act of rebellion before the wedding." He said with a smile.

Ron chuckled, "I see…Well I still have to hook you up with a bachelor party."

Ned grimaced, "Don't tell Tina, she has this horrific fear that you're going to get me drunk, strip me naked and spray paint my balls blue before putting me on a bus for Boulder."

He stared at his friend, "The woman is EVIL, She can read minds Ned." Ron said before breaking into a grin, "I have an idea but I have to work on it with Wade first."

Ned laughed, "Just don't get me killed."

Ron laughed as he took his tray, "Now Ned, would I do something like that to you …intentionally I mean."

Ned smiled and shook his head, "Don't get me started, I'll be out front in a few minutes."

Ron returned to the table and checked on Kaley and saw the bottle was empty but the baby had a most disturbed look on her face, "Time for a burping." He said as he pulled the dishtowel out and put it over his shoulder he picked up Kaley and put her over the dish towel and began patting her back, _"This baby stuff is a lot of work."_

He heard her belch and was relieved that she didn't throw up on him again as he put her back in the pumpkin seat and returned his attention to eating only to discover his tray was empty again.

The prime suspect was lounging once again lounging against the napkin dispenser, "RUFUS…I'm not going to get to eat today am I?"

Rufus gave him a bewildered look and then Sima started to laugh, "I switched trays on you while you were burping Kaley."

Ron took his tray and with two fingers pointed at his eyes and then at Sima, "I have got my eyes on you from now on….Both eyes…Evil child."

Sima was laughing at him and pointing back at him, "I fooled you big time."

"Very funny."

Ned walked back over to the table and pointed at Sima, Ron motioned for the girl to scoot over. Sima moved over and let Ned sit down, "So when did you get back in?"

"Yesterday, I figured today was a good day to drop by and let you know I was in town."

Ned nodded and then leaned over the table and began to talk quietly, "I haven't told Tina yet but old man Youther's that owns this store and the one in Lowerton is going to retire next year."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Really"

Ned held up his hands, "He's approached me about buying the 2 stores...I think I can do it and make a go of them but I what I really need is someone I can trust to run the Lowerton store...Maybe partner in with me...You interested."

Ron rubbed the back of his neck, "Man...I've been in that Lowerton store when I dated Lacey...Place is a mess...What kind of money we talking?"

"I won't lie to you; the twp stores will be well into the six figures...I figured with your military background you should have the place up and profitable in no time."

"Let me know how much you're looking for and I'll see what I can come up with." Ron said as he scratched his chin and started running the idea through his mind.

Ned smiled, "If worst comes to worst you could always be our new spokesclown."

Ron laughed, "awwww...How much does it pay?"

Ned slid out of the booth, "I'll let you know, I have to get back to work. This place doesn't run itself you know."

Ron smiled, _"Same ol' Ned...Same ol' Ned with a goatee."_

Monique came over to the booth, "Take a picture of Tirza and me?"

"Doing what?" Ron asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Just take a picture of us."

Ron smiled, "OK, but you have to take a picture of me and Kaley."

The group posed for pictures doing silly things and then it was time to head back to Ron's house. He wanted to change shirts and get ready to meet Kim at Upperton University for a night of mayhem.

**

* * *

**

Kim was leaving work; it was hard to concentrate with Ron being in town, hard to concentrate with all the questions and lingering doubts that began to cloud her mind. She knew something was off between the two of them but was unable to put her finger on what it was.

She talked to Dr. Wong again about the use of the chair and all she could get the woman to agree upon was that she would think about it over night. What intrigued her most today was the fact that Kim was no longer sensing things that were happening to Ron.

Ron had been wounded in the fighting in Southern Lebanon and Kim remained totally unaware that it had happened until Ron informed her of the new wound when he returned home. Doctor Wong began to theorize that prolonged use of the chair was harmful, prolonged absence from the chair decreased the telepathic symptoms that Kim was experiencing.

Kim put forth a theory of her own which basically stated that the amount of power the chair was requiring for to make contact with Ron could have actually been to blame. Now that he was in town the power requirements would be insignificant and thus stood to pose no potential danger.

Dr. Wong smiled and told her that her theory was sound and not the sort of theory to be advanced by a girl that was carrying a gentlemanly 'C' average in college. Kim was not persuaded and requested another visit to the chair in the morning.

Doctor Wong agreed to take the matter into consideration.

Kim pulled up and parked next to a familiar brown Crown Victoria station wagon, _"She has to let me in the chair tomorrow I have to get in Ron's head and figure out what is going on."_

She walked into the campus and headed straight for her and Monique's favorite table in the Student Union building. She smiled as she saw the large group seated around a large circular table laughing and joking around, _"Maybe Ron is starting to unwind now."_

Ron saw Kim and waived to her to come over to the table and then he shooed away Sam and offered her a seat, "Monique showed us around already...Cool school...We figured we'd sit around and shoot the breeze while we waited for you to get off work."

Kim smiled and then lost her grin as she looked across the room and spotted 12 fraternity brothers from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, "Oh no...not tonight."

She quickly sat down, and Ron put his arm around her and drew her close, "Are those the friends from that fraternity you were telling me about back in January?"

Kim nodded, "Yes, but I can handle them...Let's just leave."

Monique agreed, "We need to leave now, I don't want to take a chance on losing Tirza."

Tirza bristled at the comment, "If there is going to be a fight I want to fight, I am still a man."

Monique glared at him, "Fighting does not make you a man."

Ron knew what Tirza was talking about, "He still wants to feel useful and part of something, Monique."

Monique went bug eyed on Ron, "Well he can feel useful and apart of something as we get the hell out of here."

Sergei looked over at the group assembling, "What is the worry there are only 12 of them, we beat them up and then we go to this Sizzler that Ronnie's always talking about."

Kim gave Ron a strange look, "Sizzler?"

"Kim...I haven't had steak in over a year...Now which one is the one that tried to rape you?" Ron said as his mind shifted gears into a crafty warlike rage.

She looked over at the frat brothers, "Guy named Spanky in the black Voice of God t-shirt with the broken nose."

Sima looked on nervously, "Ronnie if there is a fight what do I do?"

"Hide under a table." Ron said half paying attention.

Ron lifted an eyebrow, _"Voice of God got a record deal?"_ Ron shook the stray thought out of his head and turned his attention to another person at the table, "Bina...How would you like to make a quick $20 dollars."

Bina looked at him suspiciously, "What do I have to do?"

Ron pointed towards the group on the other side of the building, "Do you see that extreamly stupid looking man in the black t-shirt over across the building."

Bina nodded, "The one talking to the other men?"

"Yes the one trying to explain to his friends exactly why they need to come over here and take an ass kicking." Ron explained with a smile.

"I see the one."

"He and his friends are going to come over here and pick a fight with us."

Bina smiled, "YES"

A large grin came over Ron's face, "I intend to give them one."

Bina continued smiling, "GOOD"

"Now in order to earn your $20 that stupid looking man named Spanky has to...Say in the course of the fight accidentally have his ear bitten off..."

"For $20 I will bite both ears off."

Ron laughed, "I bet you would, but I think one ear may get the message across that he needs to listen when Kim says to leave her alone."

Kim looked at Ron nervously, "Ron...can you handle a fight physically? With your legs...be honest."

He almost appeared hurt by the question and then he smiled, "KP, like Sergei says, there are only 12 of them."

Sam smiled eagerly as he watched the small mob make their way towards their table, "They are coming."

Ron eyes began to glow a deep blue before returning to normal, "Sam, now you will have a chance to practice your English again."

Kim began to scoot her chair back as she quickly formulated a plan to save Ron from getting beat up. With his legs not healed up she knew he may only have one two good shots before someone kicks his knee or worse.

The fraternity brothers began to encircle the table. They failed to notice Ron quickly sending out hand signals to Sam, Sergei, Bina and Tirza one which boys they were responsible for taking care of.

Spanky leaned in between Kim and Tirza and looked directly at Ron, "If you're smart you and your friends will stay out of this fight."

Kim looked at Ron uneasily, "Maybe you should just let me handle it."

Ron leaned his head back and laughed, "Kim you know it's been nearly three weeks since I've killed anyone...I'm starting to get withdrawals."

Sam stood up quickly, "Piss off asshole."

This caught Spanky's attention but the first blow of the fight came from an unexpected source. Tirza stood up and punched Spanky in the side of the head, staggering him over towards Kim but before he could get there a woman dove across the table and took him to the ground.

A loud ear piercing scream soon issued, "The bitch bit my ear off."

Sam spotted a bewildered Cody Marshall and decided he was the best target of opportunity as he jumped onto the table and sprang on him knocking him to the ground where be began pummeling him with blows.

Ron quickly got to his feet but Kim had already lunged across the table towards her closest target of opportunity and gave that young man a saddle kick to the side of the head putting him on the ground.

Monique began pushing Tirza towards the door but the feisty medic wasn't ready to leave the fight, "Just one more Monique and I'll quit."

Before Monique could answer Tirza got his wish and one of the fraternity brothers charged him only to have him drop him in his tracks with one punch, "Did you see that Monique."

Monique was becoming pale, "Come on Tirza let's go."

Sergei had incapacitated two and was working on a third when he heard Ron yell, "Damn it Sergei save one for me, I haven't hit anyone yet."

Sergei saw Ron coming around the table as fast as his wounded legs would allow and tossed the one he was going to punch Ron's way. Ron grabbed the dazed man by the collar and punched him in the mouth, "Thanks Sergei."

One of the frat brothers spotted Cody on the ground in trouble and made the mistake of picking up Sam. He promptly kicked the man in the balls before punching him in the nose and throwing him to the ground.

Kim found another target trying to get clear of the mess, "I'm not fighting, I'm not..."

Only to be cut off by Kim as she punched him in the jaw and sent him to the ground, "Too bad, that's what you get for ruining my quiet night."

Sergei looked around for someone to hit but could find no one and then he spotted Sam, "I got two little man."

"Big deal so did I."

Sergei looked hurt and then he spotted a man in a frat t-shirt running away from the fight. He picked up the aluminum frame and plastic chair that was the standard chair in the university break room and hurled it at the man. The chair impacted the man in the center of his back and sending him sprawling onto the ground unconscious. Sergei smiled and pointed at Sam, "THREE!"

Kim looked out the door, "University Police we have to move."

Bina stood up over a whimpering Spanky, "Here is your ear back, now I must go collect my $20."

"Pay you later, we have to run now." Ron said excitedly as he looked down at Spanky.

"Can I come out from underneath the table now?"

Ron looked for the source of the voice and realized that he had completely lost track of Sima during the fight, "Yes come out now, we have to move quickly."

Kim pointed, "Side door."

The others quickly followed her to the parking lot where Bina stopped them, she was smiling fresh blood on her lips, "Why are we running, we can take them."

Kim rolled her eyes and turned to Ron to explain the merits of leaving quickly only to see a twisted smile come over his face, "YES, seize the building, KILL ALL WHO OPPOSE US. Impale their heads on pikes around the city. CAN MY THIRST FOR BLOOD EVER BE SATED?"

She quickly took Ron's face in both hands, "Honey we can't kill all who oppose us...That would make us evil."

This brought Ron back to reality as he smiled shyly, "Oh Yea...Hey...Who's up for Sizzler?"

**

* * *

**

With their escape complete the group retreated to the Sizzler steak house to celebrate and so that Ron could quench his thirst for red meat. The group began to walk in the door of the restaurant when Ron took Sergei by the arm and held him back, "Sergei five bucks says Bina orders her steak raw."

Sergei shook his head, "She will not order her steak raw, shame to take your money on this one."

Ron smiled, "We'll see."

The two entered the restaurant and listened as each member of their party ordered. Then the moment of truth came, Bina stepped up to the cash register, "I would like the 12 oz Sirloin…Rare."

Then she turned to Ron, "Big ears where is my money?"

Ron pulled out his money clip and peeled off twenty dollars and handed it to her, "Money well spent…Now Sergei where's my five dollars?"

"Your five dollars, you mean my five dollars."

"She ordered it Rare…Man that's raw." Ron continued.

Kim looked at the two squabbling men, "Problems?"

They both shook their heads, "NO"

They put their orders in and then proceded to strip the all you can eat food and salad bar of anything that looked edible. Monique watched in horror as Tirza descended into the ranks of gluttony as he had to try every single desert that he could find, "Tirza baby, I didn't mean to fatten you up in one meal."

Ron sat next to Kim and began to drool as his steak was brought to the table, "Isn't it beautiful Kim, nearly two pounds of glorious red meat called a Porterhouse."

Kim smirked, "I wish you'd look at me just once like that."

He seemed not to notice her, "It's soooooooo beautiful."

Rufus continued to work on the plate of cheese that Ron had given him, he looked up from his plate towards Ron's, "Yuck"

"Oh for heaven's sake Ron, it's only a steak." Kim scolded.

"It's sooooooo beautiful…Oh well time to eat." He said as he started to cut his steak.

After another hour they were barbaric orgy of eating was done, their table and surrounding tables were littered with empty plates of food. Bina stared into space and then realized her jeans were too tight so she undid the snap, "I…I have to poop."

Ron covered his face and began to laugh; Kim shook her head, "Follow me."

Kim showed Bina to the restroom and then headed back to the table only to find Ron in the middle of a story about one of their old missions, "So anyway, I go into this building that is totally constructed out of cheese.'

Sergei shook his head, "You mean it had a steal frame building that was covered in cheese."

"You know that is what I thought but a nice tour lady quickly corrected me, it was solid cheese." Ron said

Tirza began laughing, "So what happened next?"

"Well I was promptly captured and manacled to the wall with Kim…Who I came to rescue…Without a real plan." Ron began to explain.

Kim sat down and continued the story, "And then Rufus wakes up in your pocket…"

"You mean the penis with legs." Sergei asked as he gestured towards Rufus.

Rufus looked up from the table, "HEY"

Kim narrowed her eyes at Sergei, "I mean Rufus, wakes up in Ron's pocket and I tell him to push the button that controlled the restraints."

Tirza smiled and pointed at Rufus, "…and he did….well trained….pet."

Ron became mildly offended, "Rufus is not a pet, he's family."

Rufus stood up and glared at Tirza, "YEA"

Tirza held up his hands, "I already had one fight tonight, I do not need another."

Monique brought her hand up and caressed his face and gave him a little kiss, "and you were so brave."

Kim giggled and picked up the story, "So we're free now and I tell Ron to make for the big magma drill thingie….Did Ron tell you Drakken wanted to wipe out Wisconsin and rename it Drakkenville?"

Sergei shook his head no as he moved out of the way for Bina to retake her seat. Kim looked at Ron, "I can't believe you didn't tell them about that part."

"I didn't know about that part." Ron said defensively.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Right that was before you arrived."

Ron put his hands on top of his head, "You never told me it was magma thingie….I thought it was just your average death ray."

Kim wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue at him, "Well now you know…So I go off and fight Shego. That's Drakken's assistant and Ron heads for the control booth."

Ron holds up his hands, "Oh this is where it gets good, I go into the booth with Rufus and there are gauges and buttons all over the place…So I look at the control panel and instantly realize, 'Hey this thing is high tech.' better push all the buttons."

Kim begins to laugh, "So the magma thingie goes off and its beam is melting the cheese building and it begins to collapse. So I'm thinking 'hey it's time to leave.' I'm just getting ready to swing out of their on my hairdryer that looks like a grappling hook when I see Ron waiving his arms in the air screaming for help."

Ron shook his head, "I was not screaming, I was yelling."

Kim grinned at him, "Same thing soldier boy."

Sergei shook his head, "So you were saved by a woman."

Ron shrugged, "Happened a lot back then."

Kim glared at Sergei, "And what's wrong with being saved by a woman?"

Sergei smiled and shook his head, "Nothing more than carrying a penis with legs around in your pocket."

Kim turned up her nose, "Well it happens a lot around here so get used to it fatty."

Monique shook her head, "You go girl...What I don't understand is why you two didn't go there together?"

Kim smiled, "Because Ron was working at Bueno Nacho and was being a goon of an assistant manager."

Ron smiled, "It was the first time I was ever in charge of anything and I may have been a little...over zealous."

"A little over zealous, 'HA' you had a bathroom break chart." Kim said as she poked him in the ribs.

Monique giggled "So how was he as an officer?"

Sergei rolled his eyes, "Oh he was like great Russian Generals do this, do that, He ran my legs off...Corporal Bunimovich find out why the mortars are not firing, Corporal Bunimovich go find Sgt. Shubaki, Corporal Bunimovich lets fall back to the building we were first in so we don't all get killed by one artillery shell...Then we got hit."

Kim watched as Ron's demeanor changed before her eyes, for a moment she thought he was going to break down and cry and then he gathered himself up and sat up right in his chair and slapped the table hard, "I made the best decision that I thought possible under the circumstances...Two platoons one small building...I didn't know that shell was going to hit over there...I should have split us all up into squads and dispersed us in several buildings, but I didn't think of it at the time...I did the best job I could under the circumstances."

Sergei didn't mean to touch a nerve but he did, "Ronnie, no one is blaming you."

"I did the best I could...In the end I was responsible...I wrote 7 letters, 6 of those letters were to family that died because of a decision I made...I did the best I could..." Ron said quietly.

The table was silent as Ron slunk back into his seat staring at the empty table in front of him turning it over and over again of what he could have done differently. Kim touched his arm, "It's getting late and their wanting to close, I think we better call it a night."

Bina smiled and punched Sergei, "Nice job, showing big ears up in front of his friends."

Sergei said nothing as he left a tip on the table and headed out behind the others. Out in the parking lot Ron tossed Sam his keys, "You drive Sam, I am not feeling real good right now."

Sam couldn't speak English but it was clear Ron was upset, "Yes Sergeant...Just give me directions."

Ron shrugged and pointed at Kim's car, "Just follow her."

Kim stood beside him, "Want to talk later?"

He nodded, "Maybe later...I just want to go home now."

Kim hugged him and then pointed at Sam and told him in her best Hebrew, "Follow Trees"

Sam looked at her strangely and then shrugged as he turned his attention back to Sima, "See I am big man, I get to drive."

Sima shook her head, "Go follow trees."

Ron took Rufus from his pocket and sat in the front seat of the station wagon and began to pet the naked mole rat, trying to remember times when it was just the two of them and things were much simpler. He breathed a heavy sigh, "So ends my first day back in Middleton."


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N: I do not own Kim Possible, Princes Jasmine, Pochahontas, Cruella de Vil, Belle, Ariel or any other Disney character...All writing is for entertainment only...How ever if Disney decides to open strip clubs...I'm more than willing to talk.  
**

**MATURE ALERT, MATURE ALERT, MATURE ALERT, GRAPHIC SCENES OF BACHELOR AND BACHELORETTE PARTIES. Kim is a crushing sheep, Ron runs into old friends, Sam continues to touch inappropriatley, Will Du wants a piece of the Ron Factor...Rufus is psychologically harmed.**

**Read and reveiw...Bubba **

* * *

It had been several hours since they had ate at the Sizzler Steak House; Kim had gone home for the night at midnight after unsuccessfully trying to get Ron to talk about what had happened to them in Lebanon. 

Bina and Sima had turned in at 11:00 when they arrived home; Sam did the same still excitedly talking about the fight earlier in the day. Monique and Tirza vanished and that left Sergei and Ron by themselves, "Ronnie I did not mean to suggest that…"

"It's OK Sergei…It creeps into my head from time to time and I have to force it out and tell myself it's just war…This stuff happens in war…It goes away and then…it creeps back in…" Ron said sadly.

Sergei nodded, "So we are alright then?"

Ron nodded and held out a fist, "Yea…we're alright."

Sergei made a fist and tapped the top of Ron's fist, "I am going to bed…See you in the morning."

He watched the big man leave the living room and then Ron realized he had been holding and petting Rufus for at least three hours. He laid the sleeping naked mole rat on the coffee table and then he kicked his shoes off, _"I got six people killed because I forgot my basic training."_

Ron laid out on the couch and began to relive the whole mission all over again from the beginning, _"During an artillery attack I should have dispersed the platoon, men during artillery shelling have the tendency to group up to feel safe…I grouped them all up in that house…It was all my fault."_

He stared at the ceiling and now that he was alone he could afford to release his emotions. He began to cry, bitter angry tears, _"I'm sorry guys….I didn't think….I didn't know….Stop this…Stop this right now."_

Ron wiped the tears away, _"You know why you didn't disperse them, the patrols…If I would have dispersed them there was a strong likely hood that we would have been destroyed piece by piece by the patrols…It was the best decision at the time…I think."_

Sleep finally started to overtake his mind and he felt himself beginning to slip away into unconsciousness, _"Can't worry about this stuff now…Ned needs a bachelor party."_

The night passed almost dreamless for Ron, near dawn a dream of Japan crept into his life in the dream he was unconscious and a voice called to him, "Father….Father."

Ron opened his eyes and rolled his head to see a little girl of about six years of age with her lip stuck out in a pout, "Father, Rufus San picks all the cherries from the tree and he will not let me have any." Ron turned his head and found himself looking at a very guilty looking naked mole rat.

A voice from behind him he recognized immediately, it was Yori, "Mariko, do not bother your father with this he is very ill."

Ron woke up with a start, _"I have to get some privacy and try to contact Yori…I have to know."_

He rose from the couch and made his way slowly up the stairs to the bathroom, it was the only place in the whole house that he felt he could get some privacy. Once inside the room he sad on the floor and made himself as comfortable as possible considering the soreness of his legs and began to meditate.

**I**

In a matter minutes Ron was transported to his private little island of his mind, sitting in a beach chair under a palm tree, he watched the water washing up on the white sand. Soon a young woman walked up to where he was sitting.

It was Yori and she was smiling, "Stoppable San, it is good to see you well…I heard you…were injured."

"I got hurt…My legs are still bothering me a bit…So…How have you been?" Ron inquired innocently.

Yori was bubbly and excited, "Master Sensei says that if all goes well that I will be an instructor in the fall…I am very excited."

Ron smiled at the young ninja, _"We'll moment of truth."_

"So how is Mariko feeling today?"

Yori's happiness changed to one of fear, "How…How did you know?

"Hirotaka told me."

He could see anger flash in Yori's eyes, "Hirotaka has a big…" She cut herself off as her Japanese upbringing of quiet reserve took over, "He should not have told you."

Ron was quiet for a moment as he tried to think of something to say, "No…You should have told me."

Yori could no longer look him in the eyes, her gaze was down cast, "You have enough burdens and problems without having to be burdened with my shame."

"YORI"

"Stoppable San…You do not understand our culture…There is little tolerance towards unwanted pregnancy…"

"Yori if she is unwanted…"

Yori narrowed her eyes, "You will be quiet and listen." Ron raised both hands, "I hid the pregnancy for as long as I could…There are many around the school that wanted me to end the pregnancy."

Ron could feel an anger building in him that he felt a year ago when he thought that Kim was pregnant and a similar conversation was had with Mrs. Dr. P. This time he held his temper in check as he heard Yori out, "I refused…I was in love with a young American boy that had come to the school and I was afraid that I would never see again…I wanted this baby."

He breathed easier as he settled into his beach chair, "I didn't mean to cause you these problems."

Yori smiled wearily, "She is much like you…She makes me laugh and she is very smart."

Ron wiped a tear from his eyes, "Must get that from her mother….Why didn't you tell me?"

Yori frowned, "If I would have told you what would you have done?"

"I would have found a way to come to you."

Yori shook her head, "I have told you, you can not stay here…You are now where you need to be, learning what you need to know….Just as I am doing what is required of me…One day she will have to come live with you."

Ron looked at her strangely, "Why will she have to come live with me? Not that I don't want her too."

Yori looked sad, "Master Sensei is very old…Mariko is not pure Japanese…When he dies…They will make us leave Yamanouchi, Mariko will come live with you…I will make other arrangements."

He shivered as he remembered that Yori was going to commit ritualistic suicide when she beloved he had died while he was in training at Yamanouchi, "Yori…before you make those other arrangements…Please talk to me first."

Yori stared at the sand and nodded, "That…We come from different worlds Stoppable San."

Ron nodded his head in silent agreement, "When can I see her."

Yori thought about it, "I am not sure, we will get in touch with you when the time is right…I must warn you though…She can be quite a handful."

"I look forward to finding out."

* * *

Suddenly there was a pounding on the bathroom door and Ron opened his eyes and found himself back in Middleton looking up from where he was sitting in the floor. The knocking continued, "Ronnie, hurry up and finish glowing blue…I have to pee." 

Ron struggled to his feet, "Awwwww…If you didn't drink all those damn free soda refills you wouldn't have to be going to the bathroom this late at night."

He opened the door and looked at the line going down the hallway, "Late at night, its 8:00 AM." Sergei said as he pushed by him.

"RONALD STOPPABLE"

"_Uh oh"_ He thought as he headed down stairs to the kitchen to find his father with his the duffle bag he didn't carry downstairs the day he returned home.

"Yes?"

His dad was red faced and he could tell he was not happy, "Explain the contents of this bag."

Ron shrugged, "Uhhhhhhhh one Fabrique National FN FAL Machine gun, one Romanian made AK47, never fired, four Glock 9 mm pistols, one SIG P226 pistol in 9 mm, plus an assortment of combat knives and a bayonet for the big FN FAL."

Ron's dad was clearly exasperated, "Is it really necessary to have all these guns?"

He looked at his father and shrugged, "Dad…Sometimes you just never know when having a good machine gun will come in handy."

His father shook his head, "What were you planning to do with them, start your own army?"

"Bonnie's scared of guns so I couldn't keep them at her place, I figured I'd just stash them here until I find some place for them."

His dad shook his head, "Find some place for them Ronald I do not want my house turned into an armory."

Sergei walked into the kitchen, "Nice arsenal, it looks like you brought home your war booty."

Ron began quickly bagging the guns up, "Bonnie wanted them gone so now they're here and Dad wants them gone."

"I have a problem Ronnie."

He stopped what he was doing and turned his attention to Sergei, "Let me guess it involves Bina?"

The big man shook his head, "No when I threw that chair in the fight last night I think I tore my stitches in my shoulder."

Mr. Stoppable's ears perked up, "You guys were fighting last night."

"Don't worry dad there was only about 12 of them so it wasn't much of a fight."

The elder Stoppable shook his head and left the room. Ron looked at Sergei's shoulder and seen the bandages appeared to be turning red, "We have to walk down the street, Mrs. Dr. P. should be able to fix you up."

Ron put his shoes on and he and Sergei started to slowly walk down the hill, "What do you mean Ronnie, it wasn't much of a fight, it was a great fight."

"Sergei, I only got to punch one guy….The fight sucked."

"Where do you think Tirza is now?" Sergei mused.

Ron laughed, "Monique is probably getting him dressed, she has both class and work today."

* * *

They reached the Possible's front door he looked at the driveway and saw that Kim's car wasn't there. He breathed a little easier, Kim was beginning to make him nervous, he was trying to make things like they were before he left but was having little success doing it. 

He rang the doorbell and Mr. Dr. P. answered, "Ronald, you just missed Kim, she left for work…Doing good things at the Space Center."

"That's OK Mr. Dr. P., I was actually looking for the Mrs. Dr. today…I need her to look at my friend."

Mrs. Dr. P. appeared in the doorway, "What seems to be the problem?"

Ron pointed at Sergei, "I think I have broken my stitches."

"Well come on in and we'll have a look at it." She said as she stepped back from the door.

They followed her back to her office, "So where are the stitches that I need to look at?"

Sergei pulled off his shirt and sat down in a chair, "I took some Shrapnel a few weeks back."

Mrs. Dr. P. began unwrapping the bandages, "Looks like you had a pretty nasty wound."

Ron moved over to have a look at it, he had not seen Sergei's wounds. He shook his head as he looked at the large red scar that started on top of his left shoulder and worked its way down the back to where it stopped just underneath the shoulder blade.

"The stitches look like they are holding alright. You appear to be healing up pretty good, I'll wrap you back up and you go on taking it easy with that arm, OK." Mrs. Dr. P. told him.

She finished working on Sergei and then turned her attention to Ron, "Anything you need me to look at?"

"NO…uhhh…No, I'm fine…Leg's bother me a little but I'm fine…I'm fine." Ron said with a forced grin.

Mrs. Dr. P. continued to wrap Sergei's wound, "Kim's awfully worried about you."

Ron nodded sadly, "I know…It just feels strange being back…Things are the same…yet different…I don't know."

"Have you tried talking to her?"

He shook his head, "No…no…these are things I think I have to figure out myself."

"Well Sergei, you're all wrapped up…When are the stitches supposed to come out?"

Sergei pulled his shirt back on over the top of his head, "I was told the 28th."

"Next Friday, you come see me and we'll get those out for you." Mrs. Dr. P. told him.

She escorted them to the front door, "Sorry I can't stay and talk longer but I have to be getting to the hospital…Ron you feel the need to talk feel free to drop by."

"Alright Mrs. Dr. P….I think we need to head home and find out what happened to Tirza." Ron said as they left the house.

Sergei watched Ron walk up the hill, "You are moving better."

Ron shrugged, "If it's over short periods I can manage…Distances I can't do."

"The doctor lady is kind of nosey."

Ron laughed, "Yea, I think they are used to me running to her with all my problems…I don't think she can help me with this."

Sergei nodded, "I do not think they can either…They have no…ummm….mind set for what we have seen."

Ron began to think of the things he saw in Gaza City and Lebanon and nodded, "Yea…If…We better find Tirza."

They heard a car horn behind them and turned to see Monique drive past with Tirza in the front seat. Ron laughed and shook his head, "Well that's one mystery solved."

Monique had Tirza in a bear hug when they reached the car, "I'll call you after work, you rest up today…OK."

Tirza nodded as he got out of the car, "Rest today…Yes."

Ron tapped on the glass and pointed at his wrist as if he were wearing a watch, "You had him out past his curfew."

Monique stuck out her tongue and put the car in reverse, "I have to go or I'll be late for class."

Ron and Sergei looked at Tirza's smile and didn't need to ask what he had been doing all night. Tirza turned and walked inside the house, "Monique is a very understanding woman."

Ron chuckled, "I'm sure she is."

Sergei smiled, "So what is the plan for today?"

"I had crappy sleep; I'm heading back to bed for now." Ron said as he began to walk down the stairs to the basement.

Tirza followed him down the stairs, "I need to sleep too, Monique was very attentive but sleep was not on her mind last night."

* * *

The workday at the Space Center was going as planned for Kim, she cleaned the rat pens and monitored Candy and Mortimer who were starting to behave more and more like normal rats each day. 

Dr. Wanda Wong came up behind her and peered over her shoulder, "Any unusual behavior from Candy and Mortimer this morning?"

Kim frowned and shook her head, "No unusual, un rat like behavior…Maybe the effects of the truth ray were only temporary?"

"Or maybe Candy and Mortimer learned to cope with the effects."

Kim nodded, "That's possible…I guess…Have you given anymore thought about letting me use the chair again?"

Dr. Wong looked at the redheaded woman sensing she was obviously anxious to try the chair again, "What time is it?"

Kim glanced up at the clock on the wall, "Going on 12:30."

Dr. Wong scratched her chin, "We will test your theory after lunch, let's meet back here at 1:00."

"Sounds good, I'll finish up here and head up to the cafeteria…Pick on my dad a little bit."

Dr. Wong laughed, "Well tell your father I said hello."

Ron woke up a little after twelve and took a shower and got himself ready to go for the day, he put his teeth in his mouth, put his cloths on and put Rufus in his pocket, "Time to plan Ned's bachelor party little buddy."

He took the stairs back down to the living room where everyone was waiting on him. Sam came up to him, "I secured your weapons in the basement for you."

Ron smiled, "Good man, never can tell when one will need a machine gun."

He took a seat on the couch and looked over to Sima, "So what is going on today?"

Sima shrugged, "We were waiting on you to figure that out…Sergei finally got Bina to himself."

Ron winced, "I do not think this will end happily."

Tirza came stumbling up from the basement, "My pelvis is very sore…Monique is wonderful."

"I hope you let her do all the work there buddy."

Tirza laughed as he began to climb the stairs, "She told me to just lie still and that she would do everything….and she did."

Ron watched a little television, Sam and Sima who spoke very little English had no idea what was going on but they did recognize the show. Sam leered, "Do you think we can meet any of the Baywatch girls?"

Sima laughed, "You would not know what to do with one of those girls…Stop playing big shot."

"I would too, Ronnie tell her."

Ron blinked, "What? I was not paying attention."

Sima laughed, "He was watching the show."

He shook his head, "Not really…Thinking about what to do for Ned for a bachelor party."

Bina came stomping into the room and stopped in front of Ron, "You will introduce me to rich doctors who will marry me and take me away from all this."

Ron nodded his head, "Bina…If I knew any rich doctors that could take you away from all this….I would marry them first."

Sergei came stomping in and Bina stomped out of the room. Ron looked over at his friend as he paced around with his hands on his hips, "Bina trouble?"

Sergei stopped pacing and pointed at the stairs, "She is hateful woman…I do what everybody says and tell her that I like her…"

Ron sat up along with Sam and Sima, "And?"

Sergei was reigning in his temper, "She told me that I was not a rich doctor and that she was not interested in poor fat soldiers."

Sima tried to make him feel better, "Maybe she was just…surprised?"

Ron smiled, "Maybe she is just a psycho?"

Sergei shook his head, "I am done messing with her…Where is the closest brothel?"

Ron began laughing, "I do not think they are legal in Colorado."

Sergei sat on the couch and began to sulk. Sima decided it was time to go check on Bina and headed upstairs. Ron watched her leave and pulled out the Ronnunicator, "Now that the ladies are out of the way…Time to plan Ned's bachelor party."

Kim sat in the chair and made herself comfortable in the chair, she was trying to hide her excitement but wasn't quite keeping it contained, "Ready up here already."

Dr. Wong giggled, "A little anxious are we…Work stations are up and running."

She closed her eyes and relaxed, "Nothing yet."

Dr. Wong made some power adjustments on her equipment, "How about now?"

"Almost…not quite."

Another few adjustments and Dr. Wong heard Kim say from the chair, "That's it…I see he's in the living room."

Sergei looked over at Ron with a grin, "You know one of these days we will be planning your bachelor party."

Ron laughed, "Not for a long time."

Sam laughed, "You will be marrying Bonnie before you know it."

"Sam…I am not marrying Bonnie."

Kim shook her head from the chair, _"Figures her name would keep coming up."_

Tirza came down from taking his shower and sat in the seat that was just vacated by Sima, "Ronnie still denying he's in love with Bonnie."

"He keeps saying he isn't going to get married anytime soon." Sergei informed him.

Tirza nodded, "Well…I am going to ask Monique to marry me."

Kim gasped from her chair, _"She'll say yes…She's Tirza crazy."_

Ron pointed and teased him, "Ahhhhhh Listening to your inner Neil."

Tirza smiled, "She makes me very happy."

Sergei nodded, "Good for you Tirza."

Ron smiled, "Marry Monique and then start working on making fat babies."

Tirza closed his eyes and smiled, "Yes"

Kim smiled, _"Awwww…That's so cute."_

Sam leaned forward, "So when are you and Bonnie going to marry and make fat babies."

Ron laughed, "That will be the day when Sergei gets into Bina's pants."

Sergei shook his head, "You are a bastard Ronnie."

Sam laughed, "I have better chance of getting into Bina's pants then fat boy here."

Kim giggled as she watched Sergei try to get a hold of Sam, "You wait little man…I will have the last laugh."

Ron heard Kaley from upstairs and began to walk upstairs, she heard a door open and saw Sima, "Can you check in on Kaley for me."

She said she would and Ron turned and sat back down, _"I wish…"_

"OK, let me get a hold of Wade, we're going to need his help."

Kim made a face, _"Why do they need Wade?"_

Sam wasn't ready to let the Bonnie issue go, "Now you can not tell me that you do not care for Bonnie…I saw the way you looked at her when we picked her up from the hospital."

"SAM"

Kim lifted an eyebrow, _"Bonnie was in the hospital?"_

Tirza looked up, "Bonnie was in the hospital?"

Ron rolled his eyes, _"Damn it Sam…Now what do I tell them…I can't tell them the truth."_

"It was just some routine tests."

Tirza wouldn't let it go, "Tests for what?"

Sam smiled, "Bonnie's pregnant."

Kim just about swallowed her tongue as she sat upright in the chair, "OH NO SHE'S NOT."

"Problems Kim?"

"No…No problems" Kim said nervously.

Ron shook his head, "No Bonnie is not pregnant, Bonnie had some problems and she's fine now…No more talk about Bonnie."

Kim nodded, _"I agree no more talk about Bonnie."_

Ron hit the key for the Ronnunicator and waited for Wade to answer, "Hey Ron"

"Wade….Buddy…"

Wade rolled his eyes, "What do you need now Ron?"

Ron laughed nervously, "Now what makes…"

"Anytime you start out your call with Wade Buddy, you want something."

He laughed at his friend's perceptiveness, "Yea…I need…Sergei how old are you?"

Sergei looked up, "21"

"Tirza, do you want to go to Ned's bachelor party on Sunday night?" Ron asked quickly.

Tirza shook his head, "No, I want to spend all my time with Monique."

Ron nodded, "Wade, I'm going to need two fake ID's, I'm taking Ned to the Hamilton Ballet."

Wade's interest was peaked, "The Larry Flint Hustler Club…wow…its Disney Character night this weekend."

His interest was piqued, "Really?"

"Oh yea, the strippers dress up like Ariel from the Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Princess Jasmine, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and of course Mulan."

Ron looked around, "What about Cruella de Vil?

"Ewwwwww"

"Just curious…not that I find her arousing or anything." Ron quickly explained.

"I don't think so."

Kim began to flush with anger, _"He has all these supposed mental problems and all he wants to do is go to strip clubs."_

Ron gave Wade a knowing look, "Hey, how do you know so much about this place?"

Wade chuckled nervously, "Well…I do their website…I also have my own websites…Over 30 gigs worth of jpegs of bubbly brown women for $40 a month….Want a comp. membership?"

Ron lifted an eyebrow, _"I'd probably never get a chance to look it over, but still it's something I'm not supposed to have."_

"Sure"

Kim pulled her knees up to her chin, _"Wade…When I talk to your mother you are so dead."_

"I'll send you the ID's as soon as I can, I'll email you the link and password later…So tell me how's Sima." Wade asked with a large grin on his face.

Ron walked over to the Stairs, "Sima, bring Kaley downstairs for me."

Sima came out of his parents room holding the baby and came down the stairs. Ron took the baby from her and handed Sima the Ronnunicator, "Hallo Wade"

Wade smiled, "So how are you today Sima?"

"Piss off asshole."

Ron grabbed the device from her quickly, "Sorry Wade that's all the English she knows."

"Shit"

He looked up at Sima, "Word for today is 'Shit'.

Wade began laughing, "It looks like she is getting all the important words down."

Ron laughed as he hoisted his sister into his lap, "Her parents are going to kill me by the time I have her back in Israel she will have the vocabulary that would make a sailor proud….Did I introduce my little sister Kaley to you?"

Wade shook his head, "Nope"

"This is my sister Kaley, isn't she a doll." Ron said proudly.

Wade nodded, "Cute baby there Ron….I'll get started on those ID's."

Ron smiled, "You rock Wade." Kaley reached out for the Ronnunicator, "Kaley says you rock too."

Kim folded her arms in the chair, "Wade…your rockin' days are so numbered."

She took the headset off stared at the wall trying to think about what to do, _"If I yell at him now and kick his ass…He's going to want to know how I found out…Maybe I should just let it go? After all it is just for one night…But he'd still have that fake ID."_

"Everything go alright?" Dr. Wong asked for a second time.

Kim nodded her head, _"Why was Bonnie in the hospital? Why does Bonnie keep popping up in the whole equation?"_

"Oh…Everything is just fine."

* * *

He regained his freedom and now it was time to return to his Head Quarters and report in. Will Du had spent the last several weeks in an Israeli prison as appeal after appeal was made for his release by Global Justice. 

He walked confidently into Dr. Director's office. Dr. Director's secretary looked up, "You are expected, you may proceed."

Betty Director looked up from a file she was reviewing, "There you are number 1, I thought you had gone missing for good there."

Will Du smirked, "Trust when I say, I would have eventually been able to escape from my captors."

Dr. Director's manner was cold, "We had to refund a large retainer to the Iranian Government…I do not like giving refunds, it gives the impression that we are incapable of performing our mission."

"There were reason's for my capture, believe me I never saw this one coming." Will said as he tried to explain his situation.

"By all means explain Number 1, I would like to know how you were captured by the Israeli's so easily and I would also like to know how it was they managed to keep your capture a secret for almost a month."

William Du refused to be flustered, "General Tova informed me after my capture that I wouldn't be easy to find and wouldn't see freedom until they were ready."

"How was your cover blown, we spent nearly a year developing your identity as well as the identity of your team."

Will Du narrowed his eyes and delivered his information, "Do you remember a project some three years ago code named 'The Ron Factor'?"

Betty Director shifted in her seat, "Yes, the project involved a one time side kick of a mentally disturbed cheerleading crime fighter named Kim Possible."

Will Du took a seat opposite of his boss and mentor, "I ran across Ronald Stoppable in Southern Lebanon and he recognized me."

Betty Director shook her head, "The Ron Factor was dismissed as random chance and Kim Possible's success was finally attributed to the lack of intelligence in her opponents more so than whom. Or in case of the mole rat what was on her team."

Will Du crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, "I believe it may be time to reopen the old Ron Factor project."

Dr. Director nodded her head and gazed at her top again thru her one good eye, "Perhaps…We have a more pressing situation happening in the Western United States…We have reports of Candy Mann setting up shop in the mountains surrounding Upperton, Colorado."

Du nodded, "You want me to go in with a team?"

"No…Not just yet, we need to do some more work to find his exact location and to discern exactly what his plans are….Be ready to leave on a moments notice." Director ordered as she spun her chair to turn her back on her top agent.

Will Du knew his audience with Dr. Betty Director was over. He would look into the Ron Factor on his own. If she wouldn't do anything about the man that blew his cover, he would have to deal with him on his own, _"One way or another Ron Stoppable you will be made to pay for embarrassing me like this."_

* * *

Upperton University Library the new safe location for Kim and Monique to meet up at since they both agreed that going back to the Student Union would not be wise after all the fights that they had been getting into at the former location. 

Monique looked up and down the hallway before walking into the private meeting room where she found her friend waiting for her in side the small meeting room, "Hey girl, how was work?"

Kim shrugged, "Not real good…I sat in the chair and tuned in on Ron planning Ned's bachelor party…Wade is making them fake ID's so they can go to Hamilton to the strip clubs."

"I know he ain't planning on taking my Tirza out there." Monique said as she started to become flush with anger.

Kim shook her head, "No…He asked Tirza if he wanted to go and he said he wanted to spend all of his time with you."

Monique stomped her feet on the floor excitedly, "I knew he wouldn't want to do anything like that….What else did he say about me?"

Kim giggled and shook her head, "He said that you made him very happy and…I better not say anymore."

"Oh no you don't, SPILL"

"Well…He's thinking about asking you something important." Kim said trying not give too much away.

"Oh…OHHHHHHH…I think maybe it's time to introduce him to my family." Monique said quietly.

"I don't know what to do about Ron? I mean…I don't want him going to those kinds of places but I can't say anything or he'll want to know how I found out." Kim said clearly disturbed abut what needed to be done.

Monique shook her head, "Girl haven't you figured it out yet, he's not the same as he was…You said it yourself he was having sex over there and it wasn't with Bonnie…He's all killing and raping now."

Kim shook her head, "No…I will not accept that Monique…Ron would never do anything like that."

Monique looked at her watch, "I have to go to work…You want my advice drop Ron and find someone who isn't all screwed up from a war."

Kim said nothing only waived as Monique left the room, _"Maybe…He hurt Bonnie that's why she was in the hospital…No….stop thinking like this."_

Kim left the library and made her way to her Hebrew class, _"He thought he couldn't tell them the truth…Maybe Monique is right…No that is not Ron."_

* * *

Kim didn't call Friday night, Ron tried to reach her on her cell phone but there was no answer. He took Tirza and the rest of the gang to the Middleton Mall to visit Monique. 

Monique was very happy to see Tirza but would barely talk to Ron. He thought he understood and walked away from the two lovers, _"The wounds are putting them off…I knew this would happen."_

He sat on a bench across from the store until Tirza was done visiting with Monique, _"I'm sure that's why Kim never returned the call…It's alright…Not everyone can be strong like Bonnie."_

Once the group had reformed they went back to Ron's house for a quiet night before the Sabbath. Ron looked over at the haul Bina had made, "Looks like you found something you enjoyed."

"Big ears assume too much, I needed new clothes if I am to find this rich doctor." Bina said confidently.

Saturday the Sabbath came and Ron and his friends hurriedly dressed for Temple, he woke Rufus up early and cleaned him up for the trip. He was anxious to see Rabbi Katz and thank him for being there for his parents while he was missing.

Ron decided to wear his uniform along with his friends to the Temple. He wanted to do two things make sure the long sleeve shirts fit properly and to see if he sewed his sergeant stripes on properly.

"I think we have plenty of cars for today." His father said as he bumped past Ron to use the bathroom to get ready.

"Tirza said that Monique was going to pick him up today." Ron said just to make conversation.

"You riding with us or are you taking the wagon?"

He thought about it a moment, "I better drive the wagon."

"Ronald…This package just arrived for you." His mother called to him from downstairs.

He walked down the stairs carefully, and took the envelope from his mother, "Ahhhhhhh Good this will come in handy sometime."

He walked away from his mother and into the garage and opened the envelope and there were two Colorado Driver's Licenses, one for him and one for Ned identifying both of them as being of the age of 21, _"SWEET…Wade comes thru again."_

The noise of a car pulling into the driveway caught his attention, he turned and saw Monique. He waived, she didn't. He didn't think much of the snub as he went inside to find Tirza, "HEY TIRZA, MONIQUE'S HERE."

Tirza came from the back of the house, "Monique baby."

Ron followed him out to the car and tried to make small talk with Monique, it didn't take long before he could feel the chill coming from the car, _"She got up on the wrong side of the bed."_

"Well I guess we'll see you after Temple then."

"Sure Ron." Monique said as she began backing out of the driveway.

He began rubbing his right arm, _"Lucky for Tirza he wasn't scared up…Well I guess they'll get used to it…Remember how weird Kim was when she first met Felix…I wonder how Felix is doing these days? Wish I wouldn't of sent that email address through the laundry."_

The group arrived at the Temple and attended the services Ron and his friends were recognized for having been wounded in the defense of Israel. They stood and received applause from the group in attendance

After the services were over Sergei and Sam were center of female attention since Tirza was with Monique and everyone there knew that Ron was engaged to Bonnie Rockwaller. This made them feel great but didn't seem to impress Bina and Sima too much as they kept referring to the two as Fat Boy and Little Boy.

Now it was time for Ron to meet with Rabbi Katz for the first time since he had left over a year ago and it was also the first time that Ron would meet with the Rockwaller's who were still under the impression he was engaged to their daughter Bonnie.

"So Ronald, you had a busy year."

Ron nodded, "Busier than I wanted."

Rabbi Katz nodded his head, "So what are your plans for your visit?"

"See friends mostly, I get to be best man at Ned's wedding on Tuesday."

"Spending time with your parents?" Rabbi Katz asked.

Ron nodded, "Yea, spend time with my little sister…I wanted to thank you for being there for my parents when I went missing in Gaza City."

"You gave them quite a scare…The Rockwaller's was there too you know." Rabbi Katz reminded him.

"I have to visit with them too…Bonnie was great…I don't think I would be walking as well as I am if it wasn't for her."

Rabbi Katz leaned back in his chair, "So when is the big day?"

Ron began laughing nervously, "Yea…ummm…date...I think I'll let Bonnie address that when she returns home in a few weeks."

"Rabbi Mazel with the American Friends of the IDF will be here next Saturday to visit with you and check on the health of you and your friends….You were particularly concerned about Tirza Cohen."

He nodded, "Yea, he got it the worst out of all of us."

Rabbi Katz nodded his head as he made a few notes, "I see that is Monique's boyfriend."

Ron smiled, "That easy to tell, eh'"

The Rabbi laughed, "She has been by to see me a few times about becoming Jewish." Ron nodded his head and Rabbi Katz stood up and walked to the door, "I think your future mother and father in law are anxious to see you."

Ron's eyes shot open, 'Wh…What?"

Rabbi Katz opened the door and Mr. and Mrs. Rockwaller entered the office. Mrs. Rockwaller walked over and gave Ron a big hug, "We are kind of upset that you didn't come by and see us when you got back."

"Ahhhh…Mrs. Rockwaller…I…Uhhhhhhh"

"Mom…You can call me Mom now I think." She said as she let Ron lose from the bear hug that she had just given him.

Mr. Rockwaller stepped forward and held out his hand, "I guess that makes me dad then."

Ron took the hand and shook it firmly, "Yea…ah...hee hee hee…yea…Did you by any chance talk to Bonnie recently?"

Mrs. Rockwaller waived a hand at him, "Oh we talk to Bonnie all the time, she told us how hard you were working to get well so you could come home."

Ron smiled uneasily, "Yep…Couldn't have done it without her."

Mr. Rockwaller smiled and slapped Ron on the back, "I bet you're pretty anxious for her to get home right?"

"Oh…Yea…anxious…that's a good word."

Mrs. Rockwaller took his arm, "Well we don't want to take all your time from your family and that adorable little sister of yours."

"Yea….Hey thanks for being with my parents when I was missing…I know it meant a lot to them." Ron said sincerely now that he could see a quick exit from his uncomfortable situation.

Mr. Rockwaller continued smiling, "It was no trouble at all, I know Bonnie was glad that she could help too."

Ron walked outside the office escorted by the Rockwaller's, there they found his mother waiting on him. He smiled at her and mouthed the words, "Help Me."

His mother understood immediately, "Ronald your father needs your help with the baby."

"Oh…Right, thanks mom." Ron said as he quickly dashed off to where ever the Rockwaller's weren't.

He could hear Mrs. Rockwaller behind him talking to his mother, "Isn't it wonderful…Soon he and Bonnie will be needing help from us with their baby."

Mrs. Stoppable laughed nervously, "Hee hee hee…Yea….Wonderful."

Ron quickly rounded up Tirza and Sergei and brought them up to speed about the following weekend, "Rabbi Mazel is going to be here, he's with the American Friends of the IDF and I'm going to see if he can hook us up with doctor's appointments."

Sergei nodded, "I will need the stitches removed on the twenty-eigth."

Tirza was about to speak but Monique cut him off, "I'm sure you mean well Ron but Tirza and I have different plans." Then she pulled Tirza away from Ron and herded him towards the door.

"What is wrong with her?" Sergei said as he watched them leave the Temple.

Ron began rubbing his right arm, "I...I'm not sure."

* * *

The group took it easy for the rest of the Sabbath. They went to the mall and took in the first summer blockbuster movie of the season. 'Bricks of Vengeance' a Jimmy Blamhammer flick that featured a Gulf War Vet named Brick Stone who returns home to manage his father's masonry business only to run a foul of the mafia who kills his father and Brick Stone must use all the bricks at his disposal in order to seek vengeance. 

After the movie was over Ron drove the group back home, while listening to everyone's critique of the film.

"I do not think Quinn can act." Sergei said after much deliberate thought on the subject.

"Whatever"

"PULL THIS CAR OVER RIGHT NOW!" Sima screamed from the back seat.

Ron pulled over and turned around to see Sima slapping Sam, "He goes in the back or on the roof; I am tired of him always trying to feel me up."

"It was an accident...I didn't mean to..."

"Sam, up front, you're driving." Ron said as he opened his door.

"Awwwwww"

"Sergei you want to sit in back or you want me to sit back there?" Ron asked.

Sergei thought it over, "You had better sit up front, I do not think your legs will like sitting back there."

Ron nodded as they changed place, "I think it would be better, that way I can give Sam directions."

Sergei had noticed that Ron wasn't talking much tonight so he decided to try and make conversation, "You hear from Kim?"

He shook his head, "No...I called her three times...I think she's busy or something."

Bina chuckled from the backseat, "Face it Big Ears, ever since you got wounded you are hardly God's gift to women."

"BINA" Sergei scolded.

Ron half heartedly chuckled as he began rubbing his right arm, "I been kind of thinking that myself."

Sam pulled away from the curb, "The movie from what I could understand...Piss Off, Asshole, Shit and Shrubbery were not used the same way Bina says they should be used."

Bina cracked an evil smile, "It will all make sense when I teach you tomorrow's word...As fare as the movie went I enjoyed the exploding bricks."

Ron shook his head, "It would be nice if Bina taught you some useful English words."

"You wait till I teach them tomorrow's word." Bina said with a grin.

Ron rolled his eyes, "I can hardly wait."

Sergei smiled at Bina and she glowered at him and he shook his head, "I wonder what Tirza is doing tonight?"

Ron laughed, "Probably the same thing Tirza did last night."

Sergei shook his head, "No brothels in Colorado?"

Ron shook his head, "No brothels."

* * *

It was Sunday evening, Kim had been invited to Tina's bachelorette party but she was still troubled about what to do about Ron and the bachelor party that he had planned for Ned. 

She had ducked his telephone calls for the last couple of days because she knew she couldn't speak to him without appearing to be upset and that would only lead to more questions that she didn't particularly want to answer at this time.

Her cell phone rang and Kim looked at it, _"Tina...OK, Ron and Ned aren't heading to Hamilton to look at strippers."_

"Hey Tina"

She could hear the excitement in Tina's voice, "Angela and Vicki are picking me up at six...and you're picking up...?"

Kim smiled, "I'm picking up Tara and Joanna and meeting you guys at McCulley's Pub."

"I am so excited; this is going to be the best party ever."

Kim chuckled, "I can tell you're excited, so what's Ned doing while we're out having fun?" After she asked about Ned she cringed.

"Ron has put something together for Ned...I just hope he doesn't get him arrested or anything."

Kim chuckled, "Yea...Let's hope."

"See you at six?"

She sighed, "Yea, see you at six."

No sooner than she put down the phone than it rang again, she looked at the caller ID and saw that it was coming from Ron's house. She sighed, _"Well I might as well get this over with."_

"Hey Ron"

She could hear the relief in his voice when she answered, "Hey KP...I kept missing you for the last couple of days...Everything OK?"

"Yea everything's spankin' Ron." She answered coldly.

Ron detected the chill in the voice, "So...What you have planned for tonight?"

"Going to Tina's bachelorette party."

Ron tried to sound happy, "Great, that's great...We're going to be doing Ned's bachelor party tonight."

"Oh...What have you got planned for that?"

He chuckled, "Awww...Well you know, guys out running the streets howling at the moon...Nothing too serious."

Kim shook her head and rolled her eyes and looked at the clock, _"5:30...Gotta move it."_

"That's great Ron, I'll see ya later." She told him as she abruptly hung up the phone.

Ron blinked and hung up the phone in the kitchen. He patted Rufus on the head, _"She is freaked out over the wounds...Girls like Kim want whole men...attractive whole men."_

"The wounds are bothering Kim...I won't bother her anymore."

Rufus lowered his head and nodded, "Ohhhh...Poor Boy"

Sam came into the kitchen and handed Ron a pistol, "I brought your Glock upstairs for you."

Ron put his finger to his lips, "Shhhhh...Go get Sergei and I'll meet you at the station wagon."

He picked up Rufus and put him in his pocket as he walked out to the garage and opened the driver's door and placed the gun under the seat, _"Hamilton can get pretty rough...Best to keep this handy."_

Sergei came out of the house, "Time to leave?"

Ron nodded and handed the keys to Sam, "What are the girls doing?"

"They are with your mother playing with the baby."

"Good, good, Sam put the car in neutral and we'll push it out of the garage and into the street...don't fire the engine till I tell you." Ron whispered to the boy.

He let a grin cross his face, he knew they were being sneaky and the fact that he was with what he considered the king of sneaky Sgt. Ron Stoppable only made it that much better. He closed the door quietly and turned the ignition and slid the car into neutral.

Ron and Sergei began to push the car out of the garage and into the driveway where the car picked up speed and coasted into the street. Ron and Sergei caught up to the car and began to push it down the hill towards Kim's house before they jumped into the car.

The car began to pickup speed, "Start the engine Sam."

He started the motor and put the breaks on before they could coast thru the stop sign, "Sneaky?"

Ron smiled, "Very sneaky...Ok now let's go get Ned."

* * *

"Kim this is just like a reunion of the cheer squad." Tara gushed as she climbed into the car. 

Kim smiled, "Everyone with the exception of Bonnie and Ron."

"How's Ron...I've wanted to stop by and see him when he got in but I haven't had time."

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Ron's Ron...Nothing to see there."

Joanna smiled from the backseat, "Kim is still a little possessive of Ron I see?"

She shook her head, "Noooo, not possessive at all."

Tara smiled happily, "I didn't think you would be with him being engaged to Bonnie and all."

"Ugh"

"I talked to Bonnie on the internet a few days ago, she wanted me to check up on Ron and make sure his legs are doing alright." Tara informed her.

Kim narrowed her eyes at Tara, "You talked with Bonnie?"

"Well yea...She's my best friend." Tara said defensively.

"Wasn't aware of that Tara...Well we're here." Kim said as she pulled into a parking spot of the trendy pub.

Joanna smiled as she got out of the car, "Look on the bright side Kim with Bonnie out of the country we don't have to worry about her dropping us at cheer practice."

Kim laughed, "Yea that's true."

They walked inside the pub and spotted the private party room as soon as they walked thru the door. Tina was being fitted with a small wedding veil, Joanna let out a whoop, "Let's kick it girl, two days from now your life is over."

Angela smiled, "Yep Tuesday night you get a new ball and chain."

Kim smiled and shook her head as a guest book made it around to her for her to sign, "Here you go Tara."

Vicki screamed,"Kim...Kim Possible, how's it going girl?"

Kim hugged her old friend from the cheer squad, "Going pretty good, going to Upperton and working at the Space Center."

"Don't tell Tina but we got this hunk of a firefighter named Bruce to come over and be the stripper for the night." Vicki whispered conspiratorially.

Kim's smile froze on her face, _"No it can't be Josh's Bruce?"_

"Bruce?"

"He's totally buff if you know what I mean."

Kim laughed nervously, _"I won't tell Josh, it would kill him."_

* * *

"Turn left at the light Sam." Ron said as he pointed down a dreary street just outside an industrial park. 

Sam made the turn and he saw the sign, 'Now Entering Hamilton, population 310' "I think we're in the right place." Ron said as he looked up and down the street.

"I've always heard about these places but I never thought I'd actually go to one." Ned said excitedly from the back seat.

The village of Hamilton sat on the outskirts of Lowerton and was for the most part only made up of chemical manufacturers, lead smelters, dance clubs and strip bars. The village is owned by the Hamilton family who one the different clubs and bars that are open 24 hours a day. The Hamilton's employ a brutal security force in order to keep the trouble in their venues to a minimum.

It is not unusual for young men to enter the village and to never be seen again.

Ron pointed at one of the strip clubs, "Hey Ned, want a hot tub party?"

Ned laughed and looked at the sign, "This is great Ron; this place is so seedy I feel like I need to take a shower from just driving down the street."

Sergei looked around, "So can we pay and screw these girls?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't think so...I think they just take off their clothes and you give them money."

Sergei shook his head disgustedly, "Oh Ronnie, this is a waste of money."

Ned smiled happily, "What else do they do?"

"I don't know, it's not like I've ever been to one of these places." Ron said becoming slightly annoyed as he couldn't find the club he was looking for.

Ned pointed, "Look there's the Oz, they advertise on the radio all the time."

Ron looked at the dance club and nodded his head and then he spotted it just behind the Oz, "There Sam, head towards the Larry Flint's Hustler Club."

Sam wound his way thru the four acres of free parking, Ron looked at one of the security towers and saw a man with a rifle walking back and forth, _"They don't play games here that's for sure."_

Sergei nodded, "Four towers one on each corner of the parking lot."

"I see that." Ron said quietly as they drove past the front door of the club.

They made their second pass and Ron pointed at a spot, "Back in here Sam so you can face the front door."

Sam backed the car in, "Did you get a fake ID for me?"

"No Sam you are the designated driver...That means..."

"I know, I know stay with the vehicle." Sam said doing little to hide his disappointment.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "Stay low in the car, listen to the radio, stay alert...You spot anything suspicious going on move the car close to the club."

With that Sergei, Ron and Ned stepped from the vehicle and walked towards the front door. Ron was nervous with anticipation, he had never been to any place like this and he was finding it hard to act naturally

"ID"

"Huh...Oh...Yea...ID...I have one of those." Ron said as he fished his wallet out of his pocket.

"Alright...You"

Ned nervously handed the large man his fake ID.

"OK"

Sergei handed the man his.

"Have fun"

Ron walked through the inner door straight into high volume rock music combined with raw electric sex, "MY GOD IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL."

"Move out of the Ron, I want to see." Ned said as he pushed his way past only to freeze in his tracks. "Oh...WOW...What do we do first?"

"You order two drinks that's what you do first."

Ron jumped and looked at the waitress, "Beer...Zita?"

"Ron...Ron Stoppable?"

Ron smiled, "It is you, hey Ned remember Zita Flores?"

"Hi Zita"

Zita looked them over, "Aren't you two a little young to be in here?"

Ron grabbed a hold of Ned and pointed to him, "Did I mention it was Ned's bachelor party?"

Zita smiled and shook her head, "Go have a seat and I'll bring you your beers."

She walked away and winked at Sergei, "She seems friendly."

"Yea...Zita was great...Never pictured her working in a place like this."

Ned pointed let's go sit over there, Ron nodded and the three made their way towards the table. Ron tripped a few times as he made his way because he was drawn to the women that were baring all on the lighted circular stages.

He watched the men around the table sticking dollar bills into G strings and rolling them up and putting them in their mouths like cigarettes to get the girls to act like they were kissing them, "I think I'm getting the vibe of the place."

"This place is depressing...All these women and you can't nail any of them." Sergei said dejectedly.

Zita came over and served them their drinks, she made sure to take her time with Sergei and Sergei wasn't letting the attention go unappreciated. Zita looked at Ron, "So who's your big Russian friend?"

Sergei smiled, "Sergei Ilya Bunimovich and you are...very pretty."

Zita smiled, "He's a smooth talker, Zita Flores one time Ron Stoppable flavor of the month."

He shook his head, "I...I do not understand."

Ron laughed, "I had a crush on her a few years back."

Sergei nodded happily, "Ah...I see and now you dance in here?"

Zita rolled her eyes, "God no, I could never do that stuff...I just wait tables."

She folded a napkin and stuffed it into Sergei's front pocket as she walked by to wait other tables. Sergei pulled it out, "A phone number Ronnie."

Ron shook his head, "Zita will make you forget Bina."

They sipped at their beers and watched what was going on, the thunderously loud rock music, colored lights, cigarette smoke haze that hung around the top of the club making it appear darker than it truly was.

Then Ron spotted him, sitting at a corner table by himself. Ron motioned for Ned and Sergei to follow him. They walked over and sat at the table. The man gave them the evil eye as Ron slapped him on the shoulder, "Steve...Steve Barkin, how goes it buddy?"

Steve Barkin rolled his eyes, "Aren't you a little young to be in here Stoppable?"

Ron smiled, "Do you really think a respectable high school principle should be in here?"

Barkin smiled evilly, "I see your game, a little case of mutually assured destruction."

Ron nodded as Ned sat down at the table, "Hi Mr. Barkin."

"Stedman...So what brings you...people in tonight?"

"It's my bachelor party."

Barkin narrowed his eyes, "Ahhhh acquiring a ball and chain are we Stedman?"

Sergei touched Ron's arm, "The Zita girl is waiving for me to come talk to her."

"Alright good luck."

"So Stoppable, consorting with Russians these days."

Ron smiled, "He's Lithuanian and what are you doing here if I may be so bold as to ask?"

Barkin smiled, "Stoppable, I was in the army for many years and one thing I am a true coinsurer of is titty bars...I been all over, PT's in Washington Park, IL, Doll House in Orlando FL, Extreame in Las Vegas, Bottoms Up in Thailand."

"So how does this place rate?" Ron asked out of curiosity.

Barkin shrugged, "Girls are average, drinks are watered down, and the sound system in my old 79 Pinto was better, average at best, nothing to write home about."

Ron glanced a familiar woman heading out onto one of the lighted circular stages and did a quick double take, _"No Way...It can't be."_

The DJ came on the PA, "New fresh cuties to perform for you now, on table 1, let's give it up for Ginaaaaaaa, on table number two the dynamite blonde Vixennnnnnn, and on table number 3 our very own Amethyst."

Ron applauded along with the rest of the men, "Is it...It is...Amelia...Oh my God...I know her."

Barkin nodded his head, "Thought she looked familiar, snooty, snobbish type...Never pegged her to work in a place like this."

Ron quickly dug a few ones out of his wallet, "I'll be back."

"STOPPABLE"

Ron turned, "What?"

Barkin pointed at his beer, "Never ever leave your drink unattended in one of these places."

He nodded and grabbed his beer, "Thanks"

Barkin shook his head and then turned to look at Ned who asked him, "So Mr. Barkin...Does this make me a man of the world?"

Ron sat next to a very grubby looking man at table 3 and pointed at Amelia, "I know her"

"Well whoop-tee-do"

He shook his head, "Booyah…Pink Sloth over here with a dollar baby."

Amelia began dancing to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me pumped up to megawatt decibels before she came strolling Ron's way. Once she reached his seat she proceeded to whip him in the face with her hair. Ron rolled up the dollar and put it into his grinning teeth. Amelia leaned over seductively in all her naked glory and whispered in his ear, "Animology was so four years ago."

* * *

Kim tried another jello shot, "I like this one it tastessssss fruity." 

Tara leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Careful I think….Angela made them kind of strong."

"No b…big, I can handle myself...I think that's only my 7th or 8th one…Now tell me what I won again?" Kim said smiling as she held the silver marital aid.

Vicki giggled, "Your not joking are you…That's a vibrator…When your man's not around….you know…."

Kim smiled drunkenly, "Oh yea…R…Ron ain't touched me since he got back…might have to use my little silver friend tonight."

There was a lot of squealing and laughter at Kim's disclosure before a knock at the door caught the girl's attention. Tara opened the door and a fireman walked in, "I was told this place is burning up."

Kim put her hand over her face, _"This must be Bruce…Oh my God he is buff."_

Vicki yelled at the man, "We're burning up and only a real man can put out our fire."

"_Little do they know he's gay."_ Kim thought as Bruce put on his music and began to strip off his gear.

Bruce jumped up on the long table and began to gyrate his hips. Before long Kim was caught up in the action, "TAKE IT OFF…I WANNA KNOW WHAT JOSIE'S GETTING."

Then Bruce turned his full attention to Tina who helped him remove his gear, once she had made it down to his thong she let out a shriek Bruce spun and began dancing for the rest of the girls and Kim's mouth fell open, _"Damn, no wonder Josh walks funny."_

The girls started to dig out their dollars and Kim was no exception, she watched the girls begin to put their dollar bills in his thong until he reached Tina. He took a dollar bill and rolled it up and put it in her mouth, "Bite down on it there honey."

Then he leaned over and acted like he was giving her a long deep tongue kiss. Kim began jumping up and down, "ME, ME, ME"

He danced his way over to Kim and did the same thing with her; she was weak in the knees as she slumped into her chair, _"That man can not be totally gay_."

Once Bruce was done with his performance he quickly dressed and took the various phone numbers from the girls in the room, Kim was giddy and no exception, _"Ahhhh Josh is going to kill me…I'm a sheep…I'm a crushing sheep."_

Bruce left and Tina sat down in her chair she looked around at the sweaty girls in the room, "Whoa is it humid in here or is it just me?"

Angela laughed, "I wonder what kind of dull party Ned and Ron are having."

Kim intoxicated mind didn't have to think twice before answering, "Oh they're over in Hamilton at one of the strip clubs."

"WHAT"

Her eyes flew open as she realized just what she said, _"Uh Oh"_

"What?"

Tina narrowed her eyes, "Where did you say that no good Ron Stoppable took my man?"

"Uhhh…Well…Ron's different since he came home…uhhhh…Army changes…"

"Kim Possible you better tell me what you know." Tina said angrily.

"Monique says he's a rapist and I said…'

Tara narrowed her blue eyes, "You take that back…Ronnie would never do anything like that?"

Vicki's eyes grew big, "So who did Ron rape?"

Tina narrowed her brown eyes, "I always knew there was something wrong with him."

Kim waived her hand back and forth, "No…I said he would never do that but I know he had sex with someone over there that wasn't Bonnie."

"You take that back, Ronnie loves Bonnie…He'd never rape her." Tara said drunkenly as she slumped into a chair.

"Ron raped Bonnie!" Joanna exclaimed.

"We need to teach this man a lesson before he ruins Ned." Tina said angrily.

"YEA"

Kim held up a finger, "Wait…I never…"

Angela stood up quickly, "Let's go to Hamilton and teach those two a lesson"

Tara stood up, "I will not have anything to do with this. Ronnie wouldn't do anything like that." And then she walked out of the party.

Kim watched her leave, _"I wonder how long it will take the blonde void to remember that I drove?"_

* * *

Ron held out another dollar and Amelia straddled him and placed her arms around him and pouted, "Only a dollar Don, do you know how expensive Grad School is going to be?" 

"Uh…that's Ron…Ron Stoppable." Ron said indignantly.

"Whatever" The music stopped and Amelia grabbed Ron's buck and rolled back onto the stage and began picking up her dollars, "End of my set…Nice seeing you again Don."

He shook his head, _"Well now that I got to see the complete package….I was never missing much."_

Ron finished off his beer and made his way back to the table where Barkin and Ned were sitting. He caught Zita's attention and held up his empty beer cup. He sat at the table and looked at Sergei, "Well how did it go with Zita."

Sergei laughed, "Zita is most interesting girl, she told me many stories about you in high school…You were a total loser."

Ron winced and Mr. Barkin laughed, "Don't worry Stoppable, I told him even more stories."

"Small and weak." Sergei said as he began laughing harder.

"That's it old man, I'll show you small and weak." Ron said angrily as he put his elbow up on the table trying to entice Mr. Barkin into an arm wrestling match.

"Ron I think more girls are coming out." Ned said as he pointed at the stages.

The DJ came over the PA system again, "This is what you been waiting for…Give it up for The Girls of Disneyyyyyyyyyyy."

The Black Eyed Peas 'Let's Get It Started' began playing in the background as the girls came out and worked their way thru the audience.

"Please welcome on stage 1, Ariel and Mulaaaaaaaan, on Stage 2 we have the beautiful Belle and Pocahontas...sassy little thing, on stage 3 we have the beautiful Princess Jasmine and for the first time ever Cruella de Vil!"

Ron and Mr. Barkin looked at each other, "Cruella de Vil…hmmmmmmm."

Barkin quickly replied, "Jinx you owe me a beer."

"Oh…I should have seen that coming." Ron said as he paid Zita for his beer.

Barkin and Ron made their way to table three to check out Cruella de Vil. A striper in black and white makeup wearing leather and sporting a whip made her way onto the stage. Ron's eyes became big as saucers as the woman worked the whip, "Booyah"

Barkin elbowed Ron, "Watch and learn young Stoppable."

Ron's former teacher reached into the pocket of his brown sport coat and produced a produced a dollar bill, "Come here evil woman...Daddies got a dollar."

Cruella danced her way towards Barkin and then fell to her knees and grabbed Barkin's head rubbed her breasts all over him. Ron's mouth fell open, "Yo' Daddies got a dollar too."

The stripper slid her way over to Ron, she grabbed his head and licked his face, _"Ewwww...this is so sleezy."_ After she did that she stuck her butt in Ron's face and demanded him to, "Spank Me."

"BOOYAH" Ron screamed and slapped her butt hard.

"Naughty Boy" She said shaking a finger at him.

Barkin pulled on Ron's sleeve, "Stoppable I don't think you were supposed to slap her that hard."

"Look Steve, it's my dollar and I'm going to get my money's worth out of it." Ron said excitedly.

He suddenly remembered why he was there, _"Where did Ned go?" _Then he spied him over on the other side of the stage receiving attention from Princess Jasmine, _"Ned...You dog."_

The raven haired beauty wrapped arms around Ned and rubbed herself all over him. Ron sat down next to him and could see he was blushing and had a gigantic smile on his face, "This place is great Ron."

From over on stage one Ron spotted her, the red hair flashing in the multicolored lights, Metalica's Enter Sandman blaring through the speakers, and the naked figure of Ariel spinning on a pole, "I'll be right back Ned."

Before Ron could move towards stage one the DJ came on the mic, "Is there any bachelor parties going on tonight?"

Ron grabbed Ned by the collar and jerked him out of his seat, "YEA BABY RIGHT HERE!"

The Disney girls came down to Ned and began teasing him as the DJ worked the crowd, "Who will this poor victim of marriage choose for his FINAL Lap Dance as a FREE MAN."

Ned looked at Ron excitedly, "I want a lap dance from Ariel."

Ron shifted nervously as he looked at the red headed stripper, _"She looks a little to much like Kim, and anybody that looks like Kim sticking her booty into Ned's face is both sick and wrong!"_

"Hey Ned...How about Pocahontas instead?"

Ned's eyes grew big as he looked at the little Indian girl dressed in a war bonnet, "YEA"

Ron pointed at Pocahontas, "He wants...her."

Pocahontas took Ned up on stage and sat him in a chair and then pulled out a pair of hand cuffs after she cuffed his hands behind his back she unbuttoned his shirt half way down his chest and then unbuckled his belt and began rubbing his crotch as Billy Idol's White Wedding began playing.

A large man grabbed Ron forcefully by the shoulder, "You Paying?"

Ron looked at the man, _"This guy's big...He doesn't have a neck."_

"Yea, how much."

"$25"

Ron winced and dug into his wallet and handed the man the money.

Barkin looked on and leaned over, "Glad you had the cash Stoppable, hate to see you get pounded into the pavement outside."

He smiled, _"His head would have fell off his body before he thew the first punch."_

"Yea, I'm not looking for any trouble."

Once again his attention was drawn to the red head spinning on the pole over on stage 1, _"I bet Kim would look good doing that."_

The two cars that sported five angry women pulled into the parking lot and passed Sam as he slumped in the front seat listening to the radio. He recognized one of the cars from when they arrived. He knew it belonged to the red headed girl.

He sat up in his seat as he watched the girls pile out of the car and make their way towards the door, _"This does not look good."_ He thought as he fired the engine of the station wagon to life.

Ron took a seat at stage 1 and waived at the red headed stripper, he held his dollar up in the air and she made her way over to him and put her arms around him and began to dance suggestively.

Rufus picked the wroing time to wake up in Ron's pocket. He poked his drowsy head out of the pocket, his eyes went wide with shock as he got an eyefull of the red headed stripper that he thought was Kim Possible and fainted sliding back into Ron's pocket.

Ron gigled as he saw Rufus's reaction to the stripper. Ariel took his dollar from him and rolled it up and put it in his lips. She brought her lips close to his and Ron grinned broadly, but before she could take the dollar bill from his lips she was shoved backwards by an unseen hand.

He tilted his head to the side trying to figure out what happened before he felt a hand grip his hair and pull his head backwards. The next thing he knew was that he was peering into a set of very angry green eyes, "You are so dead."

Ron jumped to his feet and nearly swallowed his dollar, "Wh...Kim...I can explain...I think."

The red headed Arial picked herself up off the stage, "What the hell?"

Kim glared at her, "I know what kind of woman you are."

The stripper shook her head in disbelief, "It's called gender equity girl, I take in six figures a year doing this so before you start judging me you better have an attorney ready because I don't get mad, I sue."

She still had a hold of Ron by the hair as she looked at the woman, "Six figures...Really?"

Ron heard his cousin Raffi say that before and knew just who her lawyer was. He looked around the room at the on going chaos. Ned was getting pummeled with blows from Tina, and he spied Mr. Barkin quietly leaving the building, but not before Kim saw him.

"Is that Mr. Barkin?"

Ron looked around and realized that the security people were making their way into the mayhem, "Ahhh KP...Duck"

Kim let go of Ron's hair and ducked just as one of the security guards took a swing at her, he missed her but did manage to punch Ron square in the chest. The blow sent Ron sailing across the stage and onto the floor.

The man turned on Kim, but it was too late she snap kicked him in the groin and punched him in the jaw sending him crashing back into the bar where he knocked over a shelf of lit candles that ignited a spilled bottle of whisky and sent blue flames across the bar and up the wall.

Kim shook her head sadly as she watched the flames begin to ignite the ceiling, "Why does this always happen with me?"

Now her attention went back to Ron, she spotted him trying to help Ned out of the hand cuffs while taking a beating from Tina and Angela. He finally freed Ned, "Ow...Time to go."

Kim began to make her way over to him, _"He's not getting out of her before I get my shots in."_

Sergei grabbed a big security guard and tossed him towards the back of the room, and then he grabbed Ron and Ned and began pushing them towards the door, "Now this is fun."

Ron stumbled forward in a daze and Kim waited for him to come into range and she landed a good hard slap on the left side of his face. She felt his false teeth move inside his mouth and that shocked her back to reality.

She then she covered her own mouth, _"What did I do that for?"_

Sergei looked at Kim strangely and kept pushing Ron and Ned towards the door. Kim could see the fire was becoming out of control so she grabbed Tina, Joanna, Angela and Vicki and began herding them towards the door.

Two large men blocked the front door waiting on the group heading out. The large man on the right grabbed Ron by the arm; Ron turned the arm quickly and put the guard in an arm lock and punched the man in the throat as he began to push by him. The guard grabbed his throat and fell to the floor.

Sergei punched the man on the left in the nose and knocked him backwards, "We're almost outside."

Ron could see the night sky and the front door, he could hear sirens wailing from the fire trucks and once outside he saw the brown station wagon, _"Good Sam was paying attention."_

They made their way towards the station wagon but not before Tina could get her final shots in. Ron took two slaps to the head and a vicious kick to the right knee. His bad knee, Ron's eyes rolled up in his head as he let out a scream and fell back in to the station wagon.

He closed the door, "DRIVE SAM DRIVE."

Sam pulled away as people began to kick at the station wagon as it drove by, one man punched the passenger window and cracked it, "Where am I going Ron?"

Ron tried to clear his vision and make his mind work as he heard rifle fire from the guard towers, "Left at the street, and then punch it."

Kim and the other girls made it to their vehicles and pulled out of the parking lot just as the state patrol and the fire department began to pull in. Angela was laughing next to Kim, "We showed them didn't we."

Kim felt sick to her stomach as she answered weakly as she continued to follow Tina towards Middleton, "Yea...we showed em'."

Ned began to whimper from the backseat, "I am so dead...Tina is going to kill me."

Ron's breathing began to return to normal and then the question of the day arose in his mind, _"How did they know we were there?"_

"N...Ned...did you tell Tina where we were going tonight?"

Ned closed his eyes and tried to think, "N...no...I didn't know where we were going until you came and picked me up."

Ron began to rub the back of his neck again, _"Wade wouldn't have told...Tirza? No...He wouldn't have said anything...Would he?"_

Sam made the turn onto the Interstate, "Look behind us that place is really going up."

He closed his eyes, "Just like a lair."

The pain in his knee began to ease and Ron began to check himself in the vanity mirror in the sun visor for other injuries, _"Man...Those women kicked my ass..."_

"_Pain in my mouth, took a good shot there on the way out..."_ He thought as he took out the plate, _"Great, bleeding in the mouth."_ He thought as he put the false teeth into a breast pocket of his shirt.

Ned was shaking his head, "I have so much damage control to do tonight."

Ron nodded, "Sorry Ned...I never meant for any of this to happen."

Sergei had remained quiet for most of the trip before he finally spoke up, "Ronnie...I felt safer in Southern Lebanon."


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N: I do not own Kim Possible or any characters associated with the cartoon show, Larry Flint or the Hustler Club.  
**

**I kept writing and writing again so in order to keep from having a 18,000 word chapter I have split them into two seperate Chapters. **

**Thanks for reading and reviewing ...Bubba  
**

* * *

They had escaped the destruction of the Larry Flint Hustler Club in Hamilton. Ned's bachelor party was going well until a group of enraged young women led by Ned's future wife Tina invaded and wreaked havoc. 

Sam had skillfully guided the Crown Victoria out of harms way and most importantly out of the way of authorities that would take a dim view up Ron and Ned's fake ID's and would lead to many questions that they didn't want to answer. Such as 'Where did you get the fake ID's?' and 'Were you familiar with the woman that sacked the club?'

Ron's knee was throbbing from the vicious kick that was delivered by Tina just before they made their escape. He could hear sporadic gun fire and see angry people kicking the car and now it was time to ascertain the amount of damage that was done during the evening, "Sam…Pull over into that carwash so I can check out the car."

Sam piloted the large brown station wagon to a stop in one of the wash bays. Ron opened the door and tried to climb out but the knee wouldn't support him, "Damn…Sergei…I need a little help."

Sergei climbed out of the passenger side and went to his friend's aide, "Hang on…I got you…If you were not so small…"

"Not now…I just need to see how bad we're hurt." He said in a tired voice.

They closed both passenger doors and Ron cringed, "Look at all the dents from people kicking the car…Window is busted…."

"Ronnie…Bullet holes." Sergei said as he pointed at the two round holes punched into the side of the wagon.

Ron nodded and spread his thumb and his pinky as far as they would go, "For as heavily armed as they were in that tower, they are not very good shots."

"Shot…They shot at us?" Ned said excitedly.

The Bueno Nacho manager jumped out of the station wagon as he temporarily forgot his own troubles and looked at the holes, "Wow…I guess it's sort of like what you guys went through?"

Sergei shook his head, "Worse…We are unarmed…If we had guns…."

"We would have had a pile of dead security guards." Ron finished.

Sergei nodded and pointed at the holes, "They are not even grouped well, inexperienced shooter."

"Or one that was scared…He should have put rounds into the tires...engine block…killed the driver." Ron said absently.

Sam heard the part about killing the driver, "Hold on…"

Ron laughed, "Nothing personal Sam…I'm just listing things I would have done to stop the car."

Sam was still standing by the driver's door, "Any other damage?"

"Other than that…I can't stand on my knee, my mom's going to kill me and Kim would probably help…Tina is going to kill Ned…I think we have enough damage to deal with." Ron said quietly.

Ned shook his head sadly, "What am I going to tell Tina?"

Sergei chuckled, "Blame everything on Ronnie."

Ron laughed and nodded, "That is about the only way out of this I'm afraid….You didn't know where you were going, you didn't know what kind of place it was…I lied to you…whatever."

Ned frowned, "I hate to do it but…it maybe the only way."

Ron spat a small amount of blood onto the concrete floor, "Well at least my gum has almost quit bleeding…Sergei help me into the car…Time to take Ned home."

Sam sat back inside the car, "Where to after Ned's?"

Ron leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes, "Home…Time to take a butt kicking from my mom."

They dropped Ned off at his house and made they're way back to Ron's house, the household was asleep. All except for Ron's mother who had stayed up, waiting for the group to return home.

Ron had his mother come into the garage and showed her the damage to her car and explained everything that went on during the night. She appeared to be taking it well until the word Hamilton was mentioned, "You took your friends and my car to Hamilton, are you crazy….Is this some sort of delayed stress thing where you guys had to go out and pick a fight?"

"Mrs. Stoppable everything was fine until Kim and Ned's fiancée showed up and began fighting." Sergei said as he tried to help Ron get out of trouble.

"Now why am I not surprised that name came up? RONALD, WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT HER?" She screamed.

Ron shook his head sadly, "I know, I know, Mom…I'll fix the damage…I didn't mean for all this to happen…It just did."

His mother put her hands on top of her head as she looked at the damage done to her car, "Damn right your going to fix the damage…BULLET HOLES…ISN'T IT ENOUGH TO FIGHT OVER THERE…BULLET HOLES."

Ron closed his eyes, "I still don't know how they knew we were there?"

Mrs. Stoppable wasn't listening but she was beginning to reign in her temper and pointed at Sam and Sergei, "Go to bed." Then she pointed at Ron, "Can you walk?"

Ron shook his head, "No"

"Sergei help him into the living room, I'll get an ice pack ready." She told him as she walked back into the house.

He put his arm around Sergei and they began to walk towards the front door, "The bachelor party sucked…I didn't even get a buzz from the beer."

Sergei smiled, "It was a complete loss, I will call that Zita girl tomorrow."

Ron smiled and nodded as they made their way thru the front door, "Well at least it went well for you."

"Sit him on the couch…You want to take your pants off." His mother asked as she directed where to put him as they entered the house.

"NO"

"Fine, I found an ace bandage so I can wrap the icepack to your knee."

He yelped as his mother put the ice pack on his knee and began wrapping it, "I'm going to wrap this and then I'm going to bed, I still have to work in the morning."

"Thanks mom."

"Don't thank me, this isn't over." She warned as she went up the stairs.

Ron looked at the large ice pack on his knee, _"No…Kim will finish the job tomorrow…How did they know we were there?" _

* * *

Kim staggered into the kitchen holding her head, _"No more jello shots…EVER."_

Mr. Dr. Possible watched her progress into with a certain amount of curiosity, "Late night Kimmie Cub?"

She nodded her head and sat at the table, "Yea…late night."

"I saw it on the news this morning, Drakken setting up liars in topless bars now?" Mr. Dr. P. said as he winked at his daughter.

Kim shook her head, "News…What?

"It's all over the TV; Kim Possible leads a gang of angry women on a rampage." Mr. Dr. P. said laughing at the television coverage.

Kim stood up quickly and immediately regretted the quick movement, "NO..." she said as she quickly left the kitchen to go to her car.

_"Last night wasn't my faulty, they were out of control. It should have been handled differently."_ She thought as she started the car and turned on the stereo.

She listened to a furniture commercial finish up with the promise of remarkable savings over the next weekend for Memorial Day, and then the morning show DJ's came on the air.

It was the usual yuck, yuck fest that most morning show radio personalities engage in off color jokes, complaining about the Colorado Rockies baseball team, discussion about the events of the weekend and if the DJ's remembered they would play the occasional song to give them a rest from their witty banter.

Kim enjoyed the comedy of C.J. and Joe Mamma and would listen each morning as she headed to work or class depending on her schedule. Today however would mark a drastic change in her morning listening habits.

"Hey Joe Mamma, check out the Drudge Report."

Kim smiled as she readied herself for some zany story to take her mind off of the events of last evening.

"Whoaaa, Kim Possible's Estrogen Brigade Attacks."

Kim slammed on the breaks of her car, "WHAT?"

C.J. began laughing and began reading the story, "Looks like our little riot Hamilton is making big news, says here 'Self styled vigilante Kim Possible bored with the lack of super villains to fight has decided to take on the adult entertainment industry.' Man this story is hot."

"It…it wasn't my fault." She whined at the radio.

The other morning show personality Joe Mamma began laughing and giving the audience his take on the story, "Seems Middleton's very own crime fighter has formed a gang of hairy legged beasties to strike a blow against smut in Hamilton…Oh I don't think this is going to end happily. What do you think C.J?"

"I want to know what she has against exotic dancing, if these hardworking gals are making money proudly showing off their…assets…What's it to her?"

Joe Momma cut in again, "I tell you what it is she's jealous of how good looking these gals are… Kim is what, pushin' 30 now…"

"I AM NOT!" Kim yelled in at the radio in her defense.

"…Probably not getting much action on the man front."

She had heard enough and quickly changed the channel, _"We are so not listening to them any more."_

"...Hamilton family attorney's are promising legal action against Kim Possible for her raid last night in which the Larry Flint Hustler Club was burned to the ground…If this suite goes to trial it is believed to be the ninth major civil suite to involve the middle age crime fighter."

"Third…and I'm not middle aged, I'm only 18...almost 19...I am getting old!" Kim said desperately hit a button for another saved station.

"…witnesses say Kim Possible grabbed and struck a blonde headed man repeatedly."

"I wonder if this was the same man she put a microchip in a few years ago…Man talk about your possessive women."

Kim winced and turned off the radio, _"It…it wasn't my fault…It was Ron's fault…If Ron wouldn't of been there none of this would have happened." _

She shook her head to get rid of the thought and began driving to her class, _"I still feel bad about slapping Ron, I was just so caught up in what was going on…Well why not he deserved it going to a place like that." _

Upon arriving a few minutes late Kim was presented with a note as she entered the room. She took the note and opened it upon sitting down, _"You are required to meet with President Dr. Hyrum Flowvey at 11:30 AM in the Upperton University Administration building. Do not be late."_

She folded the not up and tried to concentrate on class, _"Great I wonder what this is going to be about."_

Time can be a funny thing sometimes; it can appear to go by so slowly when you are looking forward to something or fly if you want to avoid something. Today it flew for Kim and before she knew it she was seated in front of Upperton Universities President Dr. Hyrum Flowvey.

Dr. Hyrum Flowvey a heavy set short man with a receding hair line stood up from behind his desk as Kim entered the office, "Ah, Miss Possible, thank you for coming to see me on such short notice."

Kim smiled and shook the man's outstretched hand and then took a seat across from his desk, "Oh…No big…"

Dr. Flowvey took his seat and got right down to business, "I see you had a late night last night."

Kim shuddered inwardly, _"Here it comes."_

"Oh you can't believe everything you see on television, hear on radio or see printed in major main stream publications."

"Miss Possible we are aware of your history of crime fighting while you were in high school…However events of the last couple of years do raise some very troubling questions."

Kim raised a hand, "No wait it wasn't always my fault."

Dr. Flowvey held up a hand, "Kim…Please…After looking at your academic record for the past two semesters and balancing it out with your arrest for rioting before you became a student here, as well as your many…run ins with the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity…'

"They started it." Kim pleaded.

"Plus last nights little publicity stunt in Hamilton has prodded our Board of Regents to have an emergency meeting this morning and it has been decided that…in our interests as well as your own that you finish your academic year out here and continue your education at a different institution." The College President finished.

Kim blinked, "So I'm being asked not to return here after the semester is over next week?"

Dr. Flowvey nodded, "That is what we are saying…yes."

Kim let the information settle in, "Well…Well…F.U….You think I want to go to a school that coddles rapists…I've been thrown out of better places…I'VE BEEN KICKED OUT OF CLUB BANANA…So you can take your crummy shit for brains little college and shove it square up your ass." With that said Kim left the Presidents office and slammed the door behind her.

President Flowvey let out a deep breath and took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead before picking up the telephone, "Hello…Captain Marcus…She just left…You can have the University SWAT unit stand down now."

Kim returned to her car and slid behind the steering wheel, _"Great…This just makes my day…I think it's time to find Ronald and see what he has to say for himself."_

* * *

Monique had put off the conversation long enough. It was becoming obvious that she and Tirza were becoming very serious about each other. Now with a heads up from Kim she believed that he may be on the verge of proposing.

She knew her mother would be fine with whoever Monique would decide to marry but she knew her father would not approve, the fact that he wasn't black and was Jewish would be the primary stumbling blocks for obtaining his approval.

The only person that she believed could hold any sway over her father was momma. Today would be the day she would ask her mother for help. She badly wanted Tirza to meet her family and for her father not to freak out and begin yelling racial slurs at the former medic.

She opened the door to the kitchen and found her mother working cleaning up from breakfast. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.

"Momma I have to talk to you" Monique said as she sat at the kitchen table.

Her mother smiled and sat down, "This about that mystery boyfriend of yours?"

Monique nodded, "Yea...He's in town and we've been seeing a lot of each other."

"This the boy from Israel?"

She nodded.

"...and he's Jewish?"

Monique nodded her head again.

"How close are you two getting?" Her mother asked sensing she knew the answer.

Monique squirmed in her chair, "I think he's going to ask me to marry him."

"...and you're going to say?"

She let out a deep breath, "I'm going to say yes."

Her mother let out a deep breath of her own, "Oh my...Let me guess you want to give your father a heads up and try to smooth things over for you?"

Monique smiled a queasy little smile, "Yes"

She sighed and shook her head, "Girl you sure do know how to put me in a spot."

"I wouldn't ask Momma but I want you to meet him."

Her mother smiled, "I can't ever remember you excited about anyone like this boy…So tell me what's he like?"

Monique smiled and sat back in her chair, "He's very shy and quiet. He can be very funny without trying, he treats me right…He's moving kind of slow now because he was wounded in that war over there…So he's not in the army anymore."

Her mother lost her smile, "He got wounded over there…How bad?"

Monique stopped for a few seconds trying to figure out what she was asking, "Well he had a piece of metal go through under his armpit and through his heart…"

"Anything to keep you from having kids?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Mother…No, he's fully functional."

"Alright, I'm just letting you know I expect grand kids." Her mother said with a small chuckle.

Monique shook her head, "We'll I hope you don't want them too soon."

"So tell me more."

"Ummmm….Let's see…He learned to speak English so he could talk to me…I'm picking up a little Hebrew here and there. He's really into Neil Diamond…It's kind of strange, I used to dread listening to his CD's now I'm starting to enjoy them." Monique said happily.

"Neil Diamon…Oh no honey." Her mother said with a laugh.

Monique began laughing as well, "I know momma…I know."

"Well…I make no promises, you know how your father is…Call me later and see if it's safe to bring him by later."

"Thanks momma, I love you." Monique said as she hugged her mother tightly.

* * *

Ron sat in the kitchen he had been on and off the phone all day talking with Ned. Tina decided that their plans had gone along too far to call off the wedding and that Ron could remain best man but he was not to attend the rehearsal or the rehearsal dinner that evening.

Ron was talking to Ned once again as he kept the ice pack on the knee and the swelling was beginning to go down, _"Getting close to normal again."_

"OK Ned, I hear you…Sorry you got in so much trouble."

"Tina is only about half as mad as she was last night…How's Kim been doing."

Ron chuckled softly, "I think this is the calm before the storm…I haven't heard from her yet."

"Eeck, Hope Kim isn't too hard for you…Remember the wedding starts at 6:00 so try and be here around 5:00…OK."

He smiled, "OK Ned…See ya."

Sergei took the phone and shooed Ron away from the phone, "Now I can talk to Zita."

Ron motioned for Tirza to help him, "Help me into the living room, I don't want to watch Lithuanian mating rituals."

Tirza pointed at his knee, "Want me to look at it?"

Ron shook his head, "No the swelling is down…It still hurts but I can get by.."

"No it is Sergei…Ronnie's friend." Sergei bellowed happily into the telephone.

Tirza shook his head as he helped Ron out of the room, "Bina know you got Sergei a girlfriend?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "I didn't do anything, Sergei got that phone number all on his own…So what are you and Monique doing today?"

"Monique is picking me up and we're going to eat dinner with her family." Tirza said happily.

"You ask her to marry you?"

Tirza frowned, "No…I am nervous, I am afraid she will say no because I have no job or income now that I am no longer in the army."

Ron patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry about that, you'll find work and everything will work out. Just go ahead and ask her."

"Ahhh…I will think on it." He told him as he sat Ron back down on the couch.

"Use that inner Neil." Ron said with a smile.

Sergei walked into the living room with a smile on his face, "Zita is picking me up at 5:00 for dinner…She said she normally works on Monday's but now that Kim has burned down her work place she has the evening free."

The phone in the kitchen rang capturing Ron's attention. Tirza got up off the couch, "I will get the phone."

Ron nodded, "It's probably Ned again."

Tirza called out from the kitchen, "Ronnie its Kim."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, "Oh sure now that I'm sitting and comfortable."

Sergei stood up and held out his hand and Ron took it and struggled to his feet. He put his arm around Sergei and hobbled into the kitchen. Tirza handed him the phone, "Hey Kim"

"We need to talk."

Ron could tell by the tone of her voice it wasn't going to be a good talk. He took a deep breath, "I guess we do."

"I'll be over to pick you up in half an hour."

"Sure KP." Ron scratched his chin as the call came to an end.

"Bad news?" Sergei asked as Ron hung up the phone.

Ron smiled, "Oh Kim is going to come over in half an hour and chew my ass for a while."

He took the ice pack off and tested the knee, _"Good for short distances…Still sore."_

"Rufus come here boy; Kim's less likely to kill me if there are witnesses."

Rufus popped out of his hiding spot in the kitchen cabinets and ran to where Ron was, "Going out?"

Ron laughed and nodded, "Going out, not sure how much fun it will be."

Sergei nodded, "Do not be out too late Zita said we are to have thunderstorms tonight."

Ron nodded as Sima came into the kitchen holding the baby, "I think she wants her older brother?"

He smelled her, "Ewww…Poopie…So what you are saying is that she only wants me when it is diaper changing time."

"Yes" Sima said as she handed him the diaper bag.

Ron began changing the diaper, "So where's Bina?"

"Upstairs putting baby toys up…Why?"

He smiled as he finished, "Oh no reason….Sergei has a date tonight."

"You are joking?"

Ron shook his head, "No"

"Of course she says she doesn't like Sergei." Sima said musing the whole thing out in her mind.

"Of course, and you won't tell her about it…Of course?"

A wicked smile crossed Sima's face, "Oh...Of course not."

Tirza walked into kitchen, "Kim is outside."

Ron looked at the clock on the microwave, "Ah…One of those 15 minute half hours….Help me to the door, I can make it the rest of the way."

Tirza shook his head, "You should let her know how bad your knee is."

Ron thought about it, "No then she'll think I'm trying to get sympathy points."

They made it to the door and then Ron opened the door and took his first step outside. The pain wasn't too bad so he walked to Kim's car trying not to show pain, "H…Hey…" he said as he slide into the car, _"Wasn't too bad…I didn't scream at the top of my lungs."_

Kim nodded, "Hey"

Ron nodded as she put the car in gear, "So…how was your day?"

Kim gave a bitter laugh as she pulled away from the front of Ron's house, "Well...I wake up this morning and find the world making fun of me because of last night, and then I get to school and find out that after the semester is over I am no longer welcome back at Upperton University."

Ron rolled his head and winced, "Sorry to hear that."

"So how's Ned doing?"

The question caught Ron by surprise, "Oh...He's doing OK, I mean the wedding is still on and everything."

"I see Tina decided to forgive him."

Ron shifted nervously in the seat, "Well I told him to blame me for everything."'

"Sounds like you put the blame in the right place."

He could feel the chill in the air so he decided it was time to try and change the subject, "So...Where are we heading?"

Kim turned and faced him, " Quarry Lake, I want to be able to yell and scream at you without anyone hearing me."

Ron blinked and looked straight ahead, "Oh"

They took the familiar turn into the state park and headed over the low water bridge that crossed Creve' Coeur Creek as they headed further back into the park to where Quarry Lake was located.

They pulled into the parking lot and Ron looked around, "It doesn't look so much different...A few more picnic tables maybe."

Kim parked the car, "Let's go sit over there."

Ron opened the car door and pulled himself out of the car. He tested the knee a few times to make sure it would support his weight and then he limped towards the picnic table that Kim had picked out.

Ron pulled Rufus from his pocket and whispered to him, "Remember buddy cute and cuddly."

He sat Rufus on the table and Kim just lifted an eyebrow, "Bringing Rufus along, figure I wouldn't kill you if you had witnesses huh?"

"Ha, ha, ha, yea...Something like that." Ron said nervously.

Kim clinched her jaw shut tightly and nodded her head, "Just what in the hell were you thinking taking Ned to a place like that?"

Ron closed his eyes, _"Oh man, here it comes." _

"I'm sorry Kim…I was just trying to do something for Ned's bachelor party."

"Well from the looks of things, you were the one doing most of the looking at that fake red head." Kim fumed.

He shook his head, "I'm sorry Kim...I just wanted to put together something fun for Ned."

Kim seized on the word fun and milked it for all it was worth, "Fun for Ned, do you think it was fun for Tina seeing him handcuffed with that...that Indian woman pretending to be giving him head?"

"N...no"

Ron squirmed on the bench as Kim kept listing off his other crimes against humanity that he performed last night, "So you like red heads dancing on poles do you...Do you have any idea how sick and unhygienic that is?"

He shrugged, "I thought the place was clean, the girls had their own towels to wipe the poles off with."

"EWWWWW...Too much information Ron." Kim said as she tried to block the mental image out of her mind.

Ron realized that he had better keep his mouth shut and let Kim run out of steam, "So you come back from your little war and have no interest in me but you want to look at a red headed stripper?"

"NO"

"Oh well what were you doing with that woman on the stage then?" Kim pressed

Ron couldn't come up with an answer fast enough to suit Kim, "Maybe I should start stripping? Didn't that girl say she makes six figures taking off her clothes?"

"NO"

Kim stood up and put her hands on her hips, "Well now that I'm thrown out of college…"

"NO"

Kim crossed her arms, "Why not Ron? She sure had your attention."

Ron was becoming more and more uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going and tried to change the direction it was heading, "How did you guys know we were there anyway?"

Kim shook her head, "That's not important, answer the question Ron."

"NO"

Kim narrowed her eyes, "No what? No you're not answering the question…."

"NO…I don't want you stripping because I don't want other men looking at you the way I look at you." Ron said as he was starting to become upset.

Kim walked around the table to face Ron, "Well you should have thought about how going to one of those places would make me feel…YOU DIDN'T THINK ABOUT THAT DID YOU?"

Ron turned his head away from her, "No"

Kim lowered her voice but her temper was still burning full force, "Do you know how hard it is to have to keep explaining you to people?"

Ron shook his head, "What?"

"It was hard enough growing up but now you're over there in Israel and I have to try and explain the things you do over there…" Kim broke off her thought and looked away from the boy she was very angry with.

"Huh…wha…what?" He stammered now thoroughly bewildered by what Kim was talking about.

Kim let out a deep breath, "This is going nowhere." Then she turned and stomped off towards her car.

Ron stood up and turned to pick up Rufus when he heard the car start and a chill went up his back, _"NO…She wouldn't."_

He turned quickly as the car began pulling away, "KIM…" He took a few steps and stopped knowing he could never catch the car, "DON'T LEAVE ME HERE…COME ON KIM….I said I was sorry."

The car disappeared around a turn and was gone, Ron held up Rufus to look him in the eyes, "Daddies screwed things up bad."

He stood in the same spot for a few more minutes hoping Kim would turn around and come back for him and when it became evident she wasn't coming back, he turned and walked back to the picnic table and sat down, _"I never would have done any of this if I'd known all of this was going to happen."_

* * *

Tirza sat at the table nervously and watched the large black man give him the once over while they waited for Monique and her mother to finish bringing in the food for dinner, "So T..Tirza right?"

Tirza nodded his head, "Y…yes Tirza….Tirza Cohen."

Franklin Jones was not happy with Monique's choice of boyfriends. Actually he had never been happy with Monique's choice of boyfriends and seriously doubted that he would ever be happy with any of her boyfriends. He was a firm believer that no one was good enough for his daughter.

"Uh huh…So you a soldier then? My wife tells me you were wounded in one of those wars over there."

Tirza shifted his weight in his chair, "Umm…Yes…I was a medic, I…was treating someone when a shell hit the top of the building we were in and….I was wounded."

"Uh huh…So you're out of the army now…You have a job?" Franklin Jones asked pointedly.

Tirza winced, he knew this question was coming, "Not yet…I have only been out of the army a few weeks now…I'm…"

Monique glared at her father, "Tirza is trying to decide if he wants to stay here in Middleton or return home to Israel and work."

He turned to Monique, "I am? Oh yes…I am…Yes…Trying to decide…Yes."

Monique's mother decided to move the conversation to a different topic, "So Tirza tell us about your family."

Tirza smiled and nodded, "Yes, my family lives in Jerusalem, my father works for the sewer company and mother is ahhhh…homemaker?" He saw Monique nod, "I have an older brother Uri who works for the bus company and a little sister Mehira, who is getting ready to turn 13."

Monique's cell phone rang; she checked the number and saw it was Kim. She excused herself to take the call. Once she had left the room she answered it, "Hey Kim."

"Tell me I didn't do something stupid?"

"What did you do?" Monique asked concerned.

"I took Ron to Quarry Lake to bawl him out and I got so upset that I just left him there." Kim's voice sounded anxious.

Monique chuckled, "You did right girl, tough love."

"I don't know Monique…You think I should go back and pick him up?" Kim said obviously concerned about leaving Ron behind.

Monique looked towards the dining room before answering, "Hell no, you let that boy sit up there and think about what he did."

"I…I guess you're right, none of this would have ever happened if he wouldn't have went to…to that place." Kim said as Monique noticed that her voice was beginning to sound tired.

"You head on home and don't worry about Ron, he'll be fine." Monique said as she ended the call and hurried back into the dining room.

Franklin Jones fixed Tirza with a stare, "So you like Neil Diamond? What do you know about Barry White?"

Monique rolled her eyes and was getting ready to interrupt when Tirza brightened, "The Love Unlimited Orchestra, the Walrus of Love…I am familiar with him."

Monique's father leaned back in his chair and smiled, "Boy, I can tell you ain't no white Jew boy if you know who Barry White is."

Monique's jaw dropped open, "DADDY!"

"What? I was just saying that he wasn't a white Jew boy like that one that dropped you off so drunk you couldn't walk."

Moninque's eyes grew big and she pursed her lips, "Dad...So not the time."

Tirza started laughing, "No I want to hear about this."

Monique's dad rolled his eyes, "I'm waiting up for this girl to come home on a school night 3:30AM this car rolls up in front of the house and this blonde headed Jew boy comes dragging my daughter up to the front door."

Tirza began laughing, "Monique never told me about this."

The laughter at Monique's expense continued, "...So he gets her about half way up to the door and I come out to see what is going on and he runs for it...Monique looks at me and smiles, 'Hi Daddy' and falls face forward right on me."

:"Let me guess that was when you dated Ronnie?" Tirza said as he continued to laugh.

Monique nodded, "My biggest mistake. Yes."

Franklin Jones was not about to let the story go, "I look up to see what happened to the boy and all I see is tail lights of a car rounding the corner up the street...Fastest white boy I ever seen."

* * *

Ron remained sitting at the picnic table holding Rufus for the last hour. He was hoping against hope that Kim would have a change of heart and come back and pick him up. He continued rubbing the top of Rufus's head and staring at the empty road hoping to see Kim in his old car coming to pick him up.

"Well Rufus...I don't think she's coming back. We need a plan buddy."

Rufus looked at him and shrugged.

"Big help you are." Ron said as he looked up at the darkening sky.

_"There's going to be a storm, nobody comes here in bad weather if Creve' Coeur Creek floods the road...I could be stuck here a long time."_ Ron thought sadly as he began to message his knee.

He looked at the large hill on the other side of the road, _"I...I don't know if I can climb that?"_

The realization that there was only one way out of the park was beginning to sink in on him and no matter what the decision was going to be on getting out of there it was going to be dangerous and painful.

Ron licked his lips and shouted into the emptiness, "SO I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND WAIT HERE then...yea..."

The low rumble of thunder in the distance caught his attention, _"I would kill for a cell phone right now."_

He was running out of time and he knew it, if he did not start right now there was a good possibility a flash flood would wash out the only road into the park and he would be stranded for perhaps a couple of days maybe longer.

Ron looked at Rufus, "Well Rufus if worst comes to worst I can always eat you to survive."

Rufus's jaw dropped and Ron began to laugh, "Just kidding, but still we have to figure a way out of here."

He looked at the hill and he looked at the road, _"If I stay here I'm stranded, If I try to walk on the road I might make it down to the Creve Coeur Creek before it floods...If I don't make it there in time I could be caught up in the flash flood and I couldn't swim. I would drown." _

Ron swallowed hard as the thought of drowning occurred to him, _"I really don't like the idea of drowning, having your lungs fill with water till they burst."_ He shivered at the thought.

_"If I try to climb the hill I could get out of the park over land, walking on the ground would be easier on my knee than walking on the pavement of the road...Still if I was on the road it would be easier for someone to find me...But there's that damn creek again."_ He thought as he began rubbing his chin.

He saw a flash of lightening and knew he would have to make a decision soon, _"If I climb the hill I'm still what? Eighteen, twenty miles from home, I'd never make it...Still I only have to walk six or seven miles to get into town...I've got some money so I could make a phone call once I make it into town."_

Ron stood up and picked up Rufus, "We're going to have to walk it buddy...It wouldn't be an issue if my legs were healthy...Anything happens to me, save yourself...OK."

Rufus nodded that he understood and Ron put him inside his pocket, "Well here we go."

He began walking towards the hill, the pain in the knee was tolerable as he limped towards the road. As he crossed the road he scratched the back of his neck and looked down the road, _"Am I making the right decision?" _

It began sprinkling rain and Ron looked up at the hill looming in front of him as he stepped off the road, _"I'm committed now...No turning back, no second guessing." _

He began climbing the hill very slowly his knee was not responding well to the exertion, half way up the hill he stopped to rest and catch his breath. The rain began to fall harder as Ron began to make his way up the hill once more.

Ron found by grabbing small trees he could pull himself up the hill and this seemed to take some of the strain off of the knee. He wiped his face on the sleeve of his shirt, _"Not far now...Not far at all."_

The top of the hill was within reach. He slipped on the wet folage but grabbed a tree to keep himself from falling back down the hill. He turned to look behind him, _"I better not slip I don't think I could make this climb again."_

He struggled the remaining few feet to the top and once there leaned up against a tree and smiled, _"I made it, I made it...Piece of cake...Booyah."_

The hill was the highest point in the park and Ron stood up straight and began to get his bearings, _"OK, I can see the lights of Middleton to the north, there's enough light for me to see the creek hasn't flooded yet. If I follow the ridge line I can come out behind the creek and close to road going into town...OK...OK...I can do this."_

* * *

Monique sat with Tirza on a porch swing in under the roof of her parent's house. She snuggled in close to her boyfriend and kissed him, "I think daddy likes you."

Tirza smiled, "I am very...relieved...Your father makes me very nervous."

"Daddies all bark and no bite...Sitting here watching the storm blow in is so romantic." She said as they watched the rain come down.

The cell phone ring made them both jump. Monique let out a growl and looked at the caller ID and answered the phone, "Girl, You sure can pick the wrong times to call."

"I'm sorry Monique. I was just thinking about Ron...Do you think he got a ride home?"

Monique rolled her eyes, "Girl you did right ditching him, I'm sure he called someone and found a ride just fine...Give him a call on his cell phone if you don't believe me."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, "I don't think Ron has a cell phone anymore."

Tirza listened in on the conversation, "Where is Ronnie?"

Monique giggled nervously, "We...we're trying to figure that out now."

"So do you think he made it out of the park alright?"

Monique was silent, "Maybe you better call his parents and see if he made it home?"

"I can't do that, everyone knows he left the house with me." Kim's voice was anxious.

Tirza was trying to figure out what was going on, "What is wrong with Ronnie?"

Monique trying to rescue her perfect evening waived an unconcerned hand in the air, "Kim and Ron had a fight and she left him out at Quarry Lake."

"How's he getting back home?" Tirza asked nervously.

"Is that Tirza with you?" Kim asked.

"Yes...Don't worry Tirza if worst came to worst Ron could always just walk out."

Tirza sat up on the swing, "No...no...You don't understand, Ronnie can not walk...We must go and find out what happened to him."

"Monique what does Tirza mean Ron can't walk, he was limping a little when I picked him up but he looked fine."

Monique sighed realizing her perfect evening was now shot, "Tirza, Ron's been walking fine ever since he came back home."

He shook his head, "No, Ronnie is supposed to be using a cane but he didn't want to look weak...He can barely walk. Didn't you notice he only walks for short periods and then he finds reasons to sit down?"

"No...I didn't know that." Monique said nervously.

"I think his knee was getting better but some girl kicked him hard in the knee last night...I think it happened after Kim punched him in the mouth." Tirza said becoming more upset.

Monique gasped into the phone, "You punched Ron in the mouth?"

"I didn't mean too, I was just caught up in the moment." Kim whined.

Tirza stood up as lightening flashed behind him giving him the whole Van Helsing vampire hunter look to Monique, "We must go find Ronnie."

Monique nodded, "Kim we're going to head to Quarry Lake."

"I'll meet you two out there."

Monique ended the call and turned to Tirza, "How did you know about what happened last night, you were with me."

Tirza shrugged, "Sergei told me when I got home, Ronnie got knocked around pretty good."

* * *

Ron followed the hill as it wound it's way towards the two lane highway that would take him back to Middleton, "Not too bad, just have to take it slow and rest….every few hundred yards or so." He thought as he rested against another large tree.

He could feel static electricity in the air all around him, the hair on the back of his neck began to stand on end and a voice screamed at him in his head, _"DOWN"_ Ron threw himself on the ground just as a bolt of lightening struck a tree only a dozen or so yards away from him.

The tree shattered much the same way as Ron saw one do in Southern Lebanon. He stood up and looked back at the tree and rubbed his face, _"That was close. I could feel the heat from the strike. This is not a good place to be, I better keep moving."_

Ron began to make his way down the hill that ran along side a now very swollen creek, _"Careful….Careful…Don't want to…"_

Before he could think about slipping he did. Ron's left foot slipped out from under him and he didn't have the strength in his right leg to balance himself and down on his back he went. Ron began sliding on the wet grass crying out as he slid down the hill out of control. He was doing his best to try and not roll onto his side to keep from crushing Rufus.

His vision blurred from hitting the bumps on the way down Ron could see the swollen creek coming closer and closer, _"NO…I CAN'T SWIM LIKE THIS…I DON'T WANT TO DROWN, I DON'T WANT TO DROWN."_ His mind screamed as he forced himself onto his left side and began clawing at the earth and anything he could grab hold of to slow his descent down the hill.

Ron hit a large bump and he heard a loud pop come from his lower back and it froze the blood in his veins, _"I'VE BROKEN MY BACK, I'VE BROKEN MY BACK."_ Ron finally grabbed hold of a sapling was able to stop his slide.

He rolled over onto his back and watched the rain fall down upon him, then he looked off to his right where he found he came to a stop just five feet before he would have went into the creek. He began to shake and cry, "I have screwed everything up so much." He said out loud.

Ron managed to calm himself down and then he thought about his buddy that was riding in his pocket, "RUFUS…RUFUS."

Rufus popped out of the pocket, "I'm alright."

Ron smiled at the now soggy naked mole rat as he sat on Ron's chest, "Rufus…I heard a pop come from my back while I was falling down the hill…If I can't get up off the ground….You will have to leave me and save yourself…Do you understand?"

Rufus nodded sadly and scampered off Ron so he could try and to get to his feet. Ron rolled over on his side away from creek and began trying to get up. He managed to make it to his hands and knees and tried to stand and then stopped. He could tell by the way his right leg was quivering that he wouldn't have been able to support himself in order to get to his feet.

_"I am not going to let this beat me…I am not going to drown or die of exposure, I'm going to get to my feet make it home and then try to set things right."_ He thought as he began to crawl towards a tree.

He used the tree to steady himself as he rose to his feet. Once he was able to stand up straight he moved his waist from side to side, _"Backs a little stiff…Worry about that later."_

"Rufus…Let's get out of here."

* * *

Tirza and Monique stood on one side of the rain swollen creek. Tirza looked on the other side of the creek at the road on the other side, "So Ronnie if he was in there would be on the other side of that road?"

Monique nodded from under the umbrella, "I think so…Unless he tried to walk out."

Tirza licked his lips as he thought of all the things that could have happened to Ron as he walked back under Monique's umbrella, "I hope he didn't get caught in this flood…I don't think he would have been strong enough to fight the current."

Kim's car pulled in behind Monique's car. Kim got out of the car and walked up to the couple, "Any sign of Ron."

They shook their head that there wasn't. Kim frowned, "I shouldn't of left him…I…I lost my temper…and…"

"Is there any other way back to where Ronnie might be?" Tirza asked.

Kim shook her head, "Not that I know of."

Monique shook her head, "She's lived here longer than me….I don't know."

"Why didn't he tell me he was hurt so badly?"

Tirza shrugged, "I told him when I helped him to the door that he should tell you that he couldn't walk but he was afraid you would think he was trying to get you to feel sorry for him."

Kim let out a deep breath, "He was moving around so good last week."

Monique shook her head, "Tirza said that one of the girls kicked him in the knee really hard last night…It happened just after you punched him in the mouth."

She winced at the memory, "Tina…Tina kicked him after I slapped him…I didn't punch him…How does he know anyway, he was with you?" She asked pointing to Monique.

Tirza frowned, "Sergei told me after I got home, he had to help Ronnie onto the couch so his mother could put an ice pack on his knee."

Monique looked at the impassable creek, "Is there another way in?"

Kim shook her head, "I don't think so."

They stared at the creek that had flooded out the road trying to think of what to do to help Ron. Kim finally came up with a plan, "I'll drive around the park to try and find an access road, you guys head back to Ron's house just in case he did make it home, if not call the police….but leave my name out of it. I've been in the news enough today."

Monique smiled, "Does this mean I'm part of the Estrogen brigade?"

Kim shook her head as she headed back to her car, "Not funny Monique."

Monique drove Tirza back to Ron's house. They received a call from Kim that their was no other entrance to the park and that she was going to keep an eye on road heading into Middleton.

They pulled into the driveway of the Stoppable residence. Monique had barely pulled the car to a stop when Tirza was out the door and heading into the house. He found Sam sitting at the kitchen table, "Has Ronnie come home yet?"

Sam shook his head, "He has not been back since he left with the red headed woman."

Tirza put his hands on top of his head and tried to think and then a question suddenly occurred to him, "Why are you here in the kitchen?"

"The girls all voted that I needed a timeout since they say I keep trying to touch their breasts, they all voted even the baby." Sam said dejectedly.

Tirza narrowed his eyes, "We're you trying to touch their breasts?"

"Well…Yes, but they still should not have had the baby vote." Sam said firmly.

Tirza shook his head, "Even without the baby's vote you would have still lost."

Sam began to protest but Tirza had already left the kitchen heading for the living room. He saw the girls and Mrs. Stoppable all watching television, "Has Ronnie called or anything?"

Mrs. Stoppable could see Tirza was worried, "No, we haven't heard from him all night…What's going on?"

Tirza looked at the group nervously and figured he had better tell them before he was voted out of the room, "Kim and Ronnie had a fight and she left him some place called Quarry Lake…So Monique and I went to go pick him up but the road into the area was flooded from the rain."

Mrs. Stoppable pursed her lips together and her complexion began to take on a reddish color as she began to lose her temper, "So you're saying my son survives two military engagements in the Middle East only to come home and be stranded and left to die in the middle of nowhere…I'm calling the police."

* * *

Ron sat with his back against a tree looking at the hill in front of him. he had come to the end of the tree line and now found himself in a ravine. If his legs were healthy he could just walk up the steep treeless hill and make it to the road.

His legs however weren't healthy and he knew getting up that steep of a hill was going to be problematic at best. He watched the hills during the lightening flashes and tried to see if there was a less steep hillside that he could climb to make it to the road.

_"If I ever get out of this I'm going to make things right with Kim and spend the rest of the month hiding inside the house...I think I better go back to Israel with Bima and Sima. So far this trip home has been nothing short of a disaster."_ He thought sadly as he continued to scan the hillside.

Once he spotted a place that looked promising so he made his way towards the spot. The rain was not coming down as hard as it was earlier and this was aiding in his ability to cover distance a more quickly.

The hillside he found was not sloped as much as the other hill but it had its own unique hazards, namely rocks, _"I could use the rocks to help me climb out but...I can't tell if I can reach the top or if it just stops below the road?" _

A decision had to be made, the lightening wasn't flashing as often now as this particular storm cell moved off to the east_, "Well staying here gets me nowhere I just wish there weren't so many rocks in case I slip...Go for it."_ Ron thought as he began the climb up the hill.

He moved slowly only stopping when his knee felt funny or if he thought he was on the verge of slipping. He turned and looked behind him and noted he was about half way up the hill. Then he turned his attention to the rest of the climb, _"The hill stops well before the road, I may have to pull myself up to the highway...I'll know more once I reach the top."_

The top of the hill began to come closer and closer to the top and once he reached it his heart sank, _"Eight foot to the top, I'll try and move further down the ledge here and see if there's a way out."_

He shuffled his feet to the left trying to feel for anything that he could use to give him a boost up. Ron froze as he heard pebbles rolling down the hill. He chanced a glance down found that his footing was running out. He continued in the direction he was going, taking the little ledge as far as he could and hope to find something that could help him up.

A shiny piece of metal caught his attention and he carefully made his way towards it. He was able to stretch himself up and could feel that it was a piece of guard rail. Ron smiled as brought his other hand up and began to feel the guard rail as best he could, _"This looks promising."_ He thought as he tried to pull himself up to the highway.

He carefully jumped up trying to find something to grab on and pull himself the rest of the way up. He grabbed hold of something and then slid back down onto the ledge and he found himself holding a beer can.

Ron threw the can over his shoulder in frustration and waited for his knee to stop hurting, "_There has to be a post or something solid that I can grab up there."_

An idea formed in his mind and he nudged his pocket, "Rufus, Rufus wake up, I need you buddy."

Rufus popped his head up and looked down and gulped but before he could disappear back into his master's pocket Ron grabbed hold of him and pitched him up to the road, "Rufus find something that I can use to pull myself up with."

The naked mole rat went to work. He looked around at his surroundings and immediately figured out he was on the shoulder off of the highway, next to a demolished guard rail. He dug around where the guard rail was still attached and discovered a length of steel cable that had been severed when whatever kind of car it was hit the railing.

Rufus drug the cable as far as he could and threw it over the side where Ron was, "Here ya go."

Ron saw the cable fall over the side about three feet from where he was. He began making his way carefully back towards it, "Good boy Rufus, good boy."

He reached up and grabbed the cable and pulled on it. It felt sturdy enough to support him. Ron made a jump and grabbed another part of the cable with his left hand and began to pull himself up and over the lip that separated the highway from the side of the hill.

With another mighty pull he managed to get his left leg onto the shoulder and used that for leverage to finish pulling himself out of the ravine. He scooted closer to the guard rail panting and then began to laugh, "Good job buddy, good job."

Rufus ran up onto his chest and Ron hugged him, "Now to see where we are and how much farther we have to go."

The smile was still on Ron's face as he stood shakily to his feet. He was out of the ravine and onto the highway, anything was possible now. He saw a car go by that looked like Kim's. He shook his head, _"Wishful thinking."_

Ron began to limp towards Middleton. He kept his eyes open for a mile marker or a sign anything that would give him an idea of how far left he had to travel, _"I think...I think I've gone about two miles now...not sure."_ He thought as he fought the urge to try and run.

He came upon a road sign that said Middleton 4 miles. His heart sank momentarily until he realized he had actually traveled closer to 3 miles and he focused on that to keep his spirits up.

He walked and looked up at the sky he could see another round of storms moving into the area, _"Like to find some place to get out of the rain."_

After a time his knee began to hurt and he knew it was time to take a break. He could tell he was getting closer to town now. He was seeing signs of civilization, cars that had broken down along the side of the road with tow stickers on them and the he could see the occasional house.

The rain was beginning to sprinkle again as he took a seat on the back side of the guard rail, _"Must be getting close to 1:00 AM? I hope I can find a pay phone...Call mom and dad and have them come and pick me up." _

Ron felt his eyes getting heavy. Fatigue was starting in and he knew he was nowhere near a good spot to try and sleep. So he struggled to his feet once again and rejoined his journey, _"Of course if I do call mom and dad at 2 or 3 in the morning I won't exactly be favorite son any longer."_

He shook the bad thoughts out of his head, _"I can't worry about that now, concentrate on forced march."_

As the distance fell away Ron began to imagine playing with his daughter and this seemed to add a little spring to his step, _"Man it will be so strange seeing Yori again, seeing her with a baby."_

Ron began to think of their time together at Yamanouchi, Yori took control of the situation and made an awkward virginal Ron Stoppable feel more at ease and confident. He could see her eyes rolled up in her head as she experienced an orgasm and with of all the people in the world it was with him.

He smiled about how nervous and frightened he had been that first time and how she whispered words of encouragement that he could not understand but made him feel more at ease, _"I should have found a way to stay in Japan."_ He thought as he looked across the road and realized he had made it back into town.

"OK, we did it Rufus...Middleton." He said as he began to make his way towards what looked like a car wash.

He spotted a pay phone, _"This is my lucky day."_ He thought as he made his way towards it.

Ron picked up the receiver and looked and saw that the cord was cut, "Figures."

Now the rain was starting to fall harder and Ron looked at the well lit car wash as a sanctuary. He found a soft drink machine and dug in his wallet, "What kind of soda do you want Rufus?"

A groggy Rufus popped out of his pocket, " Orange"

Ron nodded, " Orange sounds good."

He got two sodas out of the machine and began to look around. He found a painters tarp and brought it into one of the dryer wash bays, "We are going to make Bivouac here." Ron said as he sat on the cold concrete with his back to wall.

Ron opened a can of soda for Rufus and sat it down where he could get to it. Then he pulled the tarp over him like a blanket and opened his own can of soda, "We'll stay here for a while and then when the sun is coming up we'll head further into town and find a phone that works."

Rufus guzzled the soda and let out a loud belch, "OK"

He laughed, now that he was out of the weather he could relax a little, "Just like old times huh Rufus?"

It also reminded him of Gaza City, _"Not too bad, tarp makes a good blanket...Wish I would have had an orange soda over there." _

Now the IDF was coming out in Ron as he pointed at Rufus, "I place you on guard here, let me get a few hours of sleep and we'll continue on "

Rufus saluted and Ron polished off his soda and let out a belch of his own before closing his eyes to sleep. He listened to the storm rage outside the car wash, _"Just like Gaza except no one here wants me dead...Except maybe Kim, Monique, and Tina."_ He thought sadly as he fell off to sleep.

Rufus could hear the storm raging outside and soon he could hear his masters snoring, he forgot about pulling guard duty and curled up next to Ron and fell into a deep exhausted sleep.

There was a loud explosion as a lightening strike hit a power transformer and plunged the neighborhood into darkness. Ron's eye lids fluttered, "Planes hit the power station, we'll be moving out soon." He muttered as he fell back asleep.

* * *

He felt two jabs in his chest but still he didn't wake up.

"Hey you can go sleep at home tonight if you can get up and walk away."

Ron's eyes fluttered open a bit and then opened wide as he quickly looked around trying to figure out where he was at. The police man jabbed him in the chest two more times with the baton.

He nodded and held up a hand. He was fighting the urge to attack and take the baton but knew he'd be in real trouble then. He looked around desperately for Rufus and then found him asleep next to him on the ground.

Ron could feel his temper boiling, _"If Rufus wouldn't have fallen asleep on guard duty…"_ He thought as he scooped up the naked mole rat.

Ron threw the tarp off of him and struggled to his feet. The police officer shook his head, "You must of really tied one on last night."

He still hadn't said a word as he looked around trying to comprehend his situation, "No"

Suddenly the officer recognized him, "Hey…You're that Don Drown guy that always used to run around getting in Kim Possible's way."

Ron stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the officer, "I don't know you."

"Officer Hooble, yea you remember me." He said confidently.

"Oh yea" Ron said still unsure of just who this man was.

Officer Hooble chuckled, "Well seeing how you're a friend of Kim's, I'll give you a ride home…Where do you live?"

" Israel…Uhhh….Brookridge Court" Ron answered wearily.

"Meadow Trail subdivision, you are a long way from home. Well follow me." Office Hooble said as he showed Ron to his police cruiser.

He opened the back door and Ron looked at him, "What? You're a mess I don't want you in front, we just spray the plastic seats out at the car wash."

Ron put Rufus in his pocket, _"We'll talk about this when we get home."_

The door closed behind him and Ron looked at his new surroundings. He had ridden in police cars before but never in the back. The plastic one piece seat was slippery and when Officer Hooble rounded a corner Ron slid from one side the car to the other.

_"Damn it Rufus, you fell asleep."_ He shook his head and tried to calm himself down, _"It's not his fault…He doesn't understand the importance of remaining awake on guard duty…He's never had his feet stick to floor because of dried blood that came from two men that fell asleep on guard duty and had their throats slit….Lipski and Roth…I still remember their names."_

"You just get back into town."

Ron looked up from his thoughts, "Uhhh…Yea."

Officer Hoople laughed, "I honestly don't see what that Kim sees in you…"

He closed his eyes, _"I fell in the creek and drowned and now I'm in hell."_

"You know when Kim went to over there to the Middle East to save your butt, me and the guys at the station agreed we would have left you."

Ron shook his head, "Oh"

"Yea, I mean I got to give you credit for trying to grow a sack and impress her but face it, you next to worthless as a fighter…I think sometimes Kim would be better off with a trained chimp." Office Hooble said and then began laughing.

Ron swallowed hard, _"I should have taken that stick away from you and beat you to death with it." _

"That Kim is alright…You want to know the secret of trying to make her your girlfriend Don?"

"Sure" Ron said wearily.

"Be a stand up guy. You know? Lift some weights and maybe learn to fight or something. I think Kim would really warm up to you, if she didn't have to rescue your sorry ass all the time."

Ron sighed as he looked out the window, "You really think so?"

"Yea and lay off the bottle, you look like hell and you stink, you know you really stink."

He shook his head, _"I'm in hell, I tried to live a good life…Hell"_

Finally they turned on to Ron's street and he sat up in the seat, "OK…Maybe I didn't drown."

"Well here we go Don, don't let me catch you like this again or I'll run you in for vagrancy." Officer Hooble warned him as he got out to open the back door.

Ron shook his head as he stepped out of the car, _"Here is Ron Stoppable Hero of Israel, locked up for vagrancy Middleton, Colorado."_

Officer Hooble watched him head for the door of his house, _"Loser didn't even say thanks for the ride….Next time no more Mr. Nice Guy, Kim or no Kim."_

The door to the house opened and Ron's mother gasped when she saw him. Ron smiled, "Hi mom…Don't worry…I've looked worse."

Ron limped past her and began slow process of climbing the stairs, "I just want to go to my room and lay down for a while." He told his mother as he headed upstairs.

He reached the door to his room and opened it. He found not his room but a home office with his father sitting behind a chair, "Whoa Ronald, what happened to you?"

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head, _"I don't belong here anymore."_

His mother caught up to him, "Get in that bathroom and get out of those wet clothes."

He nodded and walked down the hallway to the bathroom walked in and looked at his reflection in the mirror, _"Whoa…I really do look like a bum."_

His mother was still carrying on behind him, "Those clothes are just absolutely ruined, get out of them and I'll go down stairs and get you some clean dry clothes…I'd take a bath not a shower if you going to that wedding tonight."

"OK Mom" Ron said as he looked at the scratches on the left side of his face, _"Must of happened when I slid down that hill."_

He took Rufus out of his pocket and sat him on the counter, "Good job buddy."

The reflection in the mirror didn't tell the whole story. His white long sleeve shirt he was wearing was now very shades of black and brown, his khaki pants were mud caked with grass stains and road on the knees. And everything was soaking wet.

Ron dropped the lid on the toilet and sat down. He pealed off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. He leaned began to doze off and started to fall forward on the stool and woke up just in time to keep from falling over, _"Tired…get these shoes and socks off."_

He leaned over and untied his shoes and kicked them off and began pulling off his socks when he heard a gasp from the doorway. He looked up and saw his mother standing in it with fresh clothes, "Sorry still not used to you…uh…your injuries."

Ron smiled, "It's alright mom."

His mother threw the dirty clothes into the hallway and began to run the water for a bath and began to lecture him about running off with strange red heads, "You see, what I told you, nothing but trouble. You should listen to your mother once in a while…Half crippled and she dumps you in the middle of nowhere."

"Mom…not now."

"And another thing your friend Sergei left yesterday and he hasn't come back yet, poor Bima is beside herself with worry."

Ron smiled, "Well at least he's having a better night than I did."

His mother shook her head, "Get in the tub and I have to go to work so call me if you need anything."

After his mother left the bathroom Ron stood up and locked the door and peeled his pants and underwear off. And slid his body into the tub, _"Oh yea, I'm starting to feel human again."_

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, _"Oy' Mom is in major Jewish mother mode today."_

There came a knock at the door. Ron rolled his head over and looked at it, "What?"

"Big ears where is Sergei."

Ron shrugged, "Probably hung over waking up in some hotel room with Zita."

That was an answer Bima didn't want to hear, "WHAT HOTEL DO YOU THINK THEY ARE IN?"

An evil grin came over his face, "The phone book is by the phone in the kitchen, look up hotels and call them and ask if a goofy looking Lithuanian and a Hispanic woman checked in last night."

He smiled as he heard footsteps running for the stairwell, _"That should keep her occupied for the next hour or so." _He thought as he began to wash his hair.


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N: I do not own Kim Possible or any characters associated with the cartoon show. Here is the next chapter, Poor Ron's not out of trouble yet.  
**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing ...Bubba  
**

* * *

The banging on the door would not stop. Ron looked around the bathroom to find the source of the pounding that had woken him up in the tub, "What?" 

"Ronnie finish up in there you have a line out here."

He recognized Tirza's voice, "I'll be a minute...I have to climb out of the tub."

Ron struggled to his feet, his muscles felt like they were made of jello as stepped out of the tub, _"Starting to feel human again."_

"What time is it?"

"It's ten o'clock...You've had about six calls from Kim so far."

_"She probably just wants to yell at me some more."_ He thought as he quickly brushed his teeth and shaved.

"Sergei made it in yet?"

There was a silence before Tirza answered, "Yes but Bima is busy chasing him around the yard with a large kitchen knife."

Ron finished shaving and washed his face off in the sink, _"I told him she was a psycho...Hope she doesn't cut off too many of his appendages." _

"Do you think I should call Kim first or help Sergei out?"

Ron heard footsteps going away from the door and then return, "I would help Sergei out first, he's holding Bima off with a lawn chair."

_"Yea I'd rather not talk to Kim just yet...She might still be angry."_ Ron thought as quickly dressed.

Tirza moved back as Ron opened the door. He noted the new scratches on his face, "I heard the police brought you home this morning...How is your knee?"

Ron shook his head, "Not bad soaking in the tub helped it I think...I fell down a hill last night and heard something pop in my back, it's a little stiff yet."

"Monique and I tried to find you last night but the road was flooded out so we could not get back to where Kim left you." Tirza said nervously.

Ron licked his lips and thought about it for a moment, "I...I was afraid it would flood the road so I went over land...Kim look for me?"

Tirza nodded, "Yes she looked for you as well."

Ron turned to go find out what was going on the back yard, _"Good maybe she's not too mad at me anymore."_

Ron walked out the back door to see Sam and Sima sitting in lawn chairs watching Bima trying to stab Sergei, "What is going on here?"

Sergei chanced a look towards him, "Ronnie...Good to see you alive...Bima is trying to kill me...For something..."

Ron looked at Bima, "Why are you trying to stab Sergei."

"Because he says he likes me and then runs off with that black haired woman." Bima said between lunges.

He rubbed the back of his head, "You said you didn't like him because he wasn't a rich doctor."

Bima growled, "Big ears should learn to mind his own business." She said as she turned and slashed at Ron.

Ron stumbled backwards and tripped over the water hose and landed on his butt, "HEY"

Sergei managed to hit the knife with the lawn chair knocking it out of Bima's hands before she do anymore damage. Ron scrambled forward and grabbed the knife before she could pick it back up.

Once Bima was unarmed Sergei put the chair down, "Now...what is your problem? You do not like me, you said so yourself."

Bima put her hands on her hips, "Maybe I was trying to play hard to get."

Ron picked himself up off the ground, "There is a big difference between hard to get and impossible to get."

Ron made his way downstairs to get his clothes laid out for the wedding, his uniform pants, his uniform shirt, straightened up his beret. Next it was time to give his boots a good shine.

He worked for a while on his boots, he heard someone coming down the stairs and smiled when he saw that it was Sergei, "Heard you had a big night."

Sergei smiled and sat on his cot, "I heard you had a big night."

Ron shook his head, "No, I had a bad night...I think you may have had a better night."

"I had very good night." Sergei said smiling at the memory.

"So what hotel you guys end up at?" Ron inquired stealthily.

Sergei shook a finger at him, "No, no, we went to the Oz in Hamilton and then danced for a while...Around two we went to a wonderful all night restaurant called Waffle House...We ate and talked, she had many funny stories about you and the penis with legs."

Ron winced, "I bet...So then what happened?"

"We came back here and Bima called her many names and came at me with a knife." Sergei said as he lay down on the cot to go to sleep.

Sleep did not sound like a bad idea. He walked over to the stairs and called for Sam. The boy came down the stairs, "What I am trying to talk Sima into modeling her swim suit."

Ron shook his head, "I have an important job for you, stand guard on the stairs, Sergei is sleeping and I want to catch a nap... Wake me at two...Do not let swim suits distract you."

He lay back on the cot, "Catch a quick nap, rest the knee...Let Kim get another round of screaming at me...Go to the wedding...Have to think of a toast."

**XII **

Ron looked himself over in the mirror, _"Boots shined, sergeant stripes sewed on straight, shirt clean, pants clean, Ron clean, belt straight, beret straight...Ron Stoppable you are one good looking man." _

"Quit fiddling with stuff Ronnie you look fine." Tirza said as he watched Ron go over everything for the third time.

Sima walked up and looked him over, "You look good, now your baby sister wants you."

He smiled and pointed at her, "Poopie sister you mean."

Ron quickly changed the diaper, "Ewwwww Girl you poop like a man."

Kaley held up a hand and made a grasping motion. Ron smiled and made a grasping motion back to her. She looked at her hand and then at Ron's and smiled. Ron felt a tug on the heart, _"Mariko is a month younger...She's has to be as smart as my sister...Hope she takes after mom on this stuff."_

"You are so smart...Yes you are..." He cooed as he handed the baby back to Sima.

"Your mom is going to take us all to some place called Chunkie Sleeze tonight." Sima told him as she took the baby back.

Ron laughed, "Chuckie Cheese, So...What is Bima doing?"

Sima rolled her eyes, "Trying to explain to me how she doesn't really like Sergei."

"Strange Woman" Ron said as he shook his head.

Sima smiled, "Speaking of strange women, Kim called a few more times."

"I guess I better go take another ass whipping like a man." Ron said sadly.

Tirza poked his head into the kitchen, "Monique is here, I'll be leaving in a few minutes."

Ron smiled and walked out towards the front of the house, he seen Monique and waived, "Hey Monique"

"Ron"

"So...You and Tirza have big plans tonight?" Ron asked nervously.

"Tirza wants to go to a used CD store...Look for more music." Monique said in an emotionless monotone.

He nodded and looked around, "I...I just wanted to say thanks for coming out and looking for me last night...I wish Kim wouldn't..."

"That was Tirza, I wouldn't have lifted a finger to help you." Monique said angrily.

"Oh...uh...OK...W...well thanks anyway...uh...yea...Well you...you go have fun with Tirza...okay..." Ron limped away feeling very tired and empty inside.

He found Rufus and took him into the back yard. He could hear Monique telling Tirza to hurry as they went out the front door. Ron looked around to make sure they were alone, "Hey buddy...In case you haven't noticed my trip back isn't going so well."

Rufus shrugged and Ron hugged him tight.

"Look...ahh...There are things...going on that I don't understand...Kim hates me...Monique hates me...Tina hates me...Ned...well Ned is going to have to pretend he doesn't know me after today...I think." Ron wiped his face as he tried to figure out what was happening around him.

Ron took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Sometimes...a friend goes away for a while...and when that friend returns home...He expects things to be like they always were...This..." Ron wiped a tear from his eye and looked around again, "...This isn't always the case..."

Rufus tilted his head and patted Ron on the face, "Awww…Poor boy..."

He laughed, "Yea...Poor boy...I don't know if it's because I was wounded or...If it was the club or if everyone changed while I was gone...I don't know."

"What I'm leading up to is...I'm going to take you back to the Possible's...With all the people that don't like me now, I'm afraid that when I leave...They might not like you...Because you were always with me...I...I wouldn't want that for you." Ron bit down on his lip and rocked back and forth.

His voice began to crack, "Now...when I drop you off...I want...I want...you to pretend you don't like me either...Yea...Ron...yuck...OK."

Rufus shook his head no and Ron nodded his head yes, "You have to buddy...you have to stay here when I go home...I'm going to cut my visit short and go back where I belong...I don't fit here anymore."

Rufus shook his head no, "No no...Cheese?"

Ron laughed bitterly, "I wish cheese could make it better...No matter what happens...You remember Daddy loves you...OK."

He kissed Rufus as he stood up and walked back into the house, "I'm going to go down the street...I'll be back."

Outside again he looked down the street and kissed Rufus again and whispered under his breath, "Time to go tempt fate one more time."

He stood outside the Possible house in full uniform he looked himself over n the window before he rang the door bell. He waited for a short period of time before Kim answered the door, "Hey"

Ron took a half step back, "Hey"

They stood there looking at each other before Ron found his voice again, "Ah...Rufus wanted to come back...I think he's made at me about something."

He handed Rufus to Kim and Rufus looked at her with his sad little eyes, "Ron yuck."

Kim nodded nervously and called for her brothers, "Oh...OK...JIM...TIM"

The twins came running to the door, "Rufus" Tim said as Jim shook his head, "Look how fat he is now."

Tim nodded, "Diet time for you Rufus."

They took Rufus and turned to head back into the garage Rufus scampered up Tim's arm to catch a glimpse of his old master before they left the room. Ron watched him go and then smiled and nodded, "Well I have to get going...Ned's wedding and all...I have to run by Smarty Mart and grab a card for them."

Kim grabbed him by the shoulder, "I didn't...I didn't mean to get so mad yesterday."

Ron laughed nervously, "Shaa...Not a prob...I never meant to hurt anyone..."

Kim smiled, "Well I think you've learned your lesson."

Ron nodded and began to walk away, "Ah...OK...I'll see you later."

"Hey" He turned around to face her, "I thought I was your date for the wedding?"

"Oh…Was you…I mean…OK…Yes." He stammered nervously.

Kim giggled, "Wait here, I'll go and change."

The giggle didn't feel right to Ron, very little if anything was feeling right to him. He moved his mouth from side to side_, "Good remembered to put my plate in…Get this over with, I won't leave the house again until Bima and Sima leave and then head back with them."_

He stared out to the street and watched the occasional car drive by_, "It doesn't seem to have changed. I don't understand this…I think once I get back to Israel….I'll volunteer to go back into Lebanon…I…I don't belong here…I think General Tova can find something for me to do."_

The door opened behind him and Ron jumped up to see Kim in a stunning blue gown, "You could have waited inside Ron."

Ron nodded, "Uh…I…enjoying the sun….Look…wow…You look great."

Kim smiled, "Thank you…You said you needed to run by Smarty Mart."

"YES…yes…I need to…uh…run by Smarty Mart." He said nervously.

"Yes…well…Ron…you'll need to get in the car." She said pointing towards the vehicle.

Ron laughed, "Ah…yea…car." He stammered as he sat in the passenger seat.

Kim drove to Smarty Mart, it was obvious that Ron was nervous as he fidgeted and squirmed in the seat, he kept looking out the window as if he had never seen Middleton before and he was beginning to give her the creeps

She pulled up into a parking spot and Ron got out of the car, "I'll be…right back…just going inside…stay here…I mean…ummm…in…the parking lot."

Kim watched him limping across the parking lot and shook her head, _"There's something way wrong with him…I better follow him inside."_

She watched him enter the store and then got out of the car and headed inside herself. She walked into the store to see the Smarty Brain lying on the floor. Kim looked at the costumed worker and it struck her as funny but she didn't laugh, "What happened?"

The elderly greeter turned to her, "Some army guy stumbled into him and then walked away…Rude, very rude."

She found the mile long line of greeting cards and found Ron. She came up slowly behind him and saw he was examining a birthday card, "Ron"

Ron turned to her, "Hey….Just looking at cards."

Kim smiled uneasily and lifted his hand to look at the card, "Ron this is a birthday card for a daughter…You don't have a daughter do you."

Ron shook his head vigorously, "NO"

"Then you need to look for wedding cards." She told him patiently as she pulled him to another part of the section.

Ron stared at the cards and Kim finally picked one up that looked nice, "How about this one?"

"I wish Bonnie was here, she'd be able to find a nice card." Ron said absently.

Kim gritted her teeth, "How about this card Ron?"

Ron smiled, "Looks good, let's get it."

They purchased the card and once back inside the car Ron asked for a pen and Kim gave him one. He looked at the card carefully and opened it up. "Good luck guys from…Kim and Ron." He spoke the words as he wrote them into the card.

Ron opened his wallet and pulled out a soggy $20 bill. He looked at Kim and shrugged, "I was in the rain for awhile last night."

Kim smiled weakly, "Sorry"

Ron sealed the envelope and sat it in his lap, "I think this will do nicely…Time to go to St. Cletus."

She drove them across town, she looked over at Ron and saw that he fell asleep, _"He must still be really wore out from yesterday…I shouldn't of lost my temper."_

They pulled up in front of the large gothic brick church with featured high spires and large stained glass windows. Ron looked over the building, he had been seen it before but had never been inside.

Kim parked on the street as there was no parking lot for the church, she turned and looked at Ron, "Ready to go inside?"

The realization that he was quite literally be the fish out of water was settling in on Ron, "No" He said quietly as he got out of the car.

She could see he was uncomfortable, so Kim locked the car and walked around and took Ron by the hand, "Come on, they won't bite."

Ron smiled nervously, "Bite no…Burn at stake…I'm not so sure."

They walked through the front door and were greeted by one of the family members, Ron wasn't sure which family, "Bride or Groom?"

"Ahhhh Groom, best man."

The man smiled politely, "Ah the Jewish boy, follow me please."

Ron swallowed hard and pointed at the man, "I have to follow him now."

They walked to right side of the church. The man pointed to Ron's envelope he was carrying, "Gift?" Ron nodded as they went thru a door to where Ned was, "I'll take that if you don't mind and place it with the others."

Ron gave the man the envelope and stepped forward and shook Ned's hand, "Congratulations buddy…Not nervous I hope."

Ned was wearing a black tux with a white carnation pinned to his lapel, "Yea…a little…Like the tux? Tina said no Bueno Nacho uniforms."

He chuckled and nodded, "You look great, Tina still mad about the other night?"

"Oh…yea…I'm still getting an earful." Ned said sadly.

Ron winced, "Sorry…I didn't want of that stuff to happen."

"Yea…Oh hey, since…since you weren't at the rehearsal last night, ummm…let me see if I can remember…OK when the priest asks you for the ring, you hand the ring to him and he blesses it and hands it to me." Ned said as he tried to remember if there was anything else important.

Ron smiled at his discomfort, "Do you have the ring? I didn't think to pick one up when I was at Smarty Mart."

Ned looked at him strangely, "OH…Ring…yea…Wish you could have been here last night, I would have had someone to talk to but…You know how Tina is." He said as he handed the ring to Ron.

He took the ring and placed it in his front pocket, "I wish I could have been here too, Kim left me stranded at Quarry Lake…Took most of the night to get out of there."

Ned looked at him, "Really, punishment for…the other night?"

Ron nodded, "I guess"

"Oh yea, this is a ceremony with a Mass so it should take just over an hour."

Ron nodded and asked nervously, "I don't have to do the kneeling do I? I don't think my knee would hold up."

Ned shook his head, "No, reception is next door in the school cafeteria."

"Not cafeteria food I hope?"

"No…no" Ned chuckled

"Hey army guy, we need the groom for some pictures."

Ron turned and nodded to the photographer, "Oh…Yea"

He watched Ned and his parents being photographed and then he and Ned were photographed together. Soon the door opened, "They're ready for you all now."

Ron stood beside Ned and looked out at the small crowd and noted to himself that neither of the couple had a large family. He saw a few girls he recognized from High School and quickly looked away as he realized they were glaring at him.

He scanned the crowd and found Kim and that made him feel at ease. The music began as the organ began to play a hymn to let everyone know the ceremony was beginning. Then the traditional wedding march as Tina and Angela made their way in.

Angela made a point of not looking at Ron, _"I guess the reception will be tricky I'm supposed to dance with the maid of honor."_

He was unsure what to do during the ceremony so he just stood throughout. The priest asked for the bride's ring and Ron handed it to him to be blessed. Once the ceremony was over Mass was performed and after a little over an hour the ceremony was over.

Ron made his way to Kim, she hugged him, "Now that wasn't so bad was it?"

"No…no…so far so good."

More photographs were taken and then the wedding party adjourned to the reception hall for dinner and dancing and to continue to celebrate the wedding of Ned and Tina. The moment finally arrived for Ron to perform the toast for the newly married couple.

He took the Champaign that was poured for him and stood up slowly and began a hastily prepared speech, "I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the loving couple as they embark on their journey through life, Ned…Tima…' Ron froze as he glanced at Tina and could feel the pure hate emanating from her eyes. This shocked him and threw off his timing as he stood there holding his glass in the air and then he recovered and quickly finished his toast, "I give you now and forever, Ned and Tina Stedman."

There were a few cheers and much applause and Ron down his glass in one shot and quickly sat down, _"I think she really hates me."_

The cutting of the cake Ron moved over to a corner of the room by himself and watched the festivities. Kim had a small crowd of girls around her as they caught up on what they had been doing since they left high school, _"I'll get a few dances in and then quietly slip away."_

Ned came up beside him, "Hey Ron…You know if it were up to me you could stay as long as you want…but Tina is kind of unhappy…I don't know what kind of things you did while you were in the war and all but…I think Tina would feel better if you were to leave."

Ron shook his head, "Wha….Oh…Yea…Sorry man…I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

Ned shook Ron's hand and Ron limped away in shock to find Kim. He approached the small group of women and he thought he heard one of the girls say something to Kim before the saw him coming.

"Is it true what they're saying about Ron?"

The women spotted Ron coming and they quickly left Kim. Ron blinked, _"Something is going on."_

"Hey Kim, I need to go home, my knee is bothering me."

Kim nodded, "Oh…OK."

They rode back to Ron's house in silence. Kim looked over and could see that Ron was in his own little world as he continuously rubbed his chin, "Shame your knees hurting…I would have liked to have had a few dances."

Ron nodded his head, "Me and Bonnie worked pretty hard…I told her I just needed to walk good enough to dance with you at Ned's wedding….I guess it was a waste of time."

Kim licked her lips, "Sounds like you and Bonnie spent a lot of time together."

He sat there trying to decide how to answer. The right answer he would make it home, the wrong answer would mean another long walk, "Hmmmmm…Huh?"

"Time you and Bonnie spent a lot of time together?" Kim tried again.

"Not a lot….I got called up…pretty quickly…so…no." Ron stammered.

Kim pulled up in front of Ron's house, "It's still early if you want to go to Quarry Lake." She said with a wink.

Ron shivered and in a very tired voice answered, "Oh…No…uh….I don't think I could make that walk back again."

Kim looked at him and could tell he still wasn't feeling good, "You alright?"

"I…I think…I'm just a little tired…I think I'm coming down with something."

Kim nodded, "Well you take care."

Ron got out of the car and made his way slowly to the house. Kim shook her head, "There's something going on with him…Maybe I should tell him about the chair…Maybe Dr. Wong could help him?"

* * *

Ron walked into the house, it was empty everyone had left for Chucky Cheese. He made his way down stairs and changed for the night, _"I wish I knew what was going on...I never did anything to Tina...I guess that strip club has everyone weirded out."_

He lay on the cot and stared at the ceiling, _"I think I'm running a fever…I wish Bonnie was here, she's smart….She'd be able to figure this whole thing out." _

The plate in his mouth shifted from side to side as he thought it over before sitting up and taking the plate out of his mouth and placing it under his cot, _"Nothing should happen to them there…Wish I could have kept Rufus a little longer…could use a friend right about now." _

Ron got off of the cot, _"I'll call Bonnie…Yes…Need someone to talk to now."_

He hobbled back up the stairs to the kitchen and sat by the phone. He dug into his wallet and pulled out a damp piece of paper with the instructions on how to call Bonnie from the United States.

Ron dialed '0' and then the country code for Israel and then Bonnie's phone number. The phone rang and rang again. He was feeling anxious as he waited for her to answer. Finally on the fifth ring she picked up the phone.

"Shalom?"

The familiar voice brought a smile to his face, "Shalom Bonnie, this is Ron."

"RON…Good to hear your voice, how's the trip going?"

He began to rub the back of his neck, "Not…as expected…Everything is…different now."

"Different? How?"

Ron tried to put it into words and finally gave up, "I…I don't know…I'm thinking about cutting my trip short…Go back to Israel…Maybe see if they need me in Lebanon or anything."

"OH NO YOUR NOT…I'm coming home in a few weeks and if your gone who am I going to have to talk to…Always thinking about yourself Stoppable." Bonnie half scolded over the phone.

He laughed, "Yea…I didn't think about that…I guess your right…How's things going for you?"

"School's open again, you guys up north did good. Hardly any more missile attacks so I sleep a lot better now."

"That's good…I miss you…I miss not having anyone to talk too." Ron said sadly.

"Kim giving you trouble?"

He sighed softly, "Yes…No…I don't know…Everything's just different now."

"You want to talk about it?"

"I don't really know how to? It's weird everyone…is different…Monique hates me." He told her sadly.

"She's hooked up with Tirza right?"

Ron nodded as if Bonnie could see him, "Yea…I mean…I've had two good days so far the rest have been awful…Monique was alright…at first then here and Kim and Tina became real nasty to me."

"Tirza was the one that got hurt real bad right?" Bonnie asked.

"Yea"

"I think Monique might be blaming you for what happened to Tirza." Bonnie offered.

"Yea…I never thought about that…That still doesn't explain Kim though?"

Bonnie laughed, "Like I could figure out what goes on inside Miss Perfects head."

Ron laughed, "Yea…I guess it's the wrong person to ask."

"How's your knee?"

Ron eshauled loudly, "Well…You know…it was doing OK and then Tina kicked me real hard…Hurts pretty good."

"Why did she kick you?"

Ron laughed as he tried to come up with a reason, "It's a long story…I think I had it coming though."

"So how did Ned's wedding go? You get to dance with Kim?"

Ron shuttered and began to cry, "NO…Uh…I got asked to leave…all that work we did was for nothing…I didn't…I don't understand…I…oh well."

"Ron calm down, we got you moving around and that is what is important…Sounds like your not having a good trip."

He laughed, "No….Not good at all…I miss you…I really miss you."

"Awwww stop it, I'll be there in a few weeks and then we'll go do something…NO SEX."

Ron laughed, "Yea NO Sex…I better get off the phone I'm probably costing mom and dad a fortune…It was good to hear your voice again."

"I miss you too Ron…It was really good talking to you too."

Bonnie hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen of her apartment and sat down looking out towards the Mediterranean Sea, _"It sure didn't take ol' Kim long to begin working him over….Hope she doesn't screw him up too much…He doesn't deserve that."_


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N: Sorry I took so long with this chapter, had to battle a mild case of writers block. Thanks to all that have kept up with the story.**

**I think I could use a proof reader, I think I do a pretty good job but I noticed in the last chapter little mistakes in spelling and punctuation slipped thru.**

**Poor Ron's not out of the woods yet. Middleton is just not Ron Stoppable friendly anymore.**

**Special thanks to Airwalker for plugging my story at I do not believe Bonnie is evil...A tad self absorbed but not evil.  
**

* * *

Ron was right when he told Kim he thought he was coming down with something. Ron woke n the middle of the night with a fever. He was in a way relieved, he had an excuse to just stay home, rest and do nothing. 

Well almost nothing. He had to put up with non stop Bina, who had become nothing short of psychotic as Sergei went out on another date with Zita, "So tell me big ears what is this woman's weakness in combat."

Ron pretended to take the question seriously, "She hefts a mean Power Sword of Elsinor, and can be deceptively quick."

Bina rubbed her hands together, "Then an ambush it is! Come Sima we have much to prepare."

Sima was holding Kaley, "Why do I have to help?"

Bina stopped in her tracks and turned, "Because...Because we are women."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, _"Yep that's good enough reason for me."_

Sima shook her head as she walked for the stairs holding the baby, "When are we going to the water park? I want to try my new swimsuit on."

Ron closed his eyes and made himself comfortable, "Give me a chance to get healthy...Maybe early next week."

Once they left the room Ron leaned his head back and smiled as he watched a rerun of Bay Watch, _"Just sit here and watch the swim suit gals frolicking on the beach and absolutely no chance of getting into trouble."_

Tirza walked into the living room dressed to kill, "Today I will pop the question and we will celebrate."

Ron smiled, "Ahhhh Mazel Tov!"

"Monique is very angry with you."

He nodded at Tirza's statement, "Yea"

"Is this about you dropping here off drunk?"

Ron laughed, "I don't think so...I think it's about you."

Tirza looked askew at Ron, "ME?"

"I couldn't figure it out until I talked to Bonnie the other night...Monique is blaming me for what happened to you."

Tirza thought it over and nodded, "You may be right...I will talk with her tonight."

"Well good luck on the big question."

Tirza saw the car pull into the driveway, "Here she is...I will see if I can talk sense to her."

Ron chuckled, "Good luck on that."

He watched Tirza walk outside and Monique jumped out of the car and hugged him, "Good for you Tirza." He said as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He felt someone tapping on his shoulder, he didn't open his eyes, "What?"

Kim's voice brought him to full attention, "Watching Bay Watch I see."

Ron's eyes popped open, "Wha...Uh...I was asleep...I wasn't watching anything."

She laughed and shook her head, "I was only kidding."

He chuckled nervously as he looked around, _"So much for not being able to get in trouble by staying at home."_

"So...What's going on?"

Kim knelt down by the recliner that Ron was sitting in, "Thought you could tell me...Haven't seen or heard from you in a few days. I was starting to get worried."

"Oh...Yea, I've been in the basement for the last two days trying to shake whatever it was that penetrated the Stoppable fortress of immunity."

Kim smiled, "Thought you might have been mad at me for the other day."

"Me mad...Nawwww, I've already forgotten about it." Ron said as he pushed himself further into the recliner.

"So...you want to do anything tonight?"

Ron shook his head, "No, I'm going to take it easy and rest up, going to temple tomorrow...I'll probably want to do something afterwards."

"Tirza's out with Monique again?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea...Today is the day from what he told me."

Kim's eyes grew big as she gasped, "Your kidding?"

Ron giggled, "He finally worked up the courage."

"I wish you would work up the courage and talk to me." Kim said evenly.

"Wha...what?" Ron said nervously.

"Ron ever since you came back you been ducking me." Kim said in a slightly tweaked voice.

Ron shook his head, "That's not true."

"Face it Ron you don't love me, you love Bonnie." Kim screamed her voice becoming angry.

"No...Like...like...I could ever...Bonnie's different now...It's..."

"You are going to have to choose Ron. Do like Hooble says and grow a sack."

Ron felt a hand on his shoulder, "Hey you all right?"

Ron's eyes opened to see his mother standing in front of him, "Yea...I fell asleep." He answered her clearly disoriented.

His mother nodded, "Must have been a bad one by the sound of it."

"Oh yea...it was bad...Mom...I called Bonnie the other day...Talked with her for about half an hour." Ron said sheepishly.

Ron's mother smiled, "Oh really...You're missing her I see."

He nodded and his mother smiled, "Missing her a lot?"

He nodded again. His mother laughed and clapped her hands, "You just keep right on calling."

Ron laughed, "I kind of feel bad...I mean...I still like Kim but things are different now."

"Once you became wounded your needs have changed." His mother offered.

He thought it over for a few moments and nodded, "That's as good as reason as any I guess."

His mother smiled, "I have good news for you."

"What's the news?"

"I'm not going to kill you about the wagon. Your father has discovered the joys of broad band and has purchased a mini van off of Ebay for me." She explained happily.

"No way…Dad finally decided the internet wasn't a fad?" Ron said as he began chuckling.

"Yes, now he's an Ebay addict, little UPS packages coming all the time. Most of that office in your old room came from Ebay."

Ron shook his head in disbelief so much really had changed in the last year, "So what kind of van did he get for you?"

"A 2001 Chrysler Town and Country…I don't think he bought the van so much as bought a baby seat that came with a van." His mother mused.

She could see the look of confusion on Ron's face and chuckled, "Your father bought it because it had a built in baby seat."

"Ah ha, ha, I get it." Ron said as he finally figured it out.

"So the wagon is yours until you head back and then your father is going to sell the wagon on Ebay…Bullet holes and all." His mother said happily.

Ron winced, "I'm so sorry about the wagon…I never meant for any of that stuff to happen."

"I know and once I heard the news reports about Kim Possible's attack…I figured you were lucky to escape with your life…Just don't go back to those kinds of places…OK!"

He shook his head, "I'm finished with those kinds of places and I'm finished with bachelor parties…Never again."

* * *

Captain David Megbey scanned his guard force with contempt, "How could you all let them escape. You had them out numbered and you Bill fired...How many rounds into that brown station wagon?"

Bill looked up from his seat in the meeting room, "I hit that wagon with 12 rounds, it should have disabled the vehicle."

"And yet they drove away, NOT SPED AWAY...Drove away...I think you would have been lucky to have hit that wagon at least once or twice...Twelve shots they would have been hauling ass out the parking lot." The Captain mused.

"The Hamilton family has invested nearly four million dollars in our state of the art security force and Kim Possible and her little gang roll into the parking lot and burn down our night club right under our noses." Captain Megbey began to get angrier by the moment as he paced the room.

A voice from the back of the room caught his attention, "We going to teach Kim Possible a lesson then?"

The Captain shook his head, "No she's a high visibility target, we are after the blonde man she attacked...Mr. Charles Hamilton himself believes that striking at her boyfriend will...Send the very jealous Ms. Possible a message to keep her ass out of Hamilton."

"How do we know the blonde guy was her boyfriend?" A guard asked.

Captain Megbey laughed and pointed at the video camera footage of the fight inside the club, "One of the performers...Amelia Haynes...identified the blonde headed man as one Don Startable who is a pink sloth...Whatever that means. She also identified him as Kim Possible's boyfriend."

"That's the guy that got me."

The head of the Hamilton guard force turned his head quickly to look at the man, "And you Joey, you were twice as big as the blonde boyfriend. You grabbed him and he managed to over power you."

Joey threw up his hands and answered in a raspy voice, "He punched me in the throat...I'm still having problems..."

"YOUR HAVING PROBLEMS...We are the most feared and heavily armed security force in the Tri-County area and a hand full of people get in a fight and a night club is burned to the ground under our very noses...Anyone notice anything different happening over the last few days?" Captain Megbey asked as he continued to watch the security tape.

Captain Megbey surveyed the room until he was satisfied that he was not going to receive an answer, "We have had a drastic increase in the amount of assaults at our clubs...Our patrons have began to lose their fear of us...We will regain the fear, and do you know how we are going to regain the fear?"

The sadistically grinning captain surveyed the room once again, "We are going to find the occupants of that piece of shit brown Ford station wagon and make them disappear."

* * *

"Tirza you're not eating anything." Monique scolded her special boyfriend as they sat at a table in the food court of the Middleton Mall.

"I am just not very hungry." Tirza said nervously as he looked around the large mall.

"We'll just see about that." She said as she reached over and tried to feed him a French fry.

Tirza moved his head out of the way, "I am very nervous…I have important question to ask you but…I don't know…how?"

Monique lost her smile, "Oh…Well…You know you can ask me anything Tirza…."

"Do you blame Ronnie for what happened to me?"

"What? I'm…well Ron was in charge wasn't he?" Monique said nervously.

Tirza straightened up in his chair and narrowed his eyes, "He had no say about where they sent us or where those shells landed?"

Monique began to squirm, "Oh and I should just be grateful that Ron almost got you killed?"

"NO… Ronnie was in the same places that I was. He was already wounded. Would you treat me the same way if the injuries were reversed?" Tirza asked soberly.

Monique was on the spot and she knew it, "It's a little more complicated than that…There are things about Ron that you don't know about that happened over there."

"What sort of things?"

Monique licked her lips as she tried to think about the best way of answering him, "Well…ahhh…Kim…thinks that Ron may have raped some girl why he was over there in Lebanon."

Tirza's jaw dropped open and he felt his temper rising, "NO…no, no, no…We were in the middle of nowhere, we didn't even see very many civilians where we were at….Ronnie would not have done anything like that…We would not have done anything like that. I want to go back to Ronnie's house."

Monique was becoming panicked, "No Tirza…"

Tirza was stunned and he was becoming upset, "Yes…I want to go back to Ronnie's…You and Kim understand nothing….NOTHING…I want to go home…I have not been home yet."

"No Tirza…It's just not fair." Monique said as she began to cry.

Tirza shook his head, "I wonder if I will have the same thing happen to me when I go home?"

Monique wiped her eyes, "What?"

"If I go home will people think that I am a monster? Will my friends treat me badly because of the war? What if my mother hears that people are saying I am a rapist?" Tirza was beginning to become very frightened.

"Tirza..."

"Monique...What if I can not go home? Ronnie and Sergei can go back into the army and return to their lives...What will happen to me?" Tirza said quietly as he looked around the surreal colorful shopping mall of a country that's population know little of the hardships of war.

Monique could feel the overwhelming sadness that had come over Tirza. The reality that once the trip was over his life would be forever changed, "Tirza..."

Tirza shook his head sadly, "Take me back to Ronnie's...I have many things on my mind now."

She rose from her chair and took his arm, "Tirza...You don't have to go home...You could always stay here with me." She offered.

He shook his head, "No...I have to go home...I have to find out...Will I still have friends...or will my return home be like Ronnie's?"

They walked out of the mall and found Monique's car in the parking lot. No further words were exchanged until they sat inside the car. Tirza looked at Monique, "Ronnie's mother is very nice lady...I hope she never has to hear that all of Ronnie's friends think he's a rapist."

"Tirza...I don't really think Ron raped anyone...I'm just upset that you got wounded so bad..." Monique whimpered as she began to cry again and embraced her boyfriend.

Tirza wrapped his arms around her and tried his best to comfort her, "I am alright...See I can still hold you...I am not really bad off."

Monique never looked up she just buried her head into his shoulder and nodded, "I don't mean to be such a bitch, I just worry about you so much...I worry that we won't have much time together..."

Tirza kissed her forehead and stroked her cheek, "Well then we will just have to make the most of what time we have."

He tilted her chin up to face him and began to sing a very horrid version of Sweet Caroline with the new title of Sweet Monique to his to what he hoped would be his future bride.

_"Where it began  
I can't begin to knowin'  
But then I know it's growing strong' _

Monique began giggling, "No…no more Neil Diamond."

_'Was in the spring  
And spring became the summer  
Who'd have believed you'd come along' _

"Stop…aghhhhhh…Neil free car here." Monique continued protesting.

_'Hands, touchin' hands  
Reachin' out  
Touchin' me  
Touchin' you'_

Monique continued giggling, "OK, maybe just a little more Neil."

_'Sweet Monique  
Good times never seemed so good  
I've been inclined  
To believe they never would'_

Monique put her hand onto Tirza's crotch and began kissing his neck, _"I am so totally into this song."_

Tirza stopped singing and began enjoying Monique's attention, _"Time to listen to your inner Neil."_

* * *

Kim sat in her room staring at the phone, _"OK, Its been three days…He should be over it by now."_

She knew Ron had been sick. She had stopped by the day after the wedding and Bina and Sima refused to let her in the house. Sima had screamed obscenities at her for abandoning Ron in the middle of nowhere and Bina offered advice.

"Next time you decide to kill him, break both his knees and then leave him in the middle of nowhere."

Kim shook her head and walked away. She would not be denied however as she snuck around to the side of the house and peered into the basement through a small window. She saw Ron lying on a cot fast asleep, _"No wonder he was so out of it yesterday."_

Guilt had sat in and on the second day she called on the phone and talked to Tirza for a while and he said he wasn't sure if it was a virus Ron had or if he had some internal injuries from a fall he had on the walk back into town.

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head as he told her that he was working hard trying to get his fever to break and if he couldn't do it, then he would have to the hospital. Kim hung up the phone on that second day began to think, _"I guess I'll just have to talk with him tomorrow."_

Now it was Friday and she was home from classes as she picked up the phone for one more attempt to talk to Ron. She picked up her cell phone and dialed his number. She waited impatiently for someone to answer it. .

Unfortunately for Kim the one who answered the phone was a very unhappy Mrs. Stoppable, "Hello"

Kim cringed, _"Of all people to answer the phone, why her?"_

"Hi Mrs. Stoppable, I was just calling to check in on…."

The call ended as Mrs. Stoppable hung the phone up. Kim looked at the telephone and nodded, _"I'm going to have to do this the old fashioned way."_

Kim grabbed her purse and placed the cell phone in it as she walked out of her room. She was going to march up that hill and see Ron if it was the last thing she ever did, _"OK, I shouldn't of lost my temper and stranded him at Quarry Lake but he says he's not mad at me so I should at least be able to talk to him."_

She reached the front door of what was once an inviting house of her long time best friend in the world. Kim peeked in the front window and saw Ron sitting in the recliner with a blanket over his legs. He waived for her to come inside.

This did a lot to make her feel better. Kim slowly opened the door and whispered, "Hey…How you feeling?"

Ron still looked pale and tired to her eyes as he shrugged and answered, "Not bad, first day out of the basement since Wednesday."

"Middleton day's this weekend you know?" Kim said happily.

Ron shook his head, "I thought that was in April?"

Kim shrugged, "Rained out this year so they rescheduled for Memorial Day weekend."

He smiled wistfully, "I wonder who will be Kosher Dilly this year."

She giggled, _"Same ol' Ron."_

"Fireworks on Friday and Saturday nights."

Ron smiled, "I'm out of it for tonight, maybe try to go tomorrow after temple."

Kim nodded, "So don't want to do anything tonight then?"

He shook his head sadly, "No…I think if I spend most of my time here that I can stay out of trouble and just quietly go back home."

The word home was not lost on Kim, "So this isn't home anymore?"

Ron shook his head, "No….My rooms a home office and I'm sleeping with three other guys on cots in the basement."

"Oh…yea…I didn't think about that." Kim said sadly.

"I guess Sergei and I will try and get a place together or something….I don't know…Haven't…."

Their attention was distracted as Sima came running down the stairs, "Quickly Bina has jumped off the roof onto Sergei."

Ron looked at Kim and threw the cover off of him and tried to get out of the chair quickly but his back wouldn't straighten, "Ahhh…Damn back…Hurt it the other night." He said as he made his way out the front door.

Kim beat him there and they ran outside to find Sergei flat on his back with Bina sitting on top of him taunting him, "Didn't expect death from above did you fat man."

Sergei eyes were round and he was gasping for breath. It was obvious that Bina had knocked the wind out of him. Sam was jumping up and down, "Hit him again, hit him again."

"BINA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Ron yelled at the small woman who had just launched herself off the roof.

Bina looked up at Ron with a crazed maniacal smile on her face, "Establishing territory….Why are you bent over?"

Ron tried to straighten up and grimaced in pain, "Hurt my back the other night, now…GET OFF HIM!"

Sergei began laughing at Bina, "Crazy woman…Zita drops me off, I'm walking towards the house and all of a sudden I see her flying thru the air."

Kim watched Ron shake his head and begin limping bent over back into the house. She followed after him, "Ron have you had a doctor look at your back yet."

"No"

"Why not?" Kim asked.

Ron slumped back into the recliner, "Because I don't have insurance over here anymore, I'm meeting with a representative of the American Friends of the IDF tomorrow at temple and I will be given a doctors appointment to get checked out and have my back looked at then."

Kim sat on the couch, "Oh…How…how did you hurt it?"

He shrugged, "Slipped…Fell…Not much to it really."

"So you want to go to see the fireworks tomorrow night then?" Kim asked hopefully.

"I don't know…Yea…I guess." Ron answered quietly.

Sergei and Bina came in the house, "Bina…I do not want to hear it."

He paused and looked at Ron, "Zita told me some very funny stories about you."

Ron smiled, "I bet she did."

Kim looked at Ron strangely. Ron smiled, "He's gone out with Zita Flores a few times…Bina's upset about it."

"I AM NOT UPSET!" She screamed as she followed Sergei out of the room.

Kim nodded, "Nope I didn't think she was upset…Did you?"

Ron grinned, "Nope, not at all."

She patted his hand, "I'll check on you tomorrow, you get better."

He gave her a thumbs up sign and smiled, "I'll try."

Kim leaned over and kissed him on the lips and could feel his tentativeness, _"I'll tell him about the chair next week, maybe that will pull him out of this."_

"You take care"

Ron watched her leave, _"It didn't feel like I was in trouble…That could be a good thing."_

* * *

Kim walked home with the unsettling feeling that a wide gulf had opened up between her and Ron. To make matters worse she didn't know how to close it and from what she could tell Ron didn't seem interested in closing the gulf.

She shook her head as she walked inside her house. It was either that or that Ron had no idea a gulf was there. She couldn't believe that since he was making little or no effort to talk to her since he arrived back home.

Then there was the whole Bonnie Rockwaller thing. What was really going on between them? At one time she knew there could never be any competition between her and Bonnie for Ron's affections.

Bonnie hated Ron, or at least Kim thought she did?

The whole thing was beginning to give Kim a headache. She looked towards the kitchen and thought about talking to her mom but shook her head. No, she would not talk to her. She had no idea on how to even put into words what she was thinking.

Her cell phone went off in her purse and she quickly answered it hoping that it was Ron. It wasn't, it was Monique. She tried her best not to sound let down, "Hey Monique."

"Kim, Kim…I am so excited…Guess what? Guess What?" Monique babbled.

She smiled know what the answer would be, but decided to play dumb, "You passed your final in Spanish?"

"Huh…NO…YES…I don't know yet…Tirza PROPOSED!"

Kim gasped, "NO WAY…Congratulations….So when's the wedding?"

"I don't know."

"OK…Where's the wedding going to be?" Kim asked happily.

"I don't know."

Kim rolled her eyes, "OK….Where you guys going to live?"

"I don't know."

Kim laughed, "You accepted the proposal right?"

Monique began laughing, "YES…I have to go, I just dropped off Tirza at Ron's and now I'm going to call my momma."

"I just left there." Kim said in disappointment.

"Ron said we just missed you…Oh hey…Ron's not that bad of a guy, you might want to quit running around telling people he's a rapist."

Kim's jaw fell open, "WHAT?"

"You know what we've been talking about. Ron forcing women to have sex with him in Lebanon….Tirza said it never happened and I believe him."

Kim shook her head, "Monique are you high…I never said…"

"Gotta go girl, I'll call back later."

Kim shook her head, "Wait…I never…" She looked at the cell phone, _"What is going on here…I never said Ron was a rapist….This is only going to complicate things."_

* * *

"Zita was telling me about the time you dressed as a big green penis." Sergei said trying to control his laughter.

Ron winced at the description of the Middleton Pickle Works beloved mascot, "I...I was Kosher Dilly…It was kind of an honor back then."

Tirza tried to help, "So do you think Monique will want to get married here or in Israel?"

"Well is she wants to get married in Israel she'll have to convert." Ron said desperately trying to change the subject from embarrassing Ron moments.

Tirza nodded, "I thought about that."

Sergei elbowed Tirza, "Ronnie and Zita got trapped in this game and Ronnie wasn't smart enough to get them out so the penis with legs had to rescue them."

Ron closed his eyes and nodded, realizing he was just going to have to take the abuse until Sergei was tired, "Rufus used to rescue us a lot back then…Sort of wish he was here to pull a rescue now." He said under his breath.

"So you know about jewelry? You will help me find a nice ring?" Tirza tried again.

Ron nodded, "Yes, when we go back home we will go to Netanya and go to Seitzman's Jewelry…We will find something for you."

Sergei still wasn't willing to let his Ron stories go, "That Mr. Barkin told me you like to run around selling muffins with little girls."

Ron let out a sad sigh and began to rise from the chair, "The girls were a Pixie Troop and unlike some people Pixies stick together."

He stood up and turned to Tirza and pointed at his back, "Better than this morning."

Tirza nodded, "Yes you are standing much straighter than this morning."

"I will be in the bathroom. I will be back in a bit for more Ronnie abuse." He said sadly as he walked towards the stairs.

Sergei turned to Tirza, "Want to hear about…"

"NO"

"Oh come on these stories are very funny…Ronnie did many silly and not very bright things."

Tirza looked at the stairwell to make sure Ron had left, "Sergei…I do not know if you noticed or not but…Ronnie isn't having a very good visit."

Sergei nodded, "His problems with Kim do not make things go very well."

Tirza nodded, "I do not think Ronnie has as many friends here as he thought he did."

Sergei shook his head not quite understanding,. Tirza continued, "Notice he is not making any plans to go out…Talks about cutting his trip short and gong back to Israel with the girls."

"He has had a few bad days…Nothing more." He reassured his friend.

"I do not know Sergei…When I was at the house down the street eating with Kim's family, they think he is lazy and not very smart." Tirza began.

"Tirza you are imagining things, this is the way American's joke with each other." Sergei offered.

He shook his head, "They joke like that when the person is around…Ronnie went home. Monique says that Kim thinks Ron was over in Lebanon raping women."

Sergei sat up and tilted his head, 'WHAT!"

Tirza nodded, "That is one of the reasons Monique has been so nasty to him lately."

"I thought something was wrong when she slapped him as hard as she could in that club and then she dumped him in the middle of the woods…This is not good." Sergei said sadly.

Sergei looked at the stairs to see if Ron was coming back down, "Did you tell him this?"

Tirza shook his head violently, "NO…How do you tell someone that most of your old friends believe you to be a rapist."

Sergei rubbed his face and looked at the stairs and whispered his opinion, "I think it would be best to stay out of this…I think it would be best if he finds out on his own."

Tirza agreed and quietly added, "I am afraid he would not believe us and get angry."

They heard movement coming down the stairs and they looked up to see Ron coming down the stairs. Ron was moving slowly, "I do better walking down the stairs than up."

Sergei looked over to Tirza and found an excuse to leave the room, "Well I had better go talk to Bina…Let her down easy about Zita."

Ron smiled, "Ah doing well with Zita are we?"

"NO…Yes…I mean…I have to go talk to Zit…Bina." Sergei stammered as he left the room.

Tirza stood up quickly, "I had better go and get ready, Monique is taking me over to meet the family one more time and then we are going to a fair…Middleton Days?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Do not ride the tilt-a-whirl right after you eat."

Tirza nodded and backed himself into the kitchen, "No…no tilt thing."

He realized he was alone and sat back down in the recliner and covered his legs up, _"I should have told them I washed my hands after I flushed."_

* * *

The next morning the crew went to temple and Ron met with Rabbi Mazel who sent them to a local doctor named Maxwell Roby to be looked over. Sergei had his stitches removed and Ron and Tirza would have to keep theirs for a bit longer.

Doctor Roby also made Ron an appointment with a physical therapist in Boulder, Colorado for Mid June. Ron was agreeable to this since he knew that Bonnie would be back in town by then.

On Monday a trip to the Chiropractor would be in order to look at his back. He was given a business card for a Dr. Philip Mankey. Ron looked up at the Doctor Roby, "Any relation to a Josh Mankey?"

Dr. Roby looked at him strangely, "Ah I see you're familiar with the Mankey's."

Ron smiled, _"No need to worry it's not like Josh is going to be there to work on my back." _

"Yea I went to High School with him."

"Dr. Mankey is one of the better Chiropractors in the area…So hopefully we get your back in alignment and next weekend we'll check those stitches again."

Ron pulled his pants back on and Dr. Roby gave him a quick rundown of his health, "Your cracked ribs and sternum have healed nicely. You calf is coming along fine, the doctor in Boulder is going to have to look at that knee…I think you may need to have it scoped."

"Well thanks for seeing us…I know there are better things you would rather be doing on a Sabbath." Ron said politely

Doctor Roby smiled, "Least we can do for those defending Israel."

Ron smiled and thanked him again as he walked out to the waiting room. He saw Sergei stretching his arm out and moving it around, "So how did you heal up?"

Sergei smiled, "Back to normal…Now to call Zita and get a date for Middleton Days."

"NO…You will not need to date that woman." Bina said forcefully.

.Sergei looked at a very upset looking woman, "I thought we had this settled, I was going to date whoever I want and you were going to find a rich doctor."

"Shut up, you do not decide what was decided, I do and that is not what I have decided." Bina informed him.

Ron stepped past the two of them, "Too much decision making for me, I think I'll just go talk to Tirza."

He walked over to Tirza and his new fiancée', "So how did Dr. Roby say you were doing?"

"He said he would call for a…card…a heart doctor on Monday…Probably in Upperton." Tirza told him as Monique took his hand.

"I'm going to have Tirza help me learn more Hebrew and we are going to listen to his new Neil Diamond CD's." Monique said excitedly.

Tirza smiled, "Neil and Pain King rule."

Ron laughed, "I never would have put them two together but if it works for you…"

"Oh it works for me." Monique said happily as she pulled Tirza towards the door.

He smiled and waved at them as they left the doctors office, _"Glad Monique quit being mean to me."_

Sam walked up, "Are we finished here?"

Ron nodded, "Time to take us back to the house."

He relaxed on the way home. He was happy that Sam was driving, he was becoming used to being driven around. Once they reached the house he would change and call Kim on the phone and get ready for the fair.

His back wasn't as bad as it had been earlier in the week and he was feeling more confident as his knee was feeling better. Ron was actually looking forward to the night's festivities.

They reached the house and Ron quickly changed. He was beginning to feel more like his old self again. He sat down quickly by the phone in the kitchen and dialed Kim's cell phone.

It took three rings before Kim finally answered, "Hey, you guys back from Temple?"

Ron smiled as he heard her voice on the other end, "Yea with a side trip to a doctor."

"What did the doctor have to say?"

"Healing up normally and he said no need for a Viagra prescription." Ron said happily.

He smiled as he heard her laugh, "Well that's good, how's your back?"

"Ah well, it's stiff, moving much better than the other day…I have to make an appointment Monday to go see Josh's dad…He's a chiropractor." Ron informed her.

"I'll take it easy on you."

Ron's eyes lit up, "Ha, ha, sounds great…I've got a bunch of people here who have never experienced a Middleton Days celebration. What time you going to pick me up so we can head to the fairgrounds?"

"I can be over at five."

Ron nodded as he ended the call, "Sounds great, see you at five."

He heard a commotion from the front of the house and limped into the living room to see what was going on. Sima ran up excitedly, "Your mother is here with her new van."

Ron smiled and followed his friends out the front door to look at the new mini van. It was gold in color and had every creature comfort option that one could want in a vehicle. His mother finished getting Kaley out of her baby seat and handed her to Ron, "Hold your sister while I get her stuff."

Ron took his baby sister and looked over the vehicle, "How do you like it?"

His mother looked at him, "Your father finally got something worth while off the internet, much better than the old wagon."

Ron looked it over, "So when can I drive it?"

Mrs. Stoppable shook her head, "Not for several more years…I have no desire to see this van brought back with bullet holes in it."

Ron frowned, 'Awwww"

"So how'd the doctor visit go?" His mother asked as he carried the baby into the house.

He sat in the recliner, "Went well, I have to go to a chiropractor on Monday…Or at least call for an appointment…That's for the back and then I'm supposed to go to a physical therapist in Boulder in mid June. They're going to make an appointment for me."

"That's for the knee?"

Ron nodded, "Yea for the knee and then I have an appointment to have the stitches removed from my calf on Friday."

"So you're getting better?" His mother asked as she held out her hands for the baby.

Ron handed the baby back to his mother, "Yea, knee feels better even though I'm still limping…Back is just a little stiff."

His mother sat down on the couch with Kaley, "So what are your plans tonight?"

He smiled, "Middleton Days"

Mrs. Stoppable laughed, "I should have known…Don't be out too late and try not to get any more bullet holes in the wagon."

"Can do!"

* * *

"Back that ass up girl, I'm not the one that said 'Oh I think Ron is having unprotected sex.'" Monique's voice was very irritated on the cell phone.

Kim growled, "I never said unprotected and I never said rape."

"Look I don't remember what you said. All I know is you're the one that keeps bringing it up and I ain't taking the fall for something YOU said."

"ME…I don't keep bringing it up." She said exasperated to her friend.

"Girl you called me!" Monique reminded her.

Kim sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Maybe if we don't talk about it anymore, people will forget or get over it or whatever?"

"It's worth a try but if I was you, I'd watch how you just casually throw around that rape word…'K'"

Kim bit her tongue, "Look I have to go pickup Ron and be at the fairgrounds about 5:30 or so."

"We should be out there about 'So' Tirza is taking a shower and the rents are out…I think it's time to dry off my SF…Sexy Fiancée'." Monique squealed as she hung up the phone.

_"And people think I go nuts…Time to go get Ron."_ She thought as she looked at her new little black strapless dress in the mirror.

She walked out the door to her room and made her way downstairs, "This dress should break through Ron's funk."

"Kimmie"

Kim froze, _"Oh no the tweebs."_

Mrs. Dr. P. handed her twenty dollars, "Take the twins with you. Your father and I have plans for the evening."

"No…I have plans too…" Kim whined

Jim and Tim snuck by her, "We'll be so quiet. Tim started, "That you won't even know we're there." Jim finished.

"FINE…Let's just leave." Kim said angrily as the twins were surely going to interfere with her plans for the evening.

She made the tweebs ride in the back seat of the car as they drove up the hill to Ron's house, "You guys better not screw my evening up."

Tim and Jim looked at each other and smiled, "No…We'd never do that."

The three of them got out of the car and Ron walked out the front door and took one look at Kim and his jaw fell open. Kim giggled getting exactly the response she wanted, "I hope you don't mind I decided to dress up tonight."

Ron smiled, "No…no problem at all."

"You got Ruffus fat."

Kim cringed as Tim pointed an accusing finger at Ron. Ron shook his head not quite understanding what was going on, "What?"

Jim cut in front of Tim, "Yea, we had Rufus down to two pounds and now he weighs in at nearly four pounds."

Ron shook his head, "So what?"

Tim rolled his eyes, "At four pounds the little porker might not be able to achieve orbit and he could burn up…"

He never finished his thought as Sima walked outside wearing a denim mini skirt that stopped just past her crotch with a rhinestone belt with an embellished gold and beaded halter that also served as a pushup bra to make her breasts look much bigger than they were.

Jim and Tim walked past Kim and Ron to openly stare at Sima, "Hey Tim"

"Yea Jim"

"You ever think"

"We spend way too much time on rocketry?"

"Yea"

Ron turned and saw Sima and shook his head, "I swear if we'd let her. The girl would run around naked."

Kim laughed realizing that Sima would now be the twins center of attention, "She looks fine Ron."

Sam walked out the door and immediately spotted the twins and Sima and stepped in front of her, "You do not look at my woman like that."

Jim and Tim had no idea what he was saying but Sima did as she pushed Sam out of the way, "I can talk to whoever I want….Even if there are two of them."

"SAM…get the vehicle ready." Ron barked at the young man.

Sam glared at the twins, "Remember she is my woman."

The twins looked at each other quizzically, and Ron decided it might be fun to jump start the twins into puberty, "Sam only wants to make sure you show Sima a good time at the fair…But not too good a time."

Kim elbowed Ron hard, "I understood what he said…He said Sima rides with us."

She looked at Sima and tried out her Hebrew, "Would you like to die with us."

Ron began laughing and Kim shot him a look, "Sima, she meant ride with us."

An evil grin appeared over Sima's face as she saw Sam glooming at her from the driver's seat of the station wagon, "I would love to."

She walked towards Kim's car and looked at the twins and smiled, "Piss Off"

The twins looked at each other and Ron began laughing, "Sima does not speak English, she thinks she just said hello…Have to get Bina to really teach her the language if she's going to be…uh…hanging out with us."

Jim and Tim looked at each other and high fived one another, "Bick a bicka Boo…" Tim began.

"Booshaa" Jim finished.

The twins showed Sima where to sit and Ron turned to look for Sergei. He didn't have to wait long as he walked out the front door with Bina attached to his back with an arm wrapped around his neck. The large man just shook his head and walked towards the wagon.

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "Ron why has she got Sergei in a choke hold?"

Ron smiled as he watched Sergei try to climb into the station wagon with Bina on his back, "I'm not sure but I can't wait to hear the story."

Ron limped over to Sam and pointed at Kim's car, "Follow us."

Sam nodded looking particularly dejected, "Yes Sergeant."

Ron then made his way grinning towards Kim's car and sat in the passenger's seat. No sooner had he closed the door than the twins began to become brave, Tim was staring intently at Sima's legs when he inquired, "Ron could you ask Sima if we can feel her legs?"

"TIM" Kim screamed in shock.

"What…They just look so smooth." Tim explained.

"No feeling legs or other body parts….That goes for you too Jim." Kim informed them as she laid down the law.

"Awww" The reply came in unison.

Tim decided to try a different route, "Ron could you tell Sima that we think she is very pretty and…"

"If she likes me better than Tim?" Jim finished.

Ron smiled, "Sure guys." He then switched to Hebrew, "Tim would like you to know that he never brushes his teeth and enjoys his bad breath, and Jim wants to know if you would like to hear him play music with his arm pits?"

Sima looked at the two boys with a frozen smile, "No music now…I think." She said nervously.

He smiled and nodded, "Tim she said she prefers Jim because of his large manly feet but that your hair is very kind looking."

Kim giggled softly, "You're terrible."

They drove to the fairgrounds and found a place to park. The place was packed with rides, games and confectionaries of every sort. It was Memorial Day weekend the kickoff to summer and it was a good opportunity for the class of 2007 to catch up with each other.

Ron was looking forward to bumping into a few old friends and to also find out who Kosher Dilly was going to be this year. Sergei's teasing had awakened old memories about wearing the uncomfortably hot suit

Kim leaned over and whispered in his ear, "What are you smiling about?"

He self consciously chuckled. Then looked around to make sure that Sergei was out of earshot, "I was just remembering when I wore the Kosher Dilly suit."

Kim leered at him as they began to walk along the path to the ticket booth, "Even without the modulator on you made me so hot when you wore that suit."

Ron smiled and threw his shoulder into Kim knocking her to the right side of the path, "No way."

Kim laughed and threw a shoulder into Ron knocking him off to the left side of the path, "Way"

His knee sent out a jolt of pain but he ignored it. It was good to feel normal again. Even with the long sleeves on and pants and limping like he was, the surroundings were still familiar and Kim was still Kim.

"So what do you want to do first?" Kim asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Ron smiled and pointed, "Tilt-A-Whirl of course."

She shook her head and laughed, "Have you eaten anything today?"

He shot a sideways glance at her, "Like I'm going to throw up on a clown...KP that was so three years ago.

Kim heard a 'slap' and an 'ouch' from behind her. She spun around to see Jim holding his cheek. Kim glared at him and Jim began to explain, "I just wanted to see if she was wearing underwear."

Sima stormed up to Ron, "When we go home I will ride with Sam. Two hands are easier to fight off than four."

Kim playfully slapped Jim in the back of the head, "What were you thinking?"

Jim smiled and ran ahead followed by Tim. Kim shook her head as she heard Tim ask, "Well was she?"

Ron did a quick head count and noticed that Bina still had Sergei in a choke hold, "Maybe you two should try the tunnel of love?"

Bina snarled as she continued to cling to Sergei's back, "Stay out of this Big Ears, another twenty minutes or so and I shall drop him."

Sergei shook his head, "Come on Bina get off of my back. People are beginning to stare."

Sam smiled as he walked by, "If she wasn't on your back people would still stare because you are so fat."

The large Lithuanian responded in Hebrew, "Laugh now...I have told you repeatedly that I shall be the one laughing last."

Kim walked over to Bina, "I don't think they will let you on any of the rides like that?"

Bina smiled wickedly as she finally let go of Sergei, "Remember next time you try to kill Big Ears, beak both of his knees."

Kim said nothing but just shook her head as she walked back to Ron as he got in line for the ticket booth. Ron paid the admission for Kim, Sam and himself, "What...$23.50, Ron grouched as he paid the lady the money."

She smiled and pulled on the back of his shirt, "It was always so much cheaper when I paid wasn't it?"

Ron gloomed, "The strip club was cheaper than this."

Kim slapped him playfully in the back of the head, "No more talk about strip clubs."

"I was just making a comparison, it's not like I want to go back to that place again." Ron said bitterly.

The group split up, Ron assigned Sam to be Sima's body guards from the twins. Sergei and Bina went their separate way. Bina was actually walking now rather than riding on Sergei's back.

Kim was happy because now she finally had Ron alone. They rode the Tilt-A-Whirl and Ron impressed Kim by not vomiting on anyone. They rode the Sizzler and then Kim bought them lemon aid and popcorn as Ron had to sit down.

"You sure you're feeling alright." Kim asked not sure if Ron was green from his knee or the rides.

Ron took a couple of careful sips of the drink, "Stomach is doing flips...Knee's a little sore but I'm hanging tough."

Kim waived at a high school friend, "There's Penny, I'm going to go find out what she's been up to...I'll be right back."

He didn't say anything he had seen a couple of people he knew from the Cross Country team but they pretended they didn't know him and walked in the other direction,_ "I wonder if it's possible to be lonely surrounded by people?"_ He mused as he watched Kim socialize.

Angela walked by and glared at Ron and he tried to crawl under the bench, _"I wish these guys would get over the strip club...I guess I'll be paying for that one for the rest of my trip."_

Kim came back and sat down, "Penny's finished her first year Kansas State...She seems to be doing pretty well."

Ron smiled, "Did you tell her you were with me?"

She looked hesitant, "Oh your name came up a few times."

He nodded and frowned, _"Why do I get the feeling I've made a big mistake coming here?"_

"Ronnie"

Ron turned and saw Monique and Tirza walking up. Ron smiled and waived at the two, "So how many rides you been on?"

Monique shook her head, "No rides for the boy toy, I want to keep him around a while."

Tirza frowned, "She thinks rides are too much for me."

Kim laughed, "Ron's sitting here because of the Tilt-A-Whirl...Monique maybe right."

Monique smiled, "So who have you seen so far?"

"Let's see, I saw Penny, Brick, Angela, Tara, Stacey and Big Mike." Kim said happily as she reeled off the names of classmates.

"I saw Mary Gariono, Angela, Stacey, Tara, Mike Lembach." Monique said excitedly.

Ron grinned happily, "You saw Mary Gariono...I used to have a crush on her back when we were sophmores...I saw Angela but...I don't think she was too happy to see me." Ron said sadly.

Kim and Monique laughed nervously, "So what do we do now."

Tirza smiled, "I want to ride the Merry Go Round again."

Ron lifted an eyebrow at Monique, "The Merry Go Round?"

Monique gave him a smirk, "Baby steps Ron...Baby steps."

Sergei came running up, "Bina saw Zita and went crazy, we have to find her."

Ron blinked, "Do we?"

Before Sergei could explain Bina came running up holding a handfull of black hair. Ron half expected to see a bloody scalp hanging off the ends of the hair but it was only hair. Sergei gasped, "What did you do to Zita?"

Bina grinned happily with blood trickling out of the corner of her mouth, "Your so called girlfriend has fake hair...We were slapping each other and I grabbed the back of her hair for a better grip and it came off in my hands."

Monique gasped, "Girl you did not rip out her hair extensions?"

Bina laughed, "Do you really want a girlfriend with fake hair? My hair is real, my boobs are real. What more can any man ask for?"

Ron chuckled, "Sanity comes to mind."

"Shut up Big Ears I was not talking to you."

Sergei still had a hand over his mouth trying to decide how to procede, "You did not kill her did you?"

Bina shook her head, "She escaped, she is very fast."

Kim looked at the group, "Maybe we should find Sam, my brothers and Sima and find a good hiding...I mean a good spot to watch the fireworks?"

Ron nodded in quick agreement, "Yea, I think we should before the police or the humane society are called out on us."

Sergei shook his head, "Crazy woman"

Kim pointed in a direction away from where Sima and Sergei had come from, "Let's try over there."

Sergei was still shaking his head and then he say Tirza, "You were here last night, how were the fireworks?"

Monique chuckled, "We didn't get to see them, we were busy with other things."

Tirza smiled and shrugged, "Monique is big fan of Neil Diamond now."

Ron giggled as they walked along the midway, "I bet she is."

"Watch it Stoppable." Monique playfully scolded.

They caught up with the others and found them a good spot to view the fireworks from. There was a small knoll of trees just off from the midway near the animal barn that would prove to be a good spot for viewing.

Kim smiled and pointed towards a hill, "The fireworks are just over the hill. So when they start shooting we should get a great view."

"It's getting dark now so they should start anytime." Ron said excitedly.

They didn't have to wait long as a loud boom sounded from the other side of the hill and a shell burst in the air. The concussion of the blast made Ron flinch. He looked over at Tirza and saw him smiling nervously.

Sergei giggled but it was easy to see he was spooked by the explosion as well. Then another shell went off and Ron reflexes tried to make him fall on the ground. Tirza was halfway there.

The men looked at each other and began giggling at each other. Kim and Monique were looking very dismayed. Kim in particular could see the fear in Ron's eyes. Another large shell went off and the concussion felt as though it was hitting them all in the chest. Ron stepped back two steps and stepped on Sam's toe, "HEY"

"S…s…sorry Sam." Ron said nervously.

Monique saw Tirza turn away and his lower jaw began quivering. Then all three of them looked at each other and began giggling again. Shell after shell exploded in the sky and Kim saw that Ron was sweating.

She leaned over to him and whispered, "Want to find another spot?"

Ron shook his head, "No…no where to hide…one spot's as good as another." He answered quietly.

The grand finale began as shells after shell after shell were launched into the night sky. Sergei broke first he turned and began walking away, "I have seen enough."

Tirza and Sam were right on his heals. Ron nodded and looked at Kim, "Me too." He said as he joined his friends as they headed back into the fairgrounds.

It was all the girls could do to keep up with them and not lose them in the crowd as they headed towards the exit. With the fireworks being over a large throng of people began to head out as well.

"Ron wait up." Kim called as she and the twins tried to keep up.

Ron stopped and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry KP…Just reminded me of something."

"It's OK Ron…I should have thought…" Kim began.

"I didn't think of it either…I see a restroom building over there. I'll be back in a second." Ron said as he headed towards the restroom.

Sergei, Sam and Tirza followed him, "Silly being afraid of those fireworks." Sam said.

Sergei shook his head vigorously, "You went through shelling with us…Did it feel silly out there?"

Sam shook his head and answered quietly, "No"

They walked into a cinder block building that had men's and women's restrooms housed inside it. Ron looked at the floor and could see the floor was flooded from an overflowed toilet, _"Great nothing like standing in raw sewage."_

Ron limped over to the sink and ran cold water in his hands and brought the water up to his face. He exhaled a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror. He felt a tap on his shoulder, "You Ron Stoppable?"

He turned to see who was asking, "Yea…"

Before he could say anything else a fist met him in face, "WHAT YOU DID IN LEBANON WAS WRONG!" The man screamed as Ron's world view exploded in colors as fell back against the sink before collapsing to the ground. The first sensation he had was that he was lying in water. Next was the pain in his nose, he could feel blood running down his face as he struggled to get up.

Tirza helped Ron to his feet as Ron began looking for his attacker only to see Sergei and Sam beating the hell out of the man. He looked him over and realized he didn't recognize the man who was now slumping to the ground.

"Hold still Ronnie so I can look at your nose…I think it's broken." Tirza said comely in all the confusion.

Ron looked around at the crowd of men that were now watching, "Get out of here…We need to get out of here." He said in a nasally voice.

The four beat a hasty retreat from the restroom. Kim saw all the blood running down Ron's face, "What happened?"

"Leave…we need to leave right now." Ron whispered.

They disappeared into a large crowd as Ron looked to his right to see fairgrounds security racing towards the restrooms. The made it to the parking lot and quickly got into their vehicles and began to leave the fairgrounds as police cars, ambulances and a fire truck entered.

"What happened?" Kim asked again.

"NOTHING…I don't know…Guy just punched me…Just take me back to mom and dad's." Ron as he looked at his reflection in the vanity mirror of the sun visor.

"I'm taking you to see mom…OK?"

Ron flipped the sun visor up and closed his eyes and nodded, _"A broken nose…I let down my guard, never saw it coming…What did he mean what I did in Lebanon was wrong?"_

Kim stopped at a red light, "Oh no…Mom and dad are out tonight."

"Just take me back to mom and dad's house." Ron said sadly.

"OK" Kim said sadly.

After a short trip they pulled up in front of the Stoppable's. Ron tried to smile, "I did my best to keep from bleeding on your seats."

Kim shook her head, "Let's get you out of the car."

Tirza was already at the door, "Let's get that nose looked at."

Ron nodded as Tirza helped him inside the house. He heard a scream from his mother but Tirza didn't stop as he helped Ron up the stairs towards the restroom, "I wish I had my pack with me."

Ron nodded, "So do I."

Tirza sat Ron down on the toilet and began looking him over, "Nose is definitely broken."

"Great" Ron said as his shoulders slumped forward.

Sergei and Ron mother entered the bathroom next, "What on earth happened to you?"

He tried to smile, "I guess Middleton is not Ron Stoppable friendly anymore."

His mother shook her head, "I'll go get you some fresh clothes."

"Ronnie look at me…This is going to hurt but it has to be done."

Ron closed his eyes and waited for the pain, he felt a hand on each side of his nose and then he heard a snap, "Aaaaauhhhhhhh"

Mr. Stoppable popped his head in, "Everything OK?"

Tirza looked Ron's father, "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Fine thanks" A very light headed Ron Stoppable responded as he wobbled back and forth on the toilet stool.

"There's one downstairs, let me go get it."

"So do you know who it was that attacked you?" Sergei asked.

"No…no…never seen the guy before…He just screamed what I did in Lebanon was wrong and pow." Ron said sadly.

Tirza and Sergei looked at one another as Monique pushed her way in, "You OK?"

Ron smiled, "I've been better…Kim leave?"

"Yea"

"Good, last thing I need is her and mom getting into it." Ron said sadly.

"She said she'd call tomorrow…Had a time getting the twins away from Sima…Sam convinced them to leave though."

Ron tried to laugh, "I bet."

Sergei laughed, "Little guy can fight, he jumped that guy before I could get my fly zipped…Of course once the fly was zipped it was over for him."

"Why did he punch me? I don't even know the guy." Ron said sadly.

Ron's mom came knocked on the door and Monique stepped outside, "Clean clothes…Want to tell me what happened?"

Sergei left the room as Mr. Stoppable tried to come inside with the first aid kit. Ron smiled, "Should try and get everyone in here and see how many people the bathroom will really hold."

Tirza took the kit and began working. Ron tried to explain what happened, "Saw the fireworks, went to the restroom…A guy taps me on the shoulder and punches me when I turn around…No clue who it was."

Mr. Stoppable winced as he saw Ron close up, "Want us to call the police?"

Ron shook his head, "No, Sergei and Sam worked the guy over pretty good and they might get in trouble…All I can say is he better hope I don't find out who he is…He won't get another free one that's for sure."

"Well you can go see a doctor tomorrow but I don't think he can do any better than that." Tirza said as he stood up and began washing his hands.

"Thanks Tirza…I think I'm going to take a shower and call it a day." Ron said sadly.

His parents were the only ones left in the room now, "Did Kim have anything to do with this?" His mother asked.

Ron chuckled, "No she wasn't in the men's room."

"Well that's a relief." His father said with a smile.

The parents left the bathroom and Ron began taking off his clothes, _"I just wish I could figure out what was going on…Wish Bonnie was here, not used to being hurt without her being there to help out."_ Ron chuckled sadly to himself.


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N: Special thanks to Zeroeye for helping me with the proof reading. I really think it helped tighten up this chapter.**

**Thanks to Atomic Fire, Zeroeye, Momike, Yankee Bard, Kingprawnsct, Mooneasterbunny, Airwalker999, LycoX, RI100014, Whitem for reviewing my story and hanging in there through my epic...lol**

**Candy Mann is busy, Hamilton is after Ron, Ron discovers a new power. Ron learns of the chair and is not happy. Ron and Kim part company. **

**The twins discover lust, Bina is happy, Monique is happy, Tirza is happy Ron and Kim are not.**

* * *

.The sounds of machines echoed off the walls of the cave. Machines boring drilling, gouging out the inside of the mountain. The cave was large but not large enough to suit the needs of Candy Mann the evil chocolate genius bent on the over throw of established governments and the installation of him self as the one who would rule the world.

At 54 years old Candelle Markus Mann realized that time was running short for his planes. He had spent a life time gathering the necessary funding for research and development and to lay the basic infrastructure needed to actually rule the world.

He examined the many would be rulers of history, Alexander the Great, Genghis Kahn, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Dementor, Drakken. All except for the last two had all the materials and talent to pull off such a mad scheme and the last two failed because of two teenage crime fighters.

Candy Mann himself had failed to take over the world because he had underestimated the duo. Mann however seldom made the same mistake twice. Mann had followed the crime fighting duo's careers since then.

In the trade magazine Hero Inc. Mann's defeat was listed two issues back as the death of the golden age of Team Possible. Team Possible split up and has never been much of a serious crime fighting force since his defeat.

_"With the decline of Team Possible it is all the more reason to center my efforts in __Middleton_ _Colorado__."_ Mann thought proudly as he watched his new operation begin to take form.

What separated Mann from Dementor and Drakken was their lack of a country and resources to plunder. That in Candy Mann's mind was always the downfall. Their infrastructure was based solely on themselves with maybe a sidekick or two to delegate responsibilities to or to use as muscle.

So Candelle had focused on the United States and her enemies, Columbian drug lords, the Chinese Red Army, the Saudi Royal Family all were secretly bank rolling Mann's newest project. Millions flowed into his many Swiss bank accounts, each group led to believe that they were the sole patron of the project. And all failed to realize that as soon as the United States fell, they would be next.

The plan was simple, so simple he was amazed that no one had come up with it sooner. Introduce a water borne parasite into the nation's water supply and kill two thirds of the American population, thus crippling the country.

Now his work force was coming close to the completion of phase one, the lair. A large multi functional Head Quarters/Hide Out nestled deep inside the McKinnon Mountain range just outside of Middleton, Colorado.

The multi plat formed facility housed not only himself but the 30 scientists working on the water borne parasite as well as 40 highly paid mercenaries that served as his personal guard and army.

He had entered the country and setup his whole operation in less than a month by simply driving across the Arizona/Mexico border. Government officials would have no idea where he was.

Candy Mann's only bump in the road came from Global Justice. They had captured and executed a spy from the spy agency. So far Global Justice had only known he was in the United States but not his location. He knew the for the moment he was safe from prying eyes, because he knew that Global Justice would never share this information with U.S. intelligence agencies.

Global Justice would be chasing their tails looking for Candy oriented anomalies, the U.S. Government was blind, Team Possible no longer existed as a credible threat. By the beginning of July he would be well on his way to taking global control.

Candelle smiled as he admired the progress of the facility, "Life can be sweet, very sweet indeed."

**

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**

Sunday morning came and Ron sat on his cot holding an ice pack to his face. His nose had swelled up to the size of a small tomato and his eyes were blackened, _"From now on I'm carrying a Glock, no more free shots."_

He continued to mull the whole matter around in his head, _"The guy had called me by name...BY NAME! I never seen him before...And what the hell did he mean that what I did in __Lebanon__ was wrong...The only thing I did wrong was step in front of a bullet."_

Ron's dad came downstairs, "How's the nose?"

"It hurts."

"Here, let me have a look." His dad said as he had Ron lower the ice pack. He winced at the sight, "You look like a raccoon."

Ron laughed softly, "Thanks"

His dad sniffed the air, "Smells like someone had sex down here?"

"Well don't look at me, I can't smell nothing." He told his father trying not to laugh.

Mr. Stoppable laughed, "Well anyway, I'm off the computer if you want to email Bonnie."

Ron nodded, "I'd really like to call but I can't remember what time it is over there and I don't want to wake her up...I'll be up in a bit."

He sat there watching his father climb the stairs. He brooded, _"If only I could get my hands on that guy...Still the guy did take an ass whipping...Sergei said Sam kicked the guy so hard in the eye he could have sworn it popped out of its socket."_

Ron shook his head, _"Sam is only 15 years old, and once he gets his man build he will be a monster...Must remember to stay on his good side."_ This thought made Ron smile.

Sergei came down stairs, "How are you feeling?"

"Awful...Dad says it smells like sex down here and I know Tirza didn't stay the night." Ron hinted tactfully.

Sergei nodded, "While everyone was working with you last night I brought Bina down here and screwed the shit out of her."

Ron shook his head and the thought of this happening in his basement, "Ewww"

"She's all nice to me now. If I would have known all she needed was some penis, I would have stuck her months ago." Sergei said sadly.

Ron showed his friend a very puzzled face, "So why are you down here now?"

"The woman is driving me nutty, calling me her 'Love Daddy'." Sergei said with amusement.

Ron began laughing and wincing in pain, "Stop it your killing me."

Sergei smiled and nodded, "I would like to call Zita and apologize for Bina last night...Kind of break things off since I will be leaving for Lithuania soon to visit my mother."

"So you going to continue seeing Bina once we get home?"

The big man smiled, "Oh yes...She gave as good as she got." He turned his back and pulled up his shirt to show Ron the scratch marks on his back.

Ron shook his head, "You're a brave man."

"Let's go upstairs."

"Sound's good to me." He said as he rose from his seat.

Ron took the stairs one at a time, _"Glad my knee didn't take a blow...Tired of it hurting all the time."_

Once upstairs he felt as if he entered the twilight zone. Sima was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed trying to ignore the Possible twins who were seated in the floor in front of her.

They stared open mouthed at the girl who had become the fixation of their first joint crush. Sam however was having none of it and was glaring at the two waiting for one of them to make the wrong move so he could have an excuse to hurt them.

"Ron can you make those two leave, they have been staring at me all day...They give me the creeps." Sima said in Hebrew.

Ron nodded, "Hey guys...Sima wants to know if you would like to see her in a bikini?"

The twins eyes lit up at once, "Sure...Yea."

"Well then you have to leave and come back tomorrow because they are headed to the water park." Ron said as he pointed to the door.

The twins frowned as they realized that they had just been asked to leave, "Awwwww...Can we go to the water park too?" Tim asked.

Ron shrugged, "Sure, now take me to your mother."

Jim and Tim lead the way for Ron to go see Mrs. Dr. P. they walked into the Possible household and Ron limped into the living room and Mrs. Dr. P. put a hand over her mouth, "Oh my…You sure did take a punch, let me look at you."

Mrs. Dr. P. led him into the small office in the back, "Looks like whoever treated you did a good job."

"It was Tirza."

"Ahhhh Kim told me about him and Monique." Mrs. Dr. P. said happily.

Ron didn't say anything as Mrs. Dr. P. looked him over, "Kim said you guys were having fun until this happened."

"Yea…I haven't quite figured it out yet…It's all so bizarre." Ron told her sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. tilted his head further back, "Did they find out who did it?"

Ron smiled, "I don't think I want to know. Sergei and Sam worked the guy over pretty good."

"Is everything alright between you and Kim?"

The million dollar question that Ron hoped not to face had come up, "Yea we're cool."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "I was just curious that you didn't ask for her when you came into the house."

Ron thought quickly, "I didn't see the car figured she was out and about."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded, "So are you doing OK? We haven't seen much of you."

"Well I been sick and stuff…My visit hasn't gone very well." He said quietly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He thought about it for a second and then shook his head, _"I don't think there is anyway you can help me."_

"No"

Mrs. Dr. P. looked at him sadly, "Well we're here for you if you ever do want to talk. Keep an ice pack on that nose and the swelling should start going down."

Ron nodded and began to head towards the living room he turned back to face Mrs. Dr. P., "You guys painted the kitchen…It looks nice."

Mr. Dr. P. overheard him, "Thank you Ronald…Hey that Terry guy said you were writing reports now."

He nodded, "After action reports mostly, a few sympathy…"

"I have to write reports all the time, just keep them short and sweet and try not use big words or flowery language…It only confuses the bosses, but I guess we don't have to worry about that with you now do we?" Mr. Dr. P. said jovially with a knowing wink as he patted Ron on the shoulder.

Ron nodded his head, "I guess not…Well nice seeing you all again." He said as he headed for the door.

"I'll walk you to the door." Mr. Dr. P. said as he escorted Ron towards the front of the house.

"Now that we're out of earshot of the lady of the house, I just want to say that the black hole express is still ready to go if you ever go to one of those Hamilton night clubs ever again…Kim doesn't need that kind of trouble now." Mr. Dr. P. said sternly.

Ron smiled, _"I wonder if he'd be shocked if I told him I could be packed and down here by __8:00 AM__? Black hole sounds pretty good right now."_

"I'll keep that in mind Mr. Dr. P…The kitchen does look nice."

He turned and walked up the street and gave a sad chuckle, _"If it wasn't so damn sad, I might just be angry about that last conversation…Oh well, probably won't see them anymore after this trip ends. Better to remember the good times I guess."_

The driveway to his house loomed in front of him and Ron stopped at the edge and turned around to look down the street towards the Possible's house, _"It's only been a year and so much has changed." _

Ron walked back inside of the house and completely ignored the spectacle of Sergei and Bina making out on the couch to go and retrieve his ice pack he was wearing earlier. He replaced the ice and walked back into the basement and lay back down on his cot, "I'll call Bonnie tonight. She'll make me feel better."

**

* * *

**

It was Monday morning and Kim had yet to hear from Ron since Saturday night. She had talked to her mother when she got home Sunday night and she told her that Ron appeared to be depressed and distracted by he wasn't ready to talk about it.

She decided it was time to tell Ron about the chair. It had been bothering her for a long time of just when and how to tell Ron about Dr. Wong, the truth ray, the chair and all the experiences that she had while in the chair.

Kim packed the twins into her car for the trip up the street. She knew Ron wouldn't go to the water park. Not with his shyness about how his arm and legs looked after the wounds. She would spend the day with him and hopefully break through to him and pull him out of his funk.

She saw Monique's car out front, _"I guess Monique and Tirza are going as well."_

Kim and the twins made their way out of the car. Sam was watching them as he sat on the hood of the brown station wagon waiting for Sima. Sergei was standing by the rear passenger door with his arms wrapped around Bina as whispered sweet nothings to him in Hebrew. Monique was busy applying sunscreen to Tirza and waived to Kim.

She waived back and then winced as she saw Ron coming out of the house. The swelling of his nose had gone down but he still had deep bruising around his eyes, "You OK?" She asked out of concern.

Ron gave her a strange look and then smiled as he realized how he must look, "Nose is a bit sore still, and I have an eleven o'clock with Josh's dad to look at my back."

Kim nodded, "Mind if I take you?"

He looked at her in surprise, "You're not going to the water park?"

"No, I haven't had much time to spend with you." She said honestly.

The door to the house opened and Sima walked outside wearing white high heels, a white thong and a thin strip of white fabric that barely covered the nipples on her breasts. She walked out into the front yard and immediately became aware that everyone was staring at her, "What? It is what they are wearing on the beaches in Tel Aviv."

Ron shook his head, _"I knew I should have stayed in __Israel__."_

"MONIQUE!"

Monique and Bina dashed forward and took Sima by the arms, "Girl let's get some clothes on you before you get arrested."

Sima shook her head not understanding what Monique was saying. Bina glared at her, "Wantonly showing off your body to temp my boyfriend...You are lucky we are not in Israel or I would beat the piss out of you."

Monique looked over at Ron as they passed him, "We'll run by the mall and get something more appropriate for her to wear."

Ron shook his head, "Thanks"

Kim narrowed her eyes at the twins, "Just what were you two looking at."

The twins remained rooted to the ground ignoring their older sister, "Tim...Was she almost naked?"

"Yes...very nearly so Jim."

"And Ron made her go in and change?"

"Yea"

"Damn him."

Sam walked over and stuck his finger in the twins faces, "My Woman" He said in Hebrew

Ron strolled over, "He says look but no touch."

Tim nodded, "Ah...sure"

"No Prob." Jim added.

Sima reappeared in street clothes with Monique, "Americans are so sexually repressed."

Ron laughed and told her in Hebrew, "Yes and I hope to send you home to your mother equally as sexually repressed."

They watched as everyone loaded up in the vehicles. Ron made the twins ride with Monique and Tirza. He turned to Kim and smiled, "That should keep Sam focused on the road."

He limped over the driver's window of the station wagon, "Mom thinks I am driving, no accidents, just fallow Monique and everything will be fine…Understood!"

Sam nodded, "Yes Sergeant."

Kim walked over to Monique's car and pointed at the twins, "Behave…No mean immature stuff."

Jim looked as though his feelings were hurt, "What? Us?"

Tim shook his head, "We're not the ones running around naked."

Ron and Kim stood back and watched the convoy pull out for their trip. Once they rounded the corner Kim looked to over to her slightly wounded boyfriend, "Want to fool around?"

He shook his head, "No time, have to be at the Chiropractor's office by 10:30 to fill out the paper work."

Kim frowned on hearing the news, "Well where is Josh's dad's office."

"It's down town by the Odyssey." He told her as they began to walk towards her car.

She nodded, "OK, then after that we'll head to Quarry Lake, I have some important things to tell you."

Ron nodded without any hint of emotion, _"I'm in trouble again, at least my knee feels better and I'm wearing my army boots. So if there's a long walk involved...I'm ready."_

"Sounds good to me KP."

******

* * *

**

The couple arrived for the appointment on time. Ron filled out the three forms that were given him. One of the forms was an extremely long explanation of the privacy act. He signed that he had read it when in fact he didn't. Like most American's the form was just an annoyance designed to kill time that would be better spent with a doctor. He didn't care the form just so long as Josh Mankey's dad could fix his back.

He acquired a first hand lesson on why Chiropractor's were called bone breakers, the doctor felt around his spine spouted some mumbo jumbo that didn't register with him and then went to work.

Ron raised his right arm over his head, placing his hand on the back of his neck. He didn't have time to think as he was grasped around the waist and quickly twisted and yanked.

There was a loud pop and Ron's went cross eyed from the shock of the movement. Then the pain was gone and he could twist his back again. He smiled in relief as he could move normally again.

He looked at the doctor and smiled, "I'm not sure what you did but my back feels great."

Dr. Mankey smiled, "Just a slight adjustment to the spine...Try not to do anything strenuous for the next few days."

Ron smiled, "All I needed to hear, a prescription to relax."

The Dr. Mankey led him to the front of the office to the receptionist, "No charge, the American Friends of the IDF have already made payment arrangements."

Ron walked out to the waiting room and met with Kim, "Look I can twist this way and I can twist the other way and I can stand up straight...Come on stand up and twist with me." Ron said playfully.

Kim stood up and giggled, "Come on you nut, I want to go to Quarry Lake. We need to talk."

He lost his smile and chipper edge immediately. Once his favorite hangout and place to go to be alone and think was now becoming a place to dread. Ron nodded and followed Kim out the door, _"Oh man, what did I do now?"_

Ron sat in near silence for the trip to the state park. Kim was trying to make conversation, "Other than getting punched, did you have fun on Saturday night?"

Ron bobbed his head and looked out the car window at the sky before answering, _"Weather stays nice I'll walk to the road this time and try to catch a ride into town."_

"Aw well...You know getting punched falling to the ground and landing in water from backed up toilets kind of took the fun out of it."

Kim shook her head, "I mean before that."

_"Maybe I should have her run thru 7-11 and get a Big Gulp...Just in case...It will be much warmer today need to avoid dehydration." _He thought as he scratched his chin.

"Ron, are you listening to me?" Kim asked bringing him back into the real world.

"Oh...Sorry...I'm kind of thirsty, do me a favor and run by the 7-11."

Kim nodded, "Fine, so Saturday night was a bust."

He smiled and shrugged, "Well...The fireworks were nice...I guess...very...realistic."

Kim shook her head sadly as she pulled into the parking lot of the 7-11. She took her sunglasses from around the rear view mirror and put them on, "I'll wait here."

Ron nodded, "Want anything?"

Kim shook her head no and watched as Ron went inside to fix him self a fountain soft drink, then he went where Kim couldn't see and picked up a few more things. He paid the cashier and then carefully placed some items in one pocket and what looked like Slim Jim beef jerky into his leg pocket.

Now it finally registered, _"That little shit thinks I'm going to leave him again and he's stocking up."_ She almost laughed as the realization hit her.

Ron got back inside the car and offered her the Big Gulp, "Drink?"

"No thanks, so did you get enough supplies?" Kim asked innocently.

Ron smiled and tried to act casual, "I picked up some snackage, never know what the day will bring."

Kim shook her head, "So like I said, we need to do some catching up.

He nodded again as he thought of a neutral answer, _"This is too weird, I have no idea where she's going with this?" _

"Yes"

Kim tilted her head as they reached a stop light, "Yes what?"

Ron looked around trying hard to think of the right answer, "We...have catching up to do." He answered nervously.

"Yes that's just what I was thinking, so I say to my self, 'Where would Ron feel the most comfortable talking?'" Kim looked over at Ron who was smiling nervously, " Quarry Lake is the answer that came to mind. So here we go to Quarry Lake."

He continued to nod his head dumbly, _"I wonder if this is how Drakken feels before Shego goes off on him?"_

"Yes"

After a short drive they arrived at Quarry Lake. Kim wheeled the car into the now familiar parking lot. They got out of the car and walked towards the picnic tables. Where Ron placed his Big Gulp and quickly sat down.

Kim stood in front of him for a moment and then sat down across from him, "Ron…We haven't really had…much of a chance to talk…To really talk to one another."

Ron nodded, "Yea…If I haven't been getting my butt kicked, I've been sick, and…"

"I know Ron…Look, last fall I took this job." Kim began and then stopped to continue arranging her thoughts, _"Have to do this right or I screw everything up."_

"The Space Center job?"

Kim smiled and nodded, "Yea the Space Center job. I work closely with Dr. Wanda Wong, do you remember her?"

Ron nodded, "We rescued her from Drakken and Shego about…three maybe four years ago?"

"Right, right and we were exposed to the truth ray." Kim said as she was feeling more comfortable about the direction of the talk.

Ron chuckled, "I'm down with the truth, and the truth shall set you free KP."

Kim laughed, "Yea…That's kind of what I was thinking."

Now she had Ron's complete attention, "I…I don't know if you noticed that when we're apart…I get kind of loopy and emotionally erratic?"

Ron laughed, "Oh, only a little?"

Kim glared, "It's not funny…The behavior was brought on by the effects of the truth ray…Dr. Wong has been testing the effects on rats and we are the only two humans that have ever been exposed to the truth ray."

"Umm…Kim….you lost me…What do we have to do with the rats?"

She was becoming more nervous, "Well a lot actually…We have been mimicking their behavior."

"Huh"

Kim was becoming nervous again as she found her audience did not quite understand what she was trying to explain to him, "The truth ray has side effects. One of the side effects is a psychic link between the two of us."

Ron was shifting his weight on the bench as he was unsure of just where Kim was going with her talk, "OK"

"Doctor Wong developed a machine to amplify the link called the mental focusing unit."

"Oh…Somehow I just knew there would be a machine involved…" Ron chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Kim giggled, "Yea…I know it's a bit much to take in. Anyway the machine magnifies the link so while sitting in the chair I was actually able to see what you were doing and thinking when you were over in Israel."

Ron shook his head and stood up not quite knowing what else to do, "Oh…alright…hee, hee, hee…I always figured…psychic link…huh…I always figured that with all the junk we breathed in from exploding lairs that we'd end up getting some kind of cancer and dying by the time we were 25…psychic link…huh."

Kim smiled, "He's taking this better than I thought."

"You want to go to the Space Center and see Dr. Wong…You never know she might even have a job for you?"

Ron wiped his face and looked around, "Oh…yea…I think I better see Dr. Wong."

Kim smiled, "Great, she should just be getting back from lunch by the time we get there."

He chuckled nervously, " Normal schedule or psychic link?"

She laughed and shook her head, " Normal schedule."

The car pulled out of the parking lot. He was relieved he was in it, _"_ _Space_ _Center__ is a much shorter walk."_

"So…so…how…hmmm…how long has this been going on?"

Kim rolled her eyes, "Ohhhh since…about October."

A bitter laugh escaped his lips, "Oh that long…huh."

She looked over nervously to see Ron rubbing the back of his head, "So…you have any questions?"

There was no answer coming as Ron's mind began to sort things out, _"The argument in McDonald's…She said she knew all my secrets."_ A chill ran up his spine, _"Now I know why she knew about Babbette."_

"Ron"

He looked over but said nothing, _"I guess it was easier to just spy on me than write me…I wonder just how much…God…If she found out about…calm down…We bury stuff like that deep…Don't think about it."_

"Ron"

"Hmmm"

"We're here." Kim said as she pointed at the building.

They got out of the car and headed towards the entrance, _"I do not have a good feeling about this."_

Once inside the building they were shown into Dr. Wong's office. She greeted Kim with a smile and then greeted Ron with a smile and a handshake. Ron shook the hand but did not return the smile.

"It's good to finally see you again Ronald…Kim's kept pretty close track of your travels over the past six months." Dr. Wong said enthusiastically.

Ron nodded but said nothing. Kim could feel the tension in the room, "I told Ron about the experiments and the mental focusing unit."

Dr. Wong nodded, "Ah…Would you like to see the lab Ronald."

"Yes" Ron said evenly. He still didn't know just what to think but he had that feeling he wasn't going to like what he saw.

"Great, let's head down to the lab."

He watched her call for the elevator. He also made a note of the button she pushed to activate the elevator, just in case he was going to have to make a late night visit to the facility.

The door opened and they walked down the hallway. It was sterile looking, white walls, devoid of color. Then they arrived at their destination. Dr. Wong swiped her badge across the electronic card reader. Ron also noted this.

"Well here we are lab 13…In here we study the after effects of the truth ray."

Kim grinned and motioned for Ron to follow her towards the back of the lab, "Let me show you Mortimer and Candi."

Ron looked at Dr. Wong, "They're white lab rats that were exposed the truth ray just as you and Kim were."

Kim picked up the two rats, "Look they're perfectly happy when their together but when I separate them." Kim put Candi back in her cage and walked to the other side of the room and put Mortimer in another cage.

After a short amount of time Candi began banging her head into the Plexiglas cage and Mortimer began doing the same.

"You see Candi begins to act irrationally just like I do when you're not around."

Dr. Wong looked at Ron, "Do you ever behave irrationally or crave cigarettes or act strangely while you were over in Israel?"

Ron clinched his jaw, "Nope"

Dr. Wong could see that Ron was not thrilled with the idea of being compared to a lab rat and decided to focus on future experiments, "We've learned so much over the last six months we were kind of hoping you would stay and work with us."

Ron looked aghast but said nothing as Dr. Wong continued, "You could use your military experience on our guard force or perhaps be a housekeeping supervisor…Former military men excel as housekeeping supervisors."

"Ummm…I'm still in the army in Israel." Ron said quietly.

Kim laughed as she reunited the rats, "Oh come on Ron, just don't go back it's not like they're going to throw you in jail."

He looked at her but said nothing. Dr. Wong continued the tour, "This is the main room where the mental focusing unit is located."

The three walked into the main lab unit, "As you can see the device is powered by three large main frame computers with nearly 10 terabytes of memory at its disposal the device can view, record, communicate and it may even be possible to influence decision making."

Ron shook his head and blinked, "I…I don't get it…why…You can't be serious?"

Kim nodded, "It was how I warned you I wasn't getting married and that Bonnie was…"

"…Just being a bitch." Ron finished as he put his hand to head thinking about the thought that just popped into his head.

"So what do you think so far?" Dr. Wong asked.

His eyes narrowed, he could feel a slow burn starting to build and he was doing his best to keep it under control, "So…who gave you permission to do this to me?"

"Well…Kim felt that…"

"Kim felt wrong didn't she?" Ron spat bitterly.

"Ron…I just needed to use the chair to see if you…" Kim began before being cut off.

"So you were recording everything that I went through to what? Spy on me…Make sure I was towing the line?"

"No we were only able to get the recording to work when you were missing in Gaza City." Dr. Wong informed him quickly as she was now trying to do some quick damage control.

He looked at Kim, "I was wondering how you knew where to find me when you crashed Ned's bachelor party."

Kim chuckled nervously, "I watched you plan it."

His jaw set tight and he nodded, _"Bonnie was right about you. You do ruin everything."_

"So can you…Pick through people's memories with this thing?"

Dr. Wong shook her head, "Not that I'm aware of but then we haven't really had much of a chance to explore the device to its full potential."

He nodded his head, "Well I don't want it used to it's full potential on me."

"Ron we have you on DVD from when you were wounded in Gaza City." Kim informed him.

Dr. Won smiled and nodded as she walked over and pressed the play on the DVD player, "That's right I almost forgot about that…I seen you walk through walls, I was quite fascinated with that."

Ron stepped in front of a large plasma screen monitor, _"NO…Have to come back later and destroy that DVD."_

"Oh no….I…I don't remember…much…." His voice trailed off as he saw himself running towards the loading dock of the building in Gaza City.

Kim took him by the arm, "See maybe you can spot a mistake and be ready for next time."

He wasn't listening he was intently watching the screen, "I remember that…" he said absently as the disc played on.

The disc ran to the final gunfight in the front office of the building. Ron was shooting men as they tried to crawl thru the front door. He was stacking them up in large pile then his attention was drawn back down the hallway to the loading dock where he came into the building.

Ron wiped his face of sweat as memories started to return. He was vaguely aware of Kim chattering on in his ear but he ignored her. The disc continued playing and Ron was once again shooting people and then he saw movement to his left, "NOOOO"

He began to back up quickly to get away from what he knew was coming. He tripped over a stainless steel cart and sent it flying as he fell against the wall just as the explosion went off above him on the monitor.

Kim and Dr. Wong stared in horror as Ron let out an ear piercing scream just as they could hear a scream coming from the monitor. Ron began to convulse on the ground holding his arm and crying out in pain.

Ron could see everything now in his minds eye. The explosion the shards of white hot metal penetrating his body causing him to convulse in pain. He remembered having to stay on his side to keep from drowning in his own blood.

He felt something loose in his mouth so he spat it out, it was his lower plate. Seeing his plate lying on the white tiled floor of the lab brought him back to reality as he gave in to his personal vanity and quickly put the false teeth back in his mouth.

He covered his mouth and continued to sob as his body curled into the fetal position. He could feel hands grasping him, "_Henchman trying to force me into the chair…I can't even fight back." _

"NOOOOOO"

He kept his eyes closed as he felt himself being pulled to his feet, _"Think about nothing, I have to get out of here." _

"RON, it's alright, calm down Ron." Kim tried to reassure him as they struggled to carry him into the elevator.

The elevator opened in Dr. Wong's office and the two women half drug and half carried Ron to the leather couch. Dr. Wong looked at Kim, "I'll go get some water."

Kim nodded, "I'll try to calm him down...Ron it's alright we're in Dr. Wong's office now."

Ron had his eyes shut tightly, his breathing was heavy, _"They got me in the chair and if I don't do what they want they'll toast my mind."_

"N…noooo"

Dr. Wong came back into the office with a bottle of water and handed it to Kim, "Ron…Here take a drink."

His breathing began to return to normal, he opened his left eye and looked around tentatively before taking a drink, "Now isn't that better?" Kim asked.

Ron didn't answer. He reached out to touch the window to the outside. He could feel the warmth of the window as it was being heated by the sun. Then he touched the couch and then wiped his face again.

"It's all over now Ron…How do you feel now?" Kim asked as she tried to touch Ron's hand.

He recoiled from the touch, "I…I…w…wa…" He stopped talking and took a deep breath, "I want to go home."

Dr. Wong could see he was looking pale, "Ron do you mind if I take your vitals you don't look well?"

"NO…I want to go home…I want to go home now!" Ron said in as stern a voice as he could muster.

"Ron maybe…"

"Maybe it would be best if you took Ron home?" Doctor Wong suggested.

Kim nodded sadly, "Yea…Let's go home Ron."

Ron tried to get up from the couch but the memory of wounds made his limp more pronounced. Kim tried to help him and he waived her off with a shout, "I CAN DO THIS."

He stood as straight as he could and limped towards the door and sadly said, "I just want to go home."

Dr. Wong saw them both to the exit outside the building and then returned to her desk. She put her head in her hands and shook her head sadly thought, _"That did not go well."_

**

* * *

**

Kim was nervous and when Kim is nervous she will not stop talking. Ron was doing his best to tune her out but she kept droning on and on, "So anyway I saw you kiss that blonde girl. I don't even know why you were attracted to her because she is clearly not your type….I can't believe you actually let her rub your ears."

Ron was tapping the glass still unconvinced that he wasn't in the chair. His mind was a jumble of thoughts as he tried to think about all the things that had happened over the last six months or so.

He looked at Kim as she continued to blather on about having to talk with Wade's mom about his pornographic websites. He shook his head, _"Poor Wade…I'll have to give him a heads up."_

"Ron, are you listening to me."

Ron smiled weakly and nodded as they continued to drive towards their neighborhood. Kim was warmed up and on a roll, "I think you need to quit hanging around with that Sergei. I mean going to see prostitutes and thinking Bonnie is better for you than me…Besides he's a foreigner."

He looked at her again and shook his head, _"Doesn't she ever stop to breath?" _

"And to think you ever considered the idea of having sex with both me and Shego at the same time. That is just sick and wrong…Oh yea and for your information I am not a nut." Kim said indignantly.

"OH JUST SHUT UP."

"Wha…What?" Kim said in shock.

Ron turned to look at her, "What?"

"You just told me to shut up."

"No I didn't….Did I?" Ron said rubbing his chin.

"Yes…You most certainly did." Kim said angrily.

Ron stared at her in horror, _"Did I say that out loud or did she just read my mind?"_

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kim asked nervously as she pulled to a stop in front of his parent's house.

He shook his head and forced as smile, "It's all good…I…I…I'll call or something…later." Ron stammered as he started to walk across the street to the wrong house.

"Ron…" Kim called to him. Ron turned to look at her, "You live over there." She said pointing towards his house.

"Oh yea…I knew that…OK…" He stammered on as he walked up the driveway and into the garage.

Kim shook her head sadly, _"He looked at me as if I were a monster."_

Ron limped into the garage and pulled a lawn chair away from the wall and slumped into it. He took deep breaths to calm himself as he waited for Sam and the others to return with the station wagon.

He needed his mind as clear as possible because it was going to be a long night and he had to make sure everything went correctly for there was no room for errors. He closed his eyes and thought it over, _"The lab has to be destroyed and then we deal with Kim." _

**

* * *

**

It felt good to have a handgun in his grip once again. It had been a while since he carried a hand gun, since it was a side arm in Southern Lebanon. Now he decided he would have to carry it again after the broken nose from the random attack at the Middleton Days festival pointed out the need for one.

Never again would anyone get the drop on him so badly. He was a different person when he carried a gun, more observant, more tactical. He would be more alert now, harder for someone to sneak up on him and punch his lights out.

He had one gun on him now as he sat in a lawn chair waiting for his friends to return from their trip to the water park. Another Glock 9mm waited for him under the seat of the car. Ron Stoppable smiled a wicked smile, _"Sometimes outnumbered but never out gunned." _He thought slyly as he waited for the mini motorcade to pull up in the driveway.

The evening was all planned out. Take the station wagon and head for the Space Center after the sun went down. He knew how to break into the place as he did it only last year when Kim's dad was under the mental control of Dr. Drakken.

Ron infiltrated the Space Center to see what Mr. Dr. P. had secretly been working on and then after he gathered the information for Wade he escaped from the Space Center to return home. Not one sensor tripped, not one alarm sounded, a perfect reconnaissance mission.

He would travel light tonight two Glock 9mm pistols and three magazines of ammunition and of course the Lotus Blade. It was unlikely he would end up in a shooting situation at the Space Center but then again, one never knew.

His mind had wound down from earlier in the afternoon when he was informed of the mental focusing unit and the experiments that Kim had helped perform on him without his knowledge.

They recorded his Gaza City adventure and played it back for him. The memories that his mind had suppressed returned and overwhelmed him. He broke down and screamed at the memory of being wounded.

It was a sickening memory and he hated Dr. Wong and Kim for bringing it back to him. He also recognized the machine as a direct threat to Yamanouchi as his training as a ninja was evident in the video. Yamanouchi needed to be protected now more than ever because it was also the current residence of his daughter Mariko and her mother, Yori.

It was more than just self preservation that needed to be considered. His knowledge of Yamanouchi had to be protected and that meant the video, notes and lab needed to be destroyed. He could not rest comfortably with the knowledge that someone on a whim could just tap his mind or worse yet control him.

Once the destruction was discovered in the morning he would be a prime suspect so he knew he had to move carefully. He didn't believe Dr. Wong would press any complaints against him as she knew that Ron could sue them for what they had done to him. Then he would own his very own Space Center.

He sat in the chair watching the shadows of afternoon grow longer across the driveway. In another few hours it would be dark and he would need to be in position near the drainage ditch that ran along the outskirts of the Space Center.

That could wait for now time to relax and think about where he stood with Kim. He had come to a conclusion on the drive home that their relationship was over. He wanted nothing to do with her or with Middleton anymore, _"I'll finish this last piece of business and move on."_

The brown station wagon turned into the driveway, the power steering belt squealing to signal its arrival, Ron laughed softly, _"Dad never did get that fixed."_

Sam smiled as he saw Ron waiting for him to stop, "We had a great time…"

"Give me the keys, I'll be back later." Ron said forcefully as he waited for everyone to pile out of the wagon.

Sam looked him over and saw he was carrying a pistol shoved into the waist band of his pants with an un-tucked shirt covering it up from view. He nodded, "Sure you won't need a driver."

Ron looked him in the eye, "What I have to do, I have to do alone." He said calmly.

He nodded and stepped away as the Sergei and Bina cleared the wagon. Ron slid behind the wheel and fired the engine backed out of the driveway and drove away. Sima shook her head as she realized he didn't talk to them about their day before he left, "Sam where is he going?"

Sam shrugged and pointed down the street, "That way."

**

* * *

**

The first stop Ron would make was to Shooting Systems gun shop to buy holsters for his twin Glock model 17 pistols. He pulled in the parking lot and quickly hid the pistol he had stuffed in his waste band in the glove box of the wagon along with the three magazines of ammunition.

Ron walked in the door of the gun shop and walked up to the counter, "I need a couple of holsters to fit a Glock model 17."

The older man behind the counter Ron could clearly see was ex-military or police. He had that stern no nonsense look about him. He eyed Ron suspiciously, "What do you need the holsters for?"

He frowned and rolled his eyes at the man, "To fix the squealing power steering belt on my wagon. What does anyone need a holster for?"

"All right smart guy, let's try this again. What is the purpose you wish to use the holsters for, hunting, combat shooting, concealment?"

Ron shifted his weight as he realized he clearly misunderstood the question, "Oh…uh…Concealment but I need to be able to draw the gun in a hurry."

The man continued to look at him, "You licensed to carry?"

"No but I am licensed to drive." Ron answered flatly.

"You can get in a lot trouble carrying a fire arm without a license."

Ron smiled confidently, _"I can end up hurt if I don't carry one."_

"You let me worry about that."

"This...uh...wouldn't be about that broken nose of yours would it?" The man asked.

He smiled, "No...That was dealt with."

"Alright…Belt holster or shoulder?"

Ron shrugged, 'Both"

The man nodded and handed Ron a black injection molded holster, "I personally like the Safariland products myself…I'd go with a belt holster a model 5186, adjustable belt loops to fit a variety of belts. Carry the gun on your hip or at the small of the back…You right or left handed?"

"Right"

The man handed him another holster that was clearly not for handguns, "Put this model 079 on your left hip, it lets you carry two extra magazines where you can get at them in a hurry."

He smiled and nodded as he visualized in his minds eye dropping one magazine and quickly pulling one from the magazine pouch and slamming it home, "I'll take both, what have you got in a…uh…shoulder holster?"

The man looked on a rack and then handed him another holster, "Since getting your gun out quickly seems to be the most important feature your looking for I'd go with another Safariland product a model 1090 Gun Quick holster."

Ron looked it over and smiled, it was little more than two straps and a retaining spring to hold the gun in place. The gun was positioned for a straight draw, he knew the second he slapped the grip of the gun he could be shooting the weapon and laying down a blistering rate of fire before anyone knew what hit them. It reminded him of the service holster he modified before leaving for Southern Lebanon and that bought him some comfort, "I'll take all three."

"You're an easy customer." The man said with a grin as he bagged up Ron's purchase.

"Only because you had what I needed."

The man rang up the purchases on the old cash register, "That'll come to $192.87."

Ron handed him his Visa debit card and the man looked at it, "Bank of Jerusalem, what are you some kind of an Israeli?"

He smiled, "Oh...some kind."

With his new goodie bag he quickly made a trip to the Middleton Mall to the very trendy Andre's to purchase a loose fitting jacket to cover the belt holster and the shoulder rig, _"I won't need this stuff tonight but for the rest of the trip."_

Ron quickly dropped another $300 for an Armani knock off blazer one size bigger than what he wore, two pleated ribbed crew shirt one in black and one in gray and a pair of jeans.

He looked at himself in the mirror and approved of what he saw, _"Oh yea…Bonnie hits town I'm going to look great."_

After the clothing purchase he walked outside the mall and noticed it was getting dark, _"Time to get down to business."_

**

* * *

**

Dewey Stoneman and Joey Bolan had left the club district in Hamilton in search of food on their lunch break when they spotted their prey, "Joey, see that?" Dewey asked motioning at the brown station wagon that drove past them in the opposite direction on Rt. 203."

Joey looked up from his sack of Beuno Nacho, "Yea, looks like the piece of shit brown station wagon Captain Megbey's been looking for."

Dewey turned quickly and began to follow the brown wagon, "What do you think?"

"It's him, blonde headed man…Pull him over, and we'll take him into custody and then make him disappear later."

Dewey turned on the flashing lights of the security firms Chevrolet Impala, _"This ought to be good."_

Ron Stoppable saw the flashing lights in his rear view mirror and clinched his teeth, _"Damn it, I wasn't speeding…What the hell?"_

The brown Ford Crown Victoria station wagon pulled over to the side of the road followed by the Hamilton Security Impala. Dewey Stoneman took a drink of his Grande sized soft drink before he and Joey exited the vehicle.

Dewey a heavy set six foot tall man that looked to Ron as he rolled down his window and examined the man in rear view mirror, as though he had been a football player in high school but let his body go to seed, _"These guys aren't Middleton PD, they're Hamilton…Damn I don't want a gun fight now…Have to try and tap those mystical monkey powers…If that don't work…I'll just have to get messy." _

"You know why we pulled you over?" Dewey asked Ron as he stood just behind the driver's side door making it less of an opportunity for him to ambush the man.

Ron saw the light from his partner shinning thru the window. The security man examined his vehicle with the light before coming to rest on his face, _"What the hell?"_

"No idea" He said as he squinted into the bright light from the flashlight.

Dewey smiled and Ron could see he was a tobacco chewer by the stains on his teeth, "Seems you caused quite a problem in Hamilton last week and we need to take you back there for some questioning."

Ron looked down at the ground and his eyes began to glow blue as he turned his head to face Dewey Stoneman. Ron raised his left hand and waived two fingers back and forth in front of the security man and suggested strongly, "This is not the vehicle you have been looking for."

Dewey Stoneman's head tilted to the side and then he tuned to Joey, "This isn't the vehicle we've been looking for."

Once again Ron gently moved his left hand back and forth quietly but forcefully informing Dewey, "This is not the man we've been looking for."

Dewey blinked and looked over towards Joey again, "This isn't the guy we're after."

He repeated the process as he slipped the cars gear shift back into drive, "You're free to go now."

Dewey stepped back away from the car, "You're free to go now, move along, move along."

The brown station wagon slowly moved away from the side of the road. Joey shook his head in astonishment, "Your letting him go?"

Dewey nodded his head, "Yea, it wasn't the station wagon we've been looking for."

Once clear of the security men Ron punched the accelerator and began laughing, _"Old Jedi mind trick…Booyah."_

Then the more serious side of his nature took over and he began thinking as he drove to the Space Center, _"So __Hamilton__'s finest are after me. Have to definitely stay on my toes and stay armed from now on." _

**

* * *

**

Ron drove by the Space Center and spied the same little old guy sitting in the guard booth as when he broke in over a year ago. He drove a mile and half up the road and turned onto a gravel county access road and drove until he found enough room to pull off and park.

_"They want me to take a security job or a housekeeping position so they can use me for a lab rat whenever they want...Cold day in hell."_ Ron thought bitterly as he sat behind the wheel of the wagon watching to make sure no one knew he was there.

After a half hour Ron got out of the car and made his way down into a dried up drainage ditch and slowly maneuvered the length of the fence until he came to a section that wasn't lit as well as the others. He looked up and saw the razor wire on top of the 10ft. high chain link fence.

He smiled as he remembered going through the fence last year. He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing and moved as quickly as he could thru the fence. Once on the other side he made his way towards building one. He noted that administration building where Doctor Wong office was very well lit.

Ron stayed in the weeds and undergrowth as he worked his way towards the building. He lay prone on the ground as he watched the building, _"Two front doors are glass, too well lit to use. The back door...I think is in front of me..._ _Lot__'s of cigarette butts, must be where everyone comes to for smoke breaks...It doesn't appear well lit."_

He quickly got to his feet and made his way across the grounds as quickly as possible once he reached the door he didn't stop he just went straight through and into building one.

Ron folded himself into a corner and looked down the hall, he could hear nothing. He slowly moved down the hallway and tried to take in as many features as he could so he could remember how he had come into the building.

He found a directory listing of all the offices when he next to the elevators as he drew near the end of the hallway, _"You are here...I'm by office 118...Doctor Wong's office is directly ahead...office 100."_

All the hallways looked the same in the dark. Ron examined where the elevators were and carefully noted the offices at the end of this corridor, _"OK, let's go to the lab."_

Office 100 loomed in front of him and he smiled easily recognizing it from earlier in the day. Ron pulled his shirt out of his pants and used it to cover his hand so he wouldn't leave any finger prints on the door handle.

He turned the knob and it opened, he walked into the darkened reception area. The only lighting was from two small table lamps, _"So far so good, now let's have a look at the office door."_

Ron examined the door closely, _"No wiring, no card reader, no security that I can detect...wait?"_

There were voices coming up the hallway. Ron quickly scurried underneath the secretary's desk and listened for them to pass, _"Make it quick guys, being all scrunched up under here is killing my knee." _

_"So anyway when you're in building one you shine you flash light into Dr. Wong's office. See the key just behind the plant in the corner near her door?"_ The one guard asked.

_"Yea"_ Answered the second.

_"Head on in there and turn the key and then we'll head up to the second floor."_

Ron heard the door open and he held his breath. He could hear the steps one after another and then he heard keys jingling, _"Come on guys."_

He heard the guard insert the key and turn it. Then he listened to the footsteps heading away from the panel, _"So you guys ever have any break-ins around here?"_

_"Nope, no one cares what these eggheads do...The only job I ever seen where you put in your 40 hours every week and you don't have to produce anything."_ The first guard answered.

Ron stretched his legs out and breathed a sigh of relief, _"If I was in charge of security around here you guys would be on the street."_

He continued to sit under the desk until the voices were far away and then he heard the ding of the passenger elevator from down the hallway. He crawled out from under the desk and walked up to Dr. Wong's office door, _"With such professional security officers who needs alarms right?"_

Ron reached for the door handle and then stopped, _"What am I thinking just go through the damn door."_ He thought as he shook his head and moved quickly thru the door.

Once on the other side of the door he looked around the office and spied Dr. Wong's white lab coat and hanging off of the coat was a badge, _"This is way too easy."_ He thought as he collected the badge and pressed the button to call for the elevator.

The elevator door opened silently and Ron stepped inside and pressed the button for lower level and Lab 13. The elevator silently carried him down and opened the doors releasing him into a hallway, _"Here we go."_

He walked in the shadows as he approached the door, he held Dr. Wong's badge in front of the card reader and heard the door click. Then he froze and let the door lock again without opening it, _"Go thru the door dummy."_

Ron stepped back and launched himself towards the door, once he passed thru to the other side he made his way directly to the room with the chair. He turned on the lights and found Dr. Wong's note books.

He pulled up a chair by the mainframes and began to read the notes, _"Oh my God, she did know about Babbette...She also knew I was falling hard for Bonnie...Bonnie may have lied to me about Kim but she still could have found a way to keep in touch with me."_ He thought sadly as he looked over the notes.

Most of the notes were benign. Kim's vital signs various settings for the computers, the belief that prolonged use of the machine could be addictive. Ron looked at the chair, _"They won't have to worry about that for much longer."_

The last date entered in the books was the date he set up the bachelor party. He breathed a little easier, _"Great no mention of Mariko or Yori...They may be safe or Kim might not have told her about what she had seen…She knew I couldn't walk when she stranded me last week."_

Ron shook his head sadly as he piled the notebooks up in the center of the room to make sure they would burn and then he thought of the DVD. He made his way towards the player and ejected the disc. He examined it and all it said on the disc was Gaza City written in black sharpie.

He looked around the room and saw a large paper shredder. Ron walked over to it and fed the disk into the shredder. The machine made a horrible crunching noise as it chewed the disc to pieces, _"Now that's out of the way its time to torch this place." _

Now came the hard part, setting the place on fire. He began searching the lab for anything flammable, _"Kim always was better at wanton destruction than I was."_ He thought as he looked in the cabinets.

Then he spotted what he needed. Six one gallon glass bottles of acetone Ron looked at the bottles, _"Highly flammable...this will do." _

Ron carried the bottles into the lab placed them on the table with the computers. He took a breath and looked at the ceiling, _"Sprinkler system, this will not work if fire system kicks in."_

He ran as quickly as his knee would allow up and down the hallway till he found what he was looking for a locked door marked 'Fire System'. He backed up and ran thru the door into darkness.

He cursed as he felt along the wall for a light switch and turned it on. There he saw a large black box hanging on the wall. Ron opened the smoked glass door and looked it over, _"Large red button that says power...It couldn't be that easy could it?" _

With a shrug Ron pressed the button and the system shut down, _"Well that was easy." _

Now for his next obstacle to overcome, _"How do I touch this fire off, I don't have a lighter."_

He searched the lab looking for anything to start the fire with and then he spotted it. A small desk sat in the corner of the lab with a name tag, 'Kimberly Possible'. Ron smiled at the find.

Ron looked the desk over and saw pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P., Jim, Tim and finally a picture of him goofing off with Sergei and Tirza in Israel, _"Too bad it has to be like this but she should have known better."_

He opened the center door and found what he was looking for, a cigarette lighter. As Ron began to prepare the room for the coming blaze he realized he was almost disappointed. He had half expected to find three pounds worth of C-4 plastic explosives in Kim's desk complete with timers.

Once the preparations had been made Ron stood back and looked around, _"Did I forget anything...Oh yea."_

Ron walked into the next room and retrieved the Plexiglas cage containing Mortimer and Candi. He looked at the rodents and said quietly, "No sense burning you guys up too, you never did anything to anyone."

It was time. Ron shattered the bottles and set off the fire. He grabbed the cage containing the mice and made his way to the elevator. He made his way back to the station wagon without incident. He loaded the lab rats into the back seat and drove away.

Once he reached the road he switched his lights on and could see the old man in the guard booth gesturing wildly as he spoke into the phone. Thick plumes of smoke were rising from building one and Ron smiled, _"Gee you'd almost think there was a fire in there or something."_

He looked at the time on the car's radio, "Its 12:45, time to get something to drink." He said to himself wearily.

Ron drove to Smarty Mart and parked the wagon. He looked over the seat to his two passengers, "You guys wait here and I'll be right back."

There wasn't a lot of people in the store and very few people that he knew from when he worked at the store. He made his way to the liquor isle and searched for something cheap to get drunk on.

Alcohol is alcohol he figured as he searched the shelves for something to drink. Then he spotted it, a friendly looking bottle that said 'Southern Comfort' on the label. He picked up the 750 ml bottle and smiled, _"I could use some comfort right about now."_

**

* * *

**

With his newly purchased bottle of whisky in tow it was time to go visit Quarry Lake to deaden the pain in his knee and to deaden the emotional pain of remembering how he was wounded.

He drove into the parking lot and looked around. There were several cars in the lot, one of the cars he recognized as Monique's was rocking back and forth at a steady pace. Ron laughed and shook his head, "Go Tirza Go." He said quietly as he broke the seal on the bottle and took a drink.

The alcohol burned as it went down and Ron made a face and shook his head, _"Yuck…Still I've had worse."_

Ron got out of the car with his bottle of Southern Comfort and the Plexiglas cage and limped to the bush that he and Lacey his in on their date two years ago. He sat down heavily on the ground with his back against a hill and began to rub his knee, _"Knee's swelling again, too much exertion."_

He opened the cage and dumped the rats out onto the ground, "Go, take off, be free." He said as he shooed the rats away.

The Plexiglas cage was thrown into the lake with a spiteful giggle escaping his lips, _"Damn day before anyone puts me in a cage."_

The sky was full of stars and Ron stared up into them and took a long pull from the bottle, _"She said…I know all your secrets…No one should know…all of anyone's secrets."_

The liquor began to work on him as his knee was still throbbing but it was numb now. He took another long pull from the bottle and closed his eyes. He thought of all the humiliating and embarrassing things that Kim now knew and one memory in particular disturbed him. Disturbed him so much he hardly thought about it.

He was thirteen years old and in the Jewish tradition he had read from the Torah in the Temple during his Bar Mitzvah. The super bowl for young Jewish boys, in the eyes of the Temple and the Jewish religion he was now considered a man.

During the first semester of his freshman year of High School he took Physical Education class, better known as P.E. Ron was the youngest boy in the class and was teased about it, nothing too serious. Just mild teasing about the fact that Ron hadn't developed pubic hair by the other boys when they were in the showers after class was over.

Ron took another long pull from the bottle as the memories began to consume him. The teasing wasn't so bad, but one day for some reason he could never quite be sure of it turned ugly.

The game was called War Ball a particular favorite of Coach Barkin the gym was split into two sides and the boys were split into two groups. Shirts and skins, one team wore shirts one team didn't. Ron was on the team that didn't wear shirts.

The object of the game was to run up to the dividing line and hit your opponent as hard as you could with a red rubber ball. Once you were hit you sat out and waited until someone on the other team got hit and you would return to the game.

It was a game designed for the most aggressive of boys. They would try to hit you in the head or the back with the ball as hard as they could. Ron's strategy was different he through at the feet because it was harder to move out of the way or to catch the ball and his team mates would rejoin the game.

Ron was good at dodging so he was usually one of the last ones left. On this day he took a couple of good shots that left big red splotches on his back and stomach. Then the game was over and Barkin made the "Hit the showers, you will all take showers, I want to see wet backs in that locker room."

The whiskey was beginning to taste good now as he stared off into the distance remembering his single most humiliating event of his life. He remembered grabbing his shirt and heading in to the locker room. He undressed and took his shower. There was the usual insults hurled his way and he did what he always did, ignore them.

He stepped out of the shower and began to dry off when Coach Barkin walked thru the locker room making sure everyone took their showers. After Barkin left the locker room he felt the hand on the back of his neck shoving his face into the lockers.

Then crack of wet towels being snapped against his butt and back of his legs, over and over again. He tried to get away but whoever had him by the neck was too strong and the snapping towels continued to raise red marks and welts on his butt and the back of his legs.

One particular well aimed shot hit him in the small of the back and he let out a scream. This got the boys attention and they let him go, fearing a return by Coach Barkin and Ron slumped to the ground crying.

It had been six years but Ron could still hear the sickening sound of the towels and worse yet, the laughter of the boys who did it. After it was over and everyone had fled the locker room, he pulled himself to his feet and dressed and headed for his next class.

From that day on he never dressed out in gym clothes for P.E. class again and he never turned his back on anyone in the class. His grade went from a 'B' to a 'D' for the semester.

The next semester he dropped P.E. and took typing 1 with Kim. He never told Kim or anyone else what had happened that day in P.E. class. How could you tell anyone that you got your ass kicked because you didn't have any pubic hair he thought sadly? And now he was convinced that Kim knew because of mental focusing device.

Ron wiped tears from his face and took another drink for the bottle, _"No one should know everything…I was only thirteen…It wasn't my fault."_

_"If that happened know….Well it wouldn't happen now because Barkin would walk in and say 'Stoppable why do all these fine young strong men have broken necks and nasal cartilage shoved into their brains.' Small and weak my ass."_ He thought as he laughed bitterly.

Ron looked over to his left looked at Mortimer and Candi scurrying about, "I was a man…I read from the Torah…It wasn't my fault Rabbi Katz didn't sign the certificate…I didn't know." He told the disinterested rats.

* * *

Kim had seen Ron drive by the house in the afternoon in the station wagon and now it was pushing 2:00 AM and he still hadn't come home. Now she was getting worried. He didn't respond well to the after effects of the truth ray or to any of the experiments that were being performed at the Space Center, _"I wonder where he could be."_

She closed her eyes. She knew where he was, Quarry Lake. She turned from the window and began to change her clothes, _"I'll head out there and talk to him…He's always been prone to drama. This is no big deal" _

Silence was the key word as Kim slipped out of the house and into her car. She just put the key into the ignition when her cell phone went off. Kim let out a small shriek before fumbling in her purse for the phone.

Her shoulders slumped when she saw the call was coming from Monique and not Ron who she been hoping would call all day. On the third ring she answered the phone, "Hey Mon."

"Hey girlfriend, just thought I'd let you know. Ron's wagon is at Quarry Lake."

Kim let out a small growl and started the car, "I figured that was where he was hiding."

"Yea well don't get too worked up. There's no one in the car and it's not rocking so I think he's here alone."

She left her neighborhood behind as she embarked on her journey to Quarry Lake, "So you and Tirza have a nice workout?"

Monique's laughter was clear over the phone, "But of course, I think he is getting stronger...I'm just what the doctor ordered."

Kim frowned, "Well I've had enough of Ron's pity fiesta and sulking so I'm going to be Dr. Phil tonight and give him a dose of tough love."

"Tough love girl, he'll thank you later."

Kim giggled nervously, "I hope so...I'm going to hang up. I need to do some thinking before I start yelling at him to straighten up."

"All right, good luck and I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The Sheriff's department came an ran the young lovers out of the park. They looked at the brown station wagon and saw that it was empty. They shined their light around the lake.

Ron remained still behind a bush that hid him from sight. The bottle of Southern Comfort was three quarters empty and he was feeling no pain in his knee. His mind however wasn't so lucky.

He had tried to summon happy thoughts but somehow none of them would come. Now he was trying once again to imagine how his daughter looked and shivered at the thought of Kim and the scientists finding out about her.

His lips were dry so he licked them and thought about Bonnie and when she first came over to Israel. The memory brought a smile to his face as he remembered Bonnie in the little nightie teasing him and how that didn't last for long.

When he wasn't on base he began living with her and was happy. It didn't matter that she had lied about Kim getting married. It was just the fact that he was happy and happy with her. Deep down in his heart he had believed that she was happy with him as well. He never said anything to her though for fear of being humiliated. Just in case it was one of her games.

Then Kim showed up after not communicating with him for nearly six months trying to beat up Bonnie. He smiled and shook his head at the memory. Then a dark cloud descended over him.

_"What would happen if she found out about Yori and Mariko? She flew to the other side of the world to beat Bonnie up. What would she do to Yori if she found out about the baby?"_ Ron put a hand over his mouth as he thought about just what Kim could do if she wanted to.

_"Yori could hold her own, but she's had a baby and may not be as sharp as she used to be."_ Ron began to panic and then calmed himself. In his mind it all came down to one thing.

"Kim must never know." He said quietly under his breath.

"What shouldn't I know?" The voice said from behind him

Ron scrambled drunkenly to his feet and stared bug eyed at Kim, _"I'm in the chair, it was a trick. I knew breaking into the __Space_ _Center__ was too easy. I'm sorry Yori."_

Kim tilted her head and looked at him strangely, "Ron, are you OK?"

His face was a mask of horror and he looked around quickly but he couldn't think of anything to say. So he said nothing. He just stood there staring at her, _"Did I say that out loud? How did she find me?"_

"Look I know you had a tough time at the Space Center today, but the mental focusing unit is really no big." She told him as she stepped towards.

Ron backed away from her still not saying anything.

Kim looked down at him and saw the liquor bottle. She closed her eyes and shook her head, "Look, I can see you're not in any shape for a serious talk right now...You want me to give you a ride home?"

He still did not respond and his facial expression never changed. Kim nodded her head, "We'll talk about this tomorrow." She said as she turned to leave.

"NO"

Kim turned back around, "What?"

Ron shook his head, "No, it's over...I've had enough."

She rolled her eyes, "Always the drama, Ron your drunk...We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"No, we're through, I've had enough." Ron said evenly.

Kim turned to face him again and Ron shook his head, "Go home Kim."

"Ron, I know it's been hard on you with being wounded...I saw you in the chair. I know what you went through." Kim tried to explain to him as she was becoming more upset.

"HA"

Kim didn't like the way he was looking at her so she tried to calm him down, "Ron, come on you seen the DVD I experienced those things with you. I know the pain you went through."

Ron's eyes went wide open, "YOU KNOW NOTHING, NOTHING ABOUT WHAT I WENT THROUGH! YOU SAT IN A CHAIR! YOU'RE NOT THE ONE THAT HAD RED HOT PIECES OF METAL PIERCING YOUR FLESH..."

He began to run out of steam and tears began flow, "Your not the one that had to come back here...Have people look at you like you were a freak...Tina looked at me like I was a piece of trash...I just wanted to dance at the wedding...They threw me out...I never did anything to them..."

She tried to come forward to comfort him but Ron backed away again, "Don't you touch me...You know nothing...The only one that knows is Bonnie...Bonnie was there...Bonnie helped me when there was no one else. She didn't spy on me from a chair...Or betray me or wreck friendships...or...or strand me in the middle of no where knowing I couldn't walk."

Kim shook her head, "Ron it wasn't like..."

"Go home Kim, its over."

What she said next would be something she would regret for the rest of her life. She had no idea why she said it but she said it. She placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes and told Ron in her most menacing voice, "I can make you stay with me if I want."

Ron shuddered as he closed his eyes and turned his back on her.

She turned and walked unsteadily back up the small hill to the parking lot, _"He's drunk...I'll smooth everything over with him tomorrow." _She thought sadly.

Ron turned watched Kim walk up the hill. Get into her car and leave. His anger was still very much alive. He took another long drink form the bottle and began to mull it all over in his mind, _"So it was about mind control...I may have sat her scientist friends back a few weeks but they'll find a way to get even with me."_

He heaved a sigh, _"My life is not my own...Too many secrets to protect and now a daughter...What if they get the machine running?"_

Ron turned up the bottle and took the last drink out of it, _"What happens if they tap me again and Kim and her friends find out about Mariko? I mean Kim really wouldn't have to go over there and beat up Yori."_

He turned and watched Kim's tail lights vanish in the distance, _"Ninjitsu is still a banned practice in __Japan__. If they informed on Yamanouchi to the authorities...Training agents of the Japanese Secret Service or not...There would be an out cry to close the school."_

In his minds eye he could see Sensei being arrested along with Yori and his daughter being taken away and put in an orphanage where he would never be able to find her. Ron's jaw quivered, _"If it would give Kim a measure of control...She'd do it. It would all be my fault. They're way of life destroyed and it would all be my fault." _

He hurled the bottle as far as he could into the lake, _"You know what has to be done...You're the weak link."_

Ron walked back up the hill to the station wagon and took his Glock out of the glove compartment. He examined the gun and the pulled the slide back just enough to see that it was loaded, _"I'm the weak link...I know what has to be done...Wong knows about what I can do and it won't be long before the Space Center drops a load of money on a more powerful machine to dig out all my secrets."_

He chuckled sadly, _"I guess the White Guardians will have to find someone else to do they're fighting for them...I failed. I'm sorry Yori...I'm sorry Mariko...I'd of given anything to seen you...its really best this way. You'll all be safe."_

Ron took two steps back from the station wagon and examined the gun again, _"Sorry mom, I hated to let you down...Sorry Bonnie...You were the best." _

Quarry Lake was his favorite spot in the whole world and now he would find his peace Ron thought sadly as he took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly, put the Glock to the temple of his head and pulled the trigger.


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N: Mature alert, Ron does unpleasant things with many different partners...Not a Disney chapter. Tough chapter to write, tough chapter to read...Ron is very angry. At least the chapter ends happily...I hope.**

* * *

Terrified by Kim and Dr. Wong's mental focusing unit that was used to tap his mind Ron Stoppable fled to Quarry Lake after destroying the lab at the Space Center. He intended to drink and think things over. 

Kim Possible knowing that Ron was upset traveled to Quarry Lake to try and comfort her friend but only made things worse for him. Ron in a fit of alcohol influenced rage informed Kim that their relationship was over, along with their life time friendship.

Kim left but Ron was still terrified by what could happen to him and what could happen to Yamanouchi and his daughter if Kim was ever to have access to the machine again.

In his mind there was no recourse, no way out, the only thing he could do to protect his unseen daughter was to kill himself in order to keep their existence secure.

So that is how Ron Stoppable found he was standing in the parking lot of Quarry Lake with Glock 9mm pointed at his temple. He said a few quick farewells to his loved ones, squeezed his eyes tightly shut and then pulled the trigger.

He whimpered as he heard the click of the firing pin contacting the primer but there was no gun shot. No 115 grain full metal jacketed bullet rocketing thru his head blowing out gray brain matter, skull and hair.

His shoulders slumped and Ron rolled his head on his shoulders and giggled. Then he pulled the trigger three more times in rapid succession each pull of the trigger failing to discharge the firearm.

Ron pointed the gun towards the lake, pulled the trigger and jumped as the gun went off and the brass shell casing went tumbling to the ground, _"My life is not my own. I can't even kill myself, Damn you White Guardians." _He thought bitterly.

"WELL, WHAT DO I DO NOW?" He screamed into the night.

He stood there for what seemed like hours but was probably no more than twenty minutes before replacing the gun in the glove compartment and sliding behind the driver's seat, _"Figures there'd be no answer. I'll call Bonnie when I get home and then try to meditate and reach Sensei maybe there is something I can do to shut my mind off to them."_

The crazy laughter of someone who had just cheated death came to him, "_Me thinks it would have been better to have shot Kim...This'll be the last time that crazy red head has me with a gun to my head."_ He thought bitterly as he slipped the car into drive and started his trip back to his parent's house.

The early morning drive home was uneventful. Ron knew he was drunk and took his time navigating the empty streets of Middleton. He made the turn into the subdivision and looked over at the Possible's house and saw Kim's light was on, _"Oh go to bed you've wreaked enough havoc for two lifetimes."_

He parked the station wagon in front of the house and made his way into the kitchen and sat down heavily in the chair, _"I'm starving I haven't eaten all day."_

Reaching into the side pocket of his army pants he pulled out one of the beef jerky sticks he hid there earlier the day before, _"Better than nothing I guess...Now to call Bonnie...How do I tell her about this nightmare?"_

Ron polished off the beef jerky and fumbled for the slightly squashed peanut butter crackers in his front pocket, _"I don't know how much to tell her...I mean...I might freak her out and she might not like me anymore."_ He thought sadly as he devoured the crackers.

The effects of the Southern Comfort were wearing off and he was becoming tired. The events of the previous day had not only been physically draining but mentally draining as well. Still he looked at the phone, _"I have to talk to her."_

He pulled out his wallet and found the directions on how to make an over seas call and dialed her number. The familiar ring of Israel's phone company made him smile. It was familiar and now he didn't feel so very far from home any longer.

"Shalom"

Ron smiled and chuckled, "Shalom Bonnie"

"Hey Ron, How are things at home?"

Ron laughed bitterly, "Not good, I have a broken nose."

"WHAT? How did that happen?"

He could hear the concern in her voice and that made him feel good, "Awww I got sucker punched at the Middleton Days festival...Guy tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was Ron Stoppable. I said I was and boom he punches me."

"Eeeeck Did you have him arrested?"

"Don't know what he looks like, Sergei and Sam kicked the crap out him though." Ron said with a laugh.

Bonnie giggled, "Well that's good...So how's Kim?"

Ron was quiet for a moment trying to decide how best to answer the question, "We broke up."

Bonnie Rockwaller's eyebrows shot up as she held the phone away from her mouth, "YESSSSSS" She whispered triumphantly as she pumped her fist in the air.

"Well...Why Ron what happened?" She asked trying to hide her initial excitement.

He was silent as he continued to think in his cluttered mind, "I...It's too hard to explain on the phone...Let's just say there are certain things you should never do to someone...Certain lines you should never cross."

Bonnie carried the wireless phone into the living room and sat on the couch, _"Wow, what did she do to him?"_

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

Ron chewed on a thumb nail trying to decide if Bonnie was really interested or if it was just a game to her. He had just been hurt and he was afraid that Bonnie might heap on the pain.

"Ron?"

"Yea...Sorry...When you going to be coming home again?" Ron said nervously.

Bonnie smiled at the thought of seeing him again without Kim in the picture, "A couple of weeks...Actually 10 days. We started our finals here."

Ron straightened up in the chair, "So how are your finals going so far?"

"Umm...Not real good...I'm kind of soft on famous Jews of the Torah...Noah was the guy that parted the Red Sea right?" Bonnie asked teasingly to try and cheer him up.

It worked. Ron began laughing to the point he was almost hyperventilating, "No that was Moses." He said between howls of laughter.

Bonnie giggled, "I know, it's good to hear you laugh again."

He felt a wave of emotion wash over him, love, gratitude, relief. He wiped his eyes and continued to laugh, "I don't think I've laughed that hard for a very long time."

"Well it sounded like you needed a good one."

Ron sat in the kitchen grinning from ear to ear, "I miss you."

Bonnie breathed a relaxed sigh, "I miss you too...So...uh...You have any plans for when I get back into town?"

He smiled and nodded, "I...I was hoping we could hook up and go out...Talk about some things...No sex."

Bonnie laughed, "Yea...No sex."

There was an awkward silence before Bonnie spoke again, "Ron are you OK?"

Ron let out a deep breath and a smile and nodded before answering, "Yea...I think I'm going to be OK."

Mrs. Stoppable walked bleary eyed into the kitchen and gave Ron a nasty look. Ron saw this and cringed. He held up one finger to his mother, "OK Bonnie...ahhh...I think Mom is going to yell at me here so I have to hang up."

Bonnie laughed, "Your mother is a nice lady, so don't go making things hard on her."

He laughed and nodded nervously, "OK...Well...I will see you when you come home in 10 days."

Ron said his goodbyes and turned to his mother and smiled, "That was Bonnie on the phone."

Mrs. Stoppable nodded her head, "You smell like you've been drinking."

"Bonnie told me to tell you that you are the most wonderful loving mother in the whole wide world and that she hopes to be as good to her sons one day as you are to me." Ron said jovially as he gave his mother a big hug and tried to move past her for the basement stairs.

"Huh huh, No, where have you been all night?" She asked a very nervous looking Ron.

Ron licked his lips, "Kim and I broke up."

"Where have you been all night?" His mother asked again.

"Breaking up with Kim and drinking...I'm going to try and have a relationship with Bonnie...I think." He said nervously as he eyed his mother for any hint of a reaction.

"Your friends are worried about you. Spend more time with them, and quit drinking." His mother said evenly.

Ron nodded happily as he made his way to the basement stairs, "I will...Promise"

**

* * *

**

Kim arrived at promptly 9:30 AM for work only to find the smoldering ruins of building one and Doctor Wanda Wong waiting for her outside the area that was marked off with yellow crime scene tape.

"What happened here?" Kim asked shocked at all of the damage that had been caused during the night by the fire.

Dr. Wong looked at Kim sadly, "I think Ronald decided he didn't want to participate in the experiments."

Kim shoulders slumped. She was still tired after having been up for most of the night trying to figure out where she went wrong with Ron. Looking over the devastation, "You don't think Ron did this do you?"

Dr. Wong shook her head, "I don't know Kim, we looked at the security tapes and no one went into the lap or the building other than security all night long...The video of the lab shows no one there but clearly shows things being moved around and then poof the fire starts."

Kim looked into the smoldering ruins, _"That sounds like Ron."_

"Mortimer and Candi?" She asked almost afraid to hear the answer.

"On the video footage they were on the table one minute and then they too were gone."

Kim breathed a sigh of relief, _"At least Ron didn't burn them up too."_

Dr. Wong shook her head sadly, "Kim, I'm going to shutter the project. Without Ronald's help there really isn't any point of continuing it…I'm going to move into building 12 where your father works and increase the funding on the Pan Dimensional Vortex Inducer."

"So do I move with you or go to another department?" Kim asked nervously.

Dr. Wong shook her head, "Neither, unfortunately I'm going to have to lay you off…I will give you a months severance pay. Since you told me about your school problems, I talked to some of my friends at Rutgers University where I got my doctorate if you would like to go there."

Kim stared into space, "Ron…broke up with me last night."

Dr. Wong closed her eyes and nodded her head sadly, "I'm sorry Kim. I knew he didn't take it so well…Maybe if you give him some time to cool down…"

"I…I'm going to try and call him later today." Kim said sadly.

Dr. Wong smiled sadly, "I know this has to be quite a blow Kim but it's not the end of the world...Look into attending Rutgers, it's a fine school and maybe you'll meet that someone there."

Kim's mind began to grasp what Dr. Wong was telling her, "I...I'll have to start from scratch...My grades weren't great. I feel like I just wasted a year of my life."

Dr. Wong put her arm around Kim and smiled, "It wasn't a complete waste...You got to make science. Science is never a waste."

Kim smiled and nodded her head and turned away from the ruined building and then turned back to Dr. Wong, "So did they ever say what had caused the fire?"

"Arson...We're going to write it off on the insurance as an electrical fire...No evidence to have anyone arrested and those insurance companies like nice tidy answers." She said wearily.

Kim had her head down. She was clearly depressed, _"Nothing has gone like it should have since Ron came back home...Now I'm out of a job...I'm just so tired."_

She started the car and left the Space Center to head for home and go back to bed. Once she had some sleep she was confident she could make things right with Ron again.

**

* * *

**

He awoke to the feeling that he was being watched. He thought that maybe the Space Center had repaired the mental focusing device and were going to punish him, but he knew that likelihood was small.

Ron opened one eye and saw Sergei staring at him, "When are you getting up, Bina wants me to go clothes shopping at the mall and she is driving me crazy."

The head was still a bit fuzzy as he sat up on his cot, "Mall...She wants you to buy her clothes?"

Sergei shook his head, "No, you are still hung over from last night...She wants me to buy myself new clothes...She says I look like a poor gypsy peasant in my civilian clothes."

Ron laughed, "Well tunics kind of went..."

Sergei hurled a pillow at him, "Shut up, I don't need you driving me crazy either."

"I'll get cleaned up and we'll head out to the mall." Ron said as he struggled to his feet.

Ron scanned the basement, "Tirza with Monique?"

Sergei nodded, "Sam is guarding Sima from the two twin boys...They are trying to learn Hebrew but are butchering the language. You might want to talk to them before Sam beats the shit out of them."

"I see...time for a shower." Ron took the stairs gingerly as his knee was swollen from the previous night's activities.

He went through the kitchen and into the living room. There he saw Jim and Tim trying out their newly acquired Hebrew skills on Sima. Who was either red from embarrassment or red from anger? Ron scratched his head and thought about it for a moment. Then he decided since she has no qualms about running around naked that she must be angry.

"So what is going on here? He asked in Hebrew.

Sam looked at Ron, "Sergeant twin boys are coming very close to being beaten to bloody pulps."

Jim and Tim looked as some sort of hand held gizmo and then turned to Ron and tried to converse in Hebrew, "Our onion is trying only breasts cleaning."

Sima rolled her eyes, "They will not stop following me...They give me the creeps."

Ron wiggled his finger at the twins, "Come with me."

The two boys gave each other a pained expression as they followed Ron out into the front yard. Once they were clear of the house Ron decided to level with them, "See the really angry looking guy sitting next to Sima?"

They nodded their heads, "Yea" Said Tim

"He's cramping our style." Said Jim

Ron frowned and lowered his voice, "Sam Cello is a Golani shock trooper just like myself...He was assigned to be my body guard when we pushed into Southern Lebanon. I assigned him to keep some distance between you and Sima so she could enjoy here vacation to the United States."

"Yea...So we made..." Tim started.

"this really cool translation device." Jim finished.

"Look it's really nice you guys like Sima and everything but pestering her non stop about her body is the wrong thing to do...All you doing is making her hate both of you."

"SEE I TOLD YOU TIM!" Jim shouted.

"ME?" Cried Tim.

"STOP!" Yelled Ron and then he looked at the two boys, "Why don't you guys just head home for the day...Give Sima a break and try to perfect your device...Somehow I don't think telling her that, 'Our onion is trying only breasts cleaning' is going to impress her."

Jim and Tim nodded their heads and then turned to leave. Tim stopped and turned back to Ron, "You and Kim going out tonight."

He scowled and shook his head, "NO"

The twins continued to walk down the street and Ron turned and walked back into the house. Sam walked up to him and said quietly, "Give me the word and I will pound both of them."

Ron looked at him and pulled him away to where Sima couldn't hear him, "You need to straighten yourself out. Trying to touch Sima in places she does not want to be touched is not going to make her like you. It is about time that you stopped acting like those two and started behaving as Golani soldier should."

Sam gaped at him not believing what he had just heard and then nodded his head resignedly, "Yes Sergeant...I will try to behave more like a Knight of Zion."

"Good I know you can do this. Now get everyone ready to roll while I get cleaned up. We are going to the mall so Bina can shop for Sergei." Ron said with a wicked grin.

Sam laughed, "We only need to go to the fat men's store."

An arm came around Sam's neck from out of nowhere and before he knew what was going on he was in a head lock from Sergei, "What kind of store do I need again short one?"

Ron headed upstairs laughing as Sam fought furiously to get out of Sergei's head lock, "I will be back in a little bit."

His thoughts became hopeful as he headed for the bathroom, _"Hopefully I can find a friend or two to talk to at the mall."_

**

* * *

**

Ron, Sergei, Bina, Sima, and Sam descended on the Middleton Mall. Bina drug Sergei off to the clothing stores, Sam and Sima ran off to the arcade and Ron found the Electronic Boutique store

He smiled as he looked at the friendly looking establishment. The store was one of Ron's favorites back in the days when he and Felix were heavily into Zombie Mayhem video game.

Sadly after Felix and his mother moved away Ron gave up the console games. It wasn't a conscious decision it was just that no one else seemed to be all that interested in playing. Kim would play if you twisted her arm enough but it just wasn't the same as with Felix.

Before he left Felix gave Ron all the information that he would need to contact him and his mother after they moved to Fairfax, Virginia. Ron placed the paper in his pocket and forgot to take it out before it went through the wash where it was lost to him forever.

Before he entered the store he saw Mary Gariono walking towards him. Ron smiled at the cute brunette and waived, "Hey Mary"

Mary glared at him and walked to the other side of the mall to avoid walking near Ron. Who still stood in front of the Electronic Boutique store waving with a slightly baffeled expression on his face.

Ron shook his head sadly, _"I wonder what that was all about?"_

Once inside the store he stopped and inhaled the new game console smell and began to examine the games on the shelf and then became transfixed on the latest Zombie Mayhem game, _"I don't believe it Zombie Mayhem VI….Too cool!"_

Ron watched the demo on the monitor. The games hero running around wielding a M4 machine gun killing mutant zombies as fast as the gun could spray bullets. He was in awe of the improved graphics and game play until he reached a spot in the demo that sent chills up his spine.

The hero was trapped in a house and zombies were coming through the door trying to kill him. Ron thought of Gaza City and stared at the screen transfixed. The hero dropped zombie after zombie until they created a pile of bodies that was filling up the door way.

Ron wiped his face and stared intently at the monitor as the hero continued to fight. Eventually the hero ran out of ammo and was overwhelmed by teeth mashing zombies that filled the screen.

Upon seeing this Ron shuddered and stepped backwards and then watched the demo as it started again from the beginning. He watched the demonstration on the monitor over and over again. Sweating, rubbing his chin and running it all through his mind until a voice caught his attention.

"You can use all the latest cheat codes and I'll spot you 100,000 points and I'll still kick your ass."

Ron jumped, then looked to the left and saw no one, then to the right and saw no one. He shook his head and focused on the monitor again.

"Behind you Ron."

He turned around and saw his old friend Felix Renton. Ron shook his head in disbelief, "Felix?"

Felix smiled and nodded, "Yep, that's…"

He didn't get a chance to finish before Ron leaned over and hugged him, "Man you don't know how much I've missed you over the last few years."

"I was beginning to wonder why I never heard from you."

Ron released the wheel chair bound man from his embrace, "Man that piece of paper went through the wash and…"

Felix began laughing, "I thought it was something like that…You were always so easily distracted."

"Hey, where's that cool chair of yours? What happened to the fancy one?" Ron inquired as he looked over the stock wheel chair.

Felix tilted the chair up and spun around before setting the chair down again, "Mom and I started this company. We're trying to sell cybernetic devices to the government for soldiers that have been injured in Iraq."

Ron shook his head, still not quite understanding. So Felix filled him in some more on the plan, "Well the government would never pop for a chair like mine for the returning vets so I'm out doing field research to see what kind of devices would be best utilized by the disabled vets."

Now he understood, "So your undercover as it were…Cool, very cool."

Felix made a muscle, "Making myself look buff for the ladies…Never saw me with muscles before…Manual wheel chairs do have benefits."

Felix looked at Ron's face and winced, "Where did you get that nose job?"

Ron looked at him strangely and then nodded his head in comprehension, "I got sucker punched at the Middleton Days festival."

"Wow you really got tagged...Come with me I have someone I want you to meet."

Ron walked with Felix to the food court where there was a man in a wheel chair that didn't have any legs. He saw Felix and waived at him, "Hey Gary, Gary Whitener this is a good buddy of mine Ron Stoppable."

Ron shook the man's hand as Felix filled him in, "Gary lost his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq last year."

"I saw one of those go off on the way in to Gaza City, not much fun." Ron said as he established a common ground with the man.

Gary lifted an eyebrow, "You're the guy that was on the news a few months back, right?"

Ron nodded his head as he sat down at the table, "Yea that was me, I got blown up over there…Lot shrapnel, not pretty."

Felix looked at him strangely, "You got wounded? I figured Kim just had to go over there and save you."

Ron shot Felix a dirty look, "NO one came over there and saved me."

Felix knew enough not to pursue the issue, "Well….ummm…ask Gary how he dances."

"What…oh….ok, Hey Gary how do you dance?" Ron asked.

Gary face lost all emotion and his eyes grew big, "I AIN'T GOT NO LEGS."

Felix and Gary roared with laughter, Ron chuckled nervously as he rubbed his knee. Felix waived his hands in the air, "Gary is kind of helping me with a few things and we're going to try and make him a set of cybernetic legs."

Gary snickered, "They're going to make me bionic."

Ron nodded, "That's great. So you and your mom have a startup company?"

Felix nodded, "Yea….Hey I hear you started dating Kim…How is that going?"

"We broke up." Ron said flatly.

"Ah…Mind if I ask her out." Felix asked teasingly.

Ron shrugged and frowned, "Your funeral"

Felix smiled nervously, "Right…Well…You want to come to the hotel and play some Zombie Mayhem 6?"

"No…No…I kind of played that game for real." Ron said quietly.

"Ronnie, Ronnie, it is you. I'm so happy to see you. I never thought I'd get a chance to see you."

Ron recognized the voice, "Tara?"

He stood up from his chair and Tara flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly, "Ronnie, I knew what they were saying about you wasn't true….I just knew it."

"What…What is everyone saying about me?" Ron asked curiously.

"Well Kim and Monique said you raped Bonnie and put her in the hospital…I knew it wasn't true…Bonnie loves you and…"

"WHAT?" Ron said pulling away from Tara quickly.

Felix looked at him in amazement, "You and Bonnie…I have been out of town a long time."

"Wha...wha...when did they say this?" Ron said as he put his hands on top of his head and looked around in shock.

"We were at Tina's bachelorette party and Kim was crushing on the male stripper and, and, she just sort of blurted it out that she and Monique think you raped Bonnie because she was in the hospital and, and stuff." Tara explained nervously.

Ron slumped into his chair in the food court and stared blindly into space, "It all makes sense now..."

"You all right bro?" The concern was written all over Felix's face.

Ron shook his head no, "Ever since I got back into town it's been one bad thing after another. I never knew why...I figured that people just didn't like me anymore."

Tara took his had and sat down next to him, "I still like you Ronnie, I don't believe what they've been telling everyone."

He squeezed Tara's hand, "Good to know I still have a few friends left."

Felix shook his head, "Now I could see Kim spreading that rumor...but Monique? I thought she'd have more class than that."

Ron looked up, "You could see Kim saying I raped Bonnie?"

"Dude, you're going out with...I guess you're going out with...You know how she feels about Bonnie. She thinks she's the Anti-Christ...She was jealous of me for crying out loud." Felix finished.

Ron took his right hand and began rubbing the back of his neck and tried to reason it out, _"I never thought Kim could be so low...How did she know Bonnie was in the hospital...Oh...Oh the damn chair."_

He closed his eyes as the revelation sank in, "She and Monique did go all the way to Israel to beat up Bonnie and I stopped them."

"I get emails from Bonnie all the time and she always tells me how your doing...I think she's in love with you and Kim is trying to destroy you because of it." Tara said indignantly.

"That explains many things, Mary Gariono, the guy that decked me in the restroom, Tina's behavior...It was all Kim...That bitch, that evil bitch...I'm done." Ron looked to Felix, "You want to date her, go for it."

Felix shook his head, "No...no...She's a little too complex for me."

Ron's temper was beginning to take over, _"Sit in the chair, it was a trap to mind wash me...Get me to stay in Middleton and be a happy little lab rat...I trusted that bitch...I'm sure she's out right now concocting some other chair based fairy tale."_

"Ronnie"

He looked up into Tara's deep blue eyes, "If you want you can go home with me and email Bonnie and I'll show you some of the emails she sent me."

Ron looked over to Felix who gave him a knowing grin, "I'll be in town for a while...Take one of my cards." He told him as he handed Ron a business card.

"I'll...I'll look you up later, Gary...It was good meeting you. Good luck on becoming bionic." He told the man with a smile.

They said their farewells and then Ron with the assistance of Tara found Sam and Sima in the arcade, "Sam, I am going to head out with Tara...I will...What are you two playing?"

Sam laughed not really paying attention to Ron, "I do not know, but she is very good."

Sima glanced at Ron, "Some sort of Zombie Mayhem game...I think."

Ron nodded, "Well I'll see you guys back at the house...Don't let Bina eat my sister."

The two nodded as they continued playing their game. Tara took Ron buy the hand, "I wish we would have had more time together in High School. I always wanted to date you but Kim kept chasing me away."

"Yea...Kim's good for doing dirty stuff like that." Ron said with a flourish of temper.

"My parents are out of town for a few days, with my sister...So no one will be able to interrupt us." Tara said happily.

"Interrupt us?"

Tara giggled, "Yea, you know when you are emailing Bonnie."

"Oh...right." Ron said happily.

**

* * *

**

Tara's purple Dodge Neon pulled into the driveway of a very nice two story house, "This is where I live."

"Nice place." Ron said as he looked at the tall oak trees in front of the house.

Kim sat in the center of her bed listening to the Stoppable's phone ring on and on, "Where could they be?"

Monique shook her head, "I told you I saw them at the mall."

"Do you think he's still mad at me?" Kim asked nervously.

"Ron never stays mad at you long." She told her red headed friend.

"See Ronnie this is a picture from prom, that's you in the center and just behind you to the left is me...It was almost like being in the picture with you." Tara said happily.

Ron nodded nervously and smiled, _"This girl has a Ron-Man obsession...Which is cool I guess."_

"That's great...I still remember you giving me that little peck on the check at..."

"Wannaweep, I had cherry lip gloss on and you were wearing your cheer sweater and khaki pants with your red Nike's." Tara said happily reliving the memory.

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea...uhhh...So...about emailing Bonnie?"

Tara looked down at her feet, "We could do that or...we could do something else."

Ron looked around nervously, "Something else?"

"I...I won't lie to you Ronnie...I've...I've always wanted you." Tara said as she put a hand on Ron's chest.

He backed away nervously, "No Tara...I've got these scars and I...don't look good anymore."

Tara nodded and came close again. Ron's eyes rolled up in his head as he breathed in her perfume. Tara looked up into his eyes, "I know about how badly you were hurt. Bonnie explained it to me in her email...That's how I know you could never hurt Bonnie."

Ron giggled nervously and backed into a wall, "I...I don't think Bonnie would..."

"She doesn't need to know...Ronnie...If we don't...do this now...We may never have another chance." She said seductively just before she took his face in her hands and kissed him.

Monique shook her head, "Girl, I don't think that..."

"OHHHHH Tara smells like strawberries." Kim said lewdly before quickly covering her mouth.

Monique blinked, "Tara now?"

Kim's shoulders slumped and she said bitterly, "I might as well just give him all the phone numbers of the cheer squad. I mean he seems determined to sleep with all of us."

Tara peeled Ron's shirt off and he stood before her nervously. She rubbed his chest, "Bonnie never told me about the bruise." She said quietly.

"We can stop now if you want...I...I'll understand." Ron whispered to her.

Tara shook her head and pulled off her top, "Help me with my bra."

As she turned her back a half smile played over Ron's lips and his eyes flashed blue, _"Kim says we got a psychic link...I'm going to give her one hell of a psychic show then_._" _

"I don't understand where would he meet up with Tara?"

Monique lifted her eyebrows, "In the mall, I seen her there before we left."

Kim fell back on the bed, "This is only going to complicate things even more."

"Well I have to go...Tirza's waiting for me in the car." Monique said nervously as she made her way to the door.

"Ewwwwww Tara's so kinky, nothing like ol' Kimmy."

Monique turned to face her quickly, "He's doing this on purpose isn't he."

Kim closed her eyes and nodded, "Ohhhhh yeaaaaa, Tara's so much better than Kim...Nailing Kim was like screwing a wet fuzzy house slipper."

Monique's mouth fell open, "Oh my God!"

A picture of her and Ron went flying across the room the glass frame shattering all over the floor, "THAT DIRTY SON OF A BITCH WILL NEVER GET A CALL FROM ME...NEVER!"

"I...I got to go...see ya Kim." Monique said hastily as she scampered for the door.

Monique ran for the front door all the while hearing Kim crying and saying more lewd insults about her sexual prowess coming from her ex-boyfriend, _"Man...I hope Tirza never gets that mad at me."_

Ron was sweaty and smiling as he nuzzled Tara's neck. Tara was glassy eyed, "I...I never...you were like a God."

"You just have to have the right inspiration." Ron said in a happy go lucky voice.

Tara smiled happily and nodded, "AGAIN...I want it again."

He hugged her tightly as his eyes once again flashed a deep blue, "Again is not a problem...All night is not a problem." He said wickedly thinking of a certain red head that lived across town having to endure the whole experience blow by blow.

**

* * *

**

It was Wednesday morning when Tara finally dumped off Ron at his house. Where he found a whole house full of people waiting to get a hold of him, "So where have you been all night?" His mother asked.

Ron grinned sheepishly, "I...uh...was with a girl."

He noted that his mother's cheeks were beginning to turn crimson, "But...It's...OK...Because...she...she's friends with Bonnie." Ron said quickly.

His mother narrowed her eyes, "No woman is that friendly with another woman's man."

She had him and he knew it, "Sorry mom..."

"Go inside and clean up, you have friends and a little sister to spend time with." She reminded him angrily.

Ron nodded and walked inside the house to find his sister in a stroller being pushed around by Sima, "We need to go to the store and by supplies for baby. Your mother gave us a list and some money."

He knelt down and made a face at Kaley, "I'll change and be right back."

Sima stepped in front of him, "Why did you not tell us you were going to be gone all night?"

"I...I did not know that I would be gone for a long time." Ron answered in Hebrew.

"I hope she was worth cheating on Bonnie for." Sima said angrily.

Ron began to lose his temper as he pointed at her and then thought better of it as he walked towards the basement to change, _"They would think I was crazy if I told them the truth about everything."_

Tirza and Monique were in the kitchen. Ron narrowed his eyes at Monique, "Monique"

Monique giggled nervously, "Have a fun night."

He didn't answer he just went behind Tirza's chair and headed downstairs, "Shalom Sergei"

"Shalom...So did you have a good night?"

Ron looked at what Sergei was wearing and chuckled, "I had a great night...So...purple is a new color for you."

Sergei smiled, "Tirza was gone all night as well, Bina slept with me last night."

"So...tell me about your new clothes."

He stood up and showed him the outfit he was wearing, "Bina picked this one out...So what do you think?"

Ron fought back a laugh, "Well purple knit golf shirt with purple pants and purple high top shoes." He began laughing hysterically, "You look like a fat sugar plum fairy."

Sergei sat on his cot dejected, "I know...I told Bina that this will not look good on me. It makes me look like a gay circus clown."

"Well...umm...I have nothing to add to this conversation." Ron said as he continued to laugh.

Ron pulled on a fresh shirt and he and Sergei headed upstairs to the kitchen. Monique took one look at Sergei and shook her head, "Mister...You are truly a fashion disaster."

Sergei wilted as Bina came into the room smiling until she saw what Sergei was wearing, "You go down stairs and get the hat and suspenders that came with that outfit...NOW!"

Bina turned her nose up at Ron, "While you were busy screwing the blonde prostitute you found at the mall. Sergei and I found perfectly sensible clothing to wear when he is not on base."

"I see Sergei spending much more time on base in the future." Ron said dryly.

Sergei reappeared wearing the large purple stoker cap and red suspenders that Bina had bought for him. Ron suppressed a grin as he asked, "So which disco are we going to today?"

Sam walked into the kitchen and pointed at Sergei, "He looks like a gay circus clown."

Sergei took off to grab Sam as Ron shook his head, "Load up, it's time to head for Smarty Mart."

Monique began to explain why she and Tirza were not going but never had the chance to as Ron simply turned and walked away. She shook her head, _"Uh oh...I think he's mad at me."_

"Well Tirza let's head for Upperton to see if we can get those Neil Diamond tickets."

Tirza's eyes sparkled, "I will get to live a life long dream."

Monique smiled politely, _"That boy and Neil Diamond."_

"It is such...a wonderful...dream...really."

Ron strapped Kaley in the baby seat, "You're going to a wonderful magical kingdom of discount goods, girl you are so lucky."

Kaley smiled and giggled at her brother, "Yes you know about Smarty Mart don't you...don't you." He cooed at his baby sister.

He climbed out of the backseat and into the passenger's seat. Bina and the very flamboyantly dressed Sergei sat in back with the baby. Sima sat in the middle and Sam was behind the wheel.

"Sam, take us to Smarty Mart." Ron said cheerily as he made himself comfortable.

Ron smiled and thought of Tina Lieberman and hoped to see her again to let her know he was still alive. It had been over a year since Tina showed Ron the proper techniques for pleasing a woman.

Ron continued to smile as they drove to the store, _"Hard to believe I had a gun to my head two days ago...Giving Kim the heave ho has definitely improved this visit."_

**

* * *

**

"No sir we are not sure how Ronald Stoppable entered the United States." Rosalyn Cortez told her boss General Wellington Sinclair the current Direction of the Central Intelligence Agency over the telephone.

"How long has he been in the country?"

"Unknown the only thing we know is that he showed up on the grid a couple of days ago. He used his Bank of Jerusalem Visa check cashing card at Shooting Systems in Middleton, Colorado."

"What did he purchase at the gun store?"

"It appears he purchased a couple of holsters."

There was a long pause, "So we must assume he is armed then?"

Rosalyn nodded her head as she sat back down in her office chair, "That is the assumption that I would draw, yes, he is most probably armed."

"Do you think we should have him picked up?"

"We have alerted the FBI in Upperton to be on alert...I would place him under surveillance for the moment."

"Once we have him under surveillance I want constant updates...I want all care to be taken when we do decide to pick him up."

"Yes Sir, I understand if we mishandle this, it will be unlikely that he will be an operative inside Israel for us."

"Keep me informed Rosalyn."

Rosalyn held up a photograph of Ronald Ben Stoppable having the medal of valor presented to him, "Mr. Stoppable, just how did you get inside the United States without being detected?"

**

* * *

**

"TINA" Ron screamed as he saw her behind the Jewelry counter.

"Ron...Ron Stoppable look at you." She cried out as she held open her arms for him.

They embraced each other, "Let me look at you." She said happily, "We never thought you'd get out of Gaza alive."

Ron smiled and lifted his eyebrows, "Came close to not getting out."

Tina frowned, "So how are you and...Kim...wasn't it...getting along?"

"I got a broke nose at Middleton Days and a nice limp from Gaza as far as Kim goeswe broke up...You find the perfect man yet?'

"Nope found a nice girl...Been doing the gay thing for awhile."

Ron gasped, "NO WAY...Well, what's her name?"

Tina smiled, "Her name is Shelly Monroe...You might know her sister Rita, she's a hairdresser in the area."

Ron's smile grew big, "Shelly...Hey...I used to be friends with a guy named Dave Willis he used to work here and went out with her once or twice I think."

"Really?" Tina said with a laugh.

"If it's the same girl I think it is?"

"You have a chance to party much since you've been back?" Tina asked him with a wink.

Ron grinned and shook his head understanding where she was coming from, "No, trip home hasn't been too good to me."

Tina nodded her head and pursed her lips, "Be up here at seven and you can party with us."

"Right on...I'll be here at seven." Ron said confidently.

Tina pointed just behind him, "There is a tall disco man waiting to see you."

Ron turned and saw Sergei, "He came to the U.S. with me, he's Lithuanian."

Tina smiled nervously, "Ah yes...Eastern European...Leave him at home."

"No Problem...See you at seven."

Ron turned and scolded Sergei quietly, "What are you doing, can't you see I'm mackin on this woman?" Sergei shrugged and Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh, come on."

Sergei followed along after him, "I just wanted to let you know that Sima needs help on finding diapers...I am not diaper experienced."

Ron went back to the baby section and found the right diapers for Sima, "I am going to see if I can find my old boss. I should not be gone too long." He explained to her in Hebrew.

Sima shook her head, "Do not disappear on us."

He smiled, "Who me?" as he turned and headed back into the store. Bina was going through the men's clothing for Sergei who was attracting many stares from the other customers.

Ron chuckled, _"Sugar plum fairy."_

His trip to the back of the store was fruitless. There was no one back there that he knew and Mr. Dotson didn't come on shift until later in the afternoon. He began making his way towards the front to wait for his friends to check out when an attractive lady in her late 30's approached him and made no secret she was eyeing him over.

She was trying to dress like a woman much younger than her years. The tight outfit showed off parts she probably didn't want to show off, but her top was way too tight, which made her breasts look huge as the tight material fought to contain them.

She ran a hand along Ron's back and stopped on his butt, "Could you help me out...My...my bags are soooo heavy, could you help me put them in my van?"

Ron lifted an eyebrow, _"What the hell MILF."_

"Sure, my name's Ron Stoppable."

The lady smiled, "I'm Debbie Iverson, and you can call me Mrs. Iverson."

"_This lady is a freak!"_ He thought as he pushed her cart into the parking lot. They approached a blue and silver full size GMC conversion van. Dark smoked windows with an aluminum ladder that was mounted on the rear door that went up to the roof.

Mrs. Iverson opened the passenger side door, "You can place the bags in the front seat."

"_I bet she tries to drug me and steal my kidneys."_ Ron thought as he put the bags in the van.

He looked into the side mirror as he loaded the van and saw that Mrs. Iverson was checking out his butt, _"This is sick, this is wrong sick."_

After the last bag was in the front seat he turned to face her. She was very flushed and her large breasts were heaving up and down as she was breathing hard, "Young man...Have you ever been with a women before?"

"_Ahhhhhh I know what her game is now."_ Ron quickly looked at his shoes, "No...no I had a girlfriend but she left me after I was wounded."

Mrs. Iverson reached out and took his hand and placed it on her breast, "I...I feel it's my duty to help you...Would you like that."

Ron looked to his right and saw his eyes flash blue in vans side mirror as he joined Mrs. Iverson in the back of the van, "Booyahahahahaha"

"Oh...oh...You're not innocent at all!"

Sam went through the checkout line and paid for the items, "Are you sure we have enough money?"

Sima stood in front of the line with the stroller, "I think so yes?"

The lady checking the items tallied it up, "$43.80"

Sima smiled and handed her the three twenty dollar bills and took the change and nodded to the woman, "Where is Ronnie?"

Sam shrugged, "I have not seen him since he came to help with the diapers."

They waited near the exit for Bina and Sergei to check out. An elderly woman shook her head and walked up to them, "Shame on you two for having children out of wedlock and at your age."

Sima and Sam looked at one another and shrugged. Sima smiled and practiced her English, "Piss off."

The woman stormed off mumbling about the morals of today's youth. Sergei walked up laughing, "The woman thought that you two were the baby's parents."

Sima looked horrified, "We need to find Ronnie and get out of here."

Sergei was tired of being stared at and agreed, "We maybe should look at the car, he might be there waiting on us."

They walked out to the parking lot and found the brown station wagon but there was no Ron waiting for them. Sergei scanned the parking lot and saw a van rocking back and forth. He pointed towards the van, "I bet he is inside the van."

The girls put Kaley in her seat and put the baby supplies away as Sam and Sergei approached the vehicle.

"_Oh God...Oh...Oh...Oh Ronnieeeeeeeeeeee"_

Sergei nodded, "Told you."

Sam laughed, "Well what do we do now?"

"Wait for him to get done."

The van stopped rocking and the back door opened and Ron crawled out zipping his fly. He jumped when he saw Sergei and Sam standing in front of him. The door opened again before Ron could say anything.

A much disheveled Mrs. Iverson had a sheet covering her up leaned outside the van, "Ron...please...one more time I'll...pay...I'll pay...Here's a hundred dollars and my wedding ring."

Ron turned to look at her then turned to look at Sergei and Sam, his eyes flashed blue, "A hundred bucks is a hundred bucks." He told them as he turned and climbed back inside the van.

Sergei shook his head, "I think we may be here a while."

"_Oh...oh...You're a God...a God...Don't stop...Don't stop...Woof...Woof...Don't stop."_

"Did his eyes glow blue?" Sam asked.

Sergei shook his head, "Go get the car, I'll wait for Ronnie."

Soon the brown wagon pulled into a space near the van and the girls got out listening to the racket coming from the rocking van. Bina pulled Sergei away, "You are not standing in a line."

After a short time Ron jumped from the back of the conversion van, "Yo Ronnie got the cash and the bling-bling for shizzle."

Then he spotted Sima, "Oh..."

"Can we leave now?"

Ron nodded as a voice called to him from the van, "Call me Ronnie"

**

* * *

**

Sam guided the station wagon back to the house. Sima sat in between Sam and Ron and was growing increasingly uncomfortable with Ron because when she would look over to him he continued to sport the same sinister smile as when he finally got into the vehicle.

Sam made the turn into the neighborhood and Ron's expression changed as he saw Kim getting out of her car. His sinister smile changed to a smirk and he gave her a friendly wave.

Kim glared at him and flipped him a double bird, extending her middle finger to show that she was not particularly happy with him. Sima squirmed as she heard Ron giggle. She was curious as to what the gesture meant that Kim had just shown, "What did that hand gesture mean that Kim showed you when we drove by."

Ron looked at her and grinned happily, "Well it either means I am number 1 or number 11…I prefer to think it meant number one because that's who I am going to think of from now on. Me, myself and I."

Sima nervously nodded, "Oh"

His mood fared no better when he walked into the house. He made Sergei and Bina nervous as he played with his baby sister, "We're not going to let little Kaley be a vicious ho bag like Kim are we…Nooooooo."

Soon it was time for Ron to get ready to go to Smarty Mart and meat up with Tina Lieberman. Sergei walked into the basement to have a little talk with Ron, "So your getting dressed up?"

"Yea…Got a date with not one lady but two…Want to know why?" Ron asked confidently.

"I give up, why?"

He pulled his navy blue long sleeve shirt over his head and then grinned at his friend, "Because I'm a damn good looking man, that's why."

Sergei lifted his eyebrows and chuckled, "Look Ronnie…I would not pretend to tell you your business…But I am. So sit down and quit exercising your mouth so much."

Ron was taken aback, "You're telling me to shut up?"

Sergei nodded, "Yes, now sit down and shut up."

Ron held up his hands and sat on the cot. Sergei sat across from him, "I think the whole house is aware that you and Kim broke up. We don't know the particulars but it is pretty obvious."

Ron started to talk but Sergei shushed him, "We also notice you don't seem too particular about where you stick your penis…Ronnie you can screw a thousand women and still not feel better and if that is what Kim did to you. That does not make it right."

"Sergei" Ron tried to interrupt.

"Be quiet Ronnie, we have heard your mouth most of the afternoon and it is becoming tiresome. We get it, you do not like Kim anymore…Now get over it. You are starting to become an angry bitter Jew and that is not the way to live a happy life….Wait for Bonnie to come to town and learn to enjoy life with a good woman." Sergei told him firmly.

Ron looked at his friend and nodded, 'Your right Sergei…You don't know my business. What Kim did to me was beyond wrong and every time I screw one of these ladies it hurts Kim and I want to go on hurting Kim. It may not make me happy but I know it sure as hell makes her miserable."

Sergei shrugged, "Alright Ronnie…You go out and have a good night."

Ron stood up, "Oh I will, because I'm a damn good looking man."

He drove off from the house in the brown Crown Victoria station wagon. He made the turn onto Elm Street to leave the subdivision to head up to Smarty Mart. He failed however to notice the beige Chevrolet Impala that pulled out into traffic behind him.

The phone rang on the desk of Rosalyn Cortez's desk, "Middle East desk."

"Rosalyn we have an Agent Houser on the line, Ronald Stoppable is on the move again." The voice belonged to Secretary Helen Lawrence who was instructed to get a hold of Rosalyn Cortez the moment the FBI began to track Ronald Stoppable.

It was another twelve hour day for Rosalyn who was showing signs of fatigue as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Put him through."

"Agent Houser here, we have your target moving know, appears his current destination is a Smarty Mart in Middleton, Colorado. Do you want us to pick him up?"

Rosalyn closed her eyes and thought it over, "No…not just yet. Follow him see if he makes contact with anyone suspicious."

Ron pulled into the Smarty Lot parking lot and watched the beige impala drive past his parking spot and park up the line a good distance away from him, _"Hmmm…Followed me all the way here…strange."_

He reached into the glove compartment and retrieved his Ronnunicator and punched the button for Wade, _"Better give a heads up to Wade about Kim before she tells his mom about those porn sites."_

The screen flashed and the familiar image of Wade Load popped up on the screen, "Hey Ron"

"Hey Wade, I got some bad news for you."

"You didn't get caught with the fake ID's did you?" His voice sounding concerned.

"Worse…You knew about Kim's job at the Space Center right?"

Wade nodded on the screen, "Yea"

"Let's see where to start…She's been working with Dr. Wong on this mind scanning machine or something that can read thoughts or pick your brain or whatever…Well they tied the machine to me and have been spying on me for the last six months." Ron was getting angry as he explained the situation to Wade.

"Eeeeeeeck…That's not good."

"No…no, not good at all…To get to the point of the call, they tapped in when I was talking to you about the fake ID's and going to the strip club."

Wade suddenly understood and gasped, "OH NO, They know I made the ID's."

"Worse, Kim knows about your porn sites and is planning on going to your mom about them."

Wade shook his head in disbelief, "No way…I'll have to get rid of the sites."

"I'm sorry bro, I broke up with Kim, so it's only a matter of time before she takes her revenge out on you." Ron said sadly.

"Ron do you know how much money those sites bring in from Asia alone?" Wade asked desperately.

"I'm sorry man, I really am, I never would have come back if I would have known." Ron said apologetically.

"Well thanks for letting me know…I got some work to do, so I'll catch you later." Wade said sadly.

"See you later buddy." Ron said sadly and disconnected the call.

Wade looked at all the computers surrounding him in the basement, when he suddenly remembered the tap on his devices that the CIA had placed on his communicators. A new more panicked thought ran through his mind, _"CIA, mind control, mind scans, Space Center…I think we need to distance ourselves from Kim and fast."_

Ron got out of the station wagon and noted where the beige Impala was and headed into the store, _"Two men in the car, I'll head inside meet up with the gals and go from there."_

Ron walked into the store and headed back to the Jewelry department and waived to Tina, "Hey Tina, what's happen'" He said in his best I'm too cool for you voice.

"Oh your trying to be a player this is so cute." Tina said as she began laughing.

"Alright, alright, what's the plan for tonight?" He asked her trying hard not to blush.

Tina batted her eyes, "Well…I figure I'd get a few bottles of wine and we'd head back to my place and see what happens from there."

Ron smiled and nodded, "I'll go get the wine, tell me what you want?"

Tina lifted an eyebrow and whispered, "You're only like…what 18, 19?"

He smiled and looked away, "I have my ways of doing things."

"He comes back from Israel a man of mystery…All right big guy, I'll clock out an we can do this together."

Ron watched Tina leave to clock out and shook his head, _"Yea…Tina's still wild, nothing changed there."_ He thought happily.

Tina found her wine and Ron grabbed a 750ml bottle of Southern Comfort. She noticed Ron's choice of beverage, "You never struck me as being into the hard stuff."

He looked at her and shrugged, "My knee…My knee isn't real good and hurts all the time, and this deadens the pain."

She nodded as they headed thru the checkout line, "You sure it's just your knee?"

Ron looked away and Tina didn't push the issue as she paid for the purchase. Ron remembered the car in the parking lot, "Ride out there with you?"

"Sure"

They left the store Ron carefully slipping into Tina's Toyota Tercel so that he would remain unseen by the men in the beige Impala. Tina kept after him with a steady stream of questions on the way to Lowerton.

"So all and all you're happy that you made the move to Israel."

"Well if things had stayed the same as when I left it would be tough. Now thanks to Kim and Monique's shit…I think its great move." Ron said trying to sound as happy as possible.

They pulled up in front of the apartment complex that Tina was living in with Shelly. Ron was a little on the nervous side because he knew Tina to be wild and with Shelly being equally as wild he knew just anything could happen.

They walked into the apartment and Ron got his first glimpse of Shelly. He could see the resemblance to Rita but just barely. Shelly had bleached her shoulder length hair blonde with a nice body that just had fun written all over it.

"Easy there Ron I saw her first." Tina teased.

Ron laughed uneasily as Tina made the introductions, "Shelly this is Ron my enthusiastic jewelry student I had last year…Ron Stoppable, Shelly Monroe."

They shook hands and Shelly smiled, "Tina says you were a handful last year."

He giggled and nodded his head, "Yea…hee hee hee…Yea."

The phone rang on Rosalyn Cortez's desk, "Middle East"

Helen Lawrence's voice was on the other end of the line, "Agent Houser is on the other line…Mr. Stoppable gave them the slip but they have a lead, do you want to have him picked up."

Her eyebrows rose at the news, _"He gave the FBI the slip…Very interesting."_

"Have him picked up but have him call me in the Director Sinclair's office before they do anything."

"So Tina is he as hot a lover as you said he was?" Shelly asked as she walked behind Ron to play with his hair.

Ron tried to fight down a grin and began to blush. Tina didn't help him out any as she turned the stereo on and turned down the lights, "He's very enthusiastic and when he gets going he just doesn't stop."

"I just have to be inspired." Ron said humbly.

Shelly took out two wine glasses and poured herself and Tina a glass. Tina poured a few ounces of Southern Comfort in a glass for Ron, "So how bad did you get wounded?" She asked as she handed Ron his drink.

"Well I took some shrapnel…in knees and…stuff." Ron answered as best he could as Tina and Shelly began kissing, "Uh…How long have you to been…together?"

Shelly broke off her kiss, "About four months now."

Ron took a quick drink as Shelly and Tina began kissing again, _"This is going to be a wild evening."_

Tina finally pushed Shelly off, "We got all night girlfriend, I feel the need for a little weed…What do you think Ron?"

Ron chuckled, "I kind of liked Shelly's idea better..."

Tina gave him a wink and found her stash, then she shot Shelly a look, "You bitch you started without me."

Shelly giggled and nodded her head, "I needed to relax after you told me that you were bringing company."

Tina shook her head and fired up a joint and took a long pull from it. After she exhauled she offered it to Ron, "Want a hit?"

Ron took a drink of the Southern Comfort, "No…I'm fine."

Tina walked closer to him, "This is probably better for your knee than that stuff your pouring in you now."

Ron took the joint from her, "I…I never did this before."

Tina leaned in to him, "Don't worry we'll be gentle with you."

"What do you mean it's my fault?" Monique fired back at Kim.

Kim had her arms crossed in the living room of her family's house, "You know it was, I never mentioned rape."

Mrs. Dr. P. looked from one girl to the other, trying to figure out exactly what was going on, "Rape…what Rape?"

Monique narrowed her eyes, "Face it Kim this isn't about you running around saying Ron was raping women this is really about your inability to KEEP A MAN!"

Kim's eyes shot wide open, "ME! I was doing just fine until you started running around talking about rape…"

"Kim what is going on?" Mrs. Dr. P. was still trying to get to the bottom of things.

"Hang on." Kim said as she began to move her hand around in front of her face. Then the realization hit, "Ron's getting high and without me."

Monique grinned, "I thought you said you didn't want anything to do with the dirty son of a bitch ever again?"

Mrs. Dr. P. took the opportunity to hustle Monique out of the house while Kim continued to stare at her hand, "Monique I think it would be best if you left now."

"Alright, alright, tell your screwy daughter she flakes on me one more time I'm gonna slap her ass silly." Monique said angrily as she walked outside the house.

"It's time for Afroman Ron…You'll dig this." Tina said happily.

Ron his eyes half closed just nodded, "Oh yea"

The music began to play and Ron started laughing at the lyrics, "YES…YES, That's it."

'I was gonna clean my room, until I got high  
I was gonna get up and find the broom, But then I got high  
My room is still messed up And I know why, (why man) 'cuz I got high  
Because I got high  
Because I got high'

Tina and Shelly began laughing as Ron tried to get off the floor to lip sync to the song but soon gave up as he discovered that Southern Comfort mixed with marijuana equaled really numb knees.

'I was gonna go to class, before I got high  
I coulda' cheated and I coulda passed, but I got high  
I'm taking it next semester and I know why, (why man) 'cuz I got high  
Because I got high  
Because I got high'

"Check this out Ron, check this out, I'm going to put my own lyrics with it." Tina said as Shelly continued laughing naked on the floor.

'I was gonna go to work as Smarty Mart, until I got high  
I was gonna get up drive to Middleton, But then I got high  
Now I ain't got no money And I know why, (why man) 'cuz I got high  
Because I got high  
Because I got high'

"You try it Ron."

Ron laughed and rolled his head back and thought of some lyrics.

'I was gonna come home and propose to Kim Possible, before I got high  
I don't know what I was thinkin', So I got high  
She did me dirty and I found out why, (why man) 'cuz I got high  
Because I got high  
Because I got high'

Shelly got up and moved closer to Ron, "Me and Tina are both high and horney, so get naked Ron and make love to us."

Ron smiled stupidly as the girls began to take his shoes off, "Booyah…Plenty of Ron-Man to go around ladies."

In the office of CIA director Wellington Sinclair, Rosalyn Carter and General Davis McClain listened to the live audio feed from Lowerton Colorado.

"Agent Houser are sure this is the right place?"

The speaker phone crackled, "We're sure, what are your orders?"

"_Booyah…Plenty of Ron-Man to go around ladies."_

The slightly digitized voice played over the speakers in the office. The FBI was using a directional listening device that interpreted the vibrations given off of the glass in windows to reproduce conversations that were taking place inside of Tina Lieberman's apartment in real time.

"Rosalyn what do you make of this?" Director Sinclair asked.

Rosalyn fought the urge to laugh, "It appears our young man is participating in the recreational use of controlled substances, most likely…"

"_Oh God Ronnie, that's so good…Good…OH YEAAAAA."_

The head of the Middle East desk shook her head, "…Marijuana and now if the feed is correct he is engaged in sexual relations with at least two female participants."

"_My turn Shelly…I want some of that too…" _

"_Hey, hey now, plenty of Ron to go around…We have all night."_

Rosalyn Cortez shook her head, _"That's what you think Ronald Stoppable."_

"I would recommend moving in now while the target is distracted."

General McClain shook his head, "I would wait, we want him to help us. If we kick in the door now we may damage our bargaining position and cause unwanted resentment."

Wellington Sinclair nodded, "I agree…Interrupting him in his….leisure activities could lead to long standing resentment of the agency."

Rosalyn Cortez shook her head and smirked, _"MEN"_

"_Ouch…Spank me harder Ron-Man."_

"KIMBERLY ANNE POSSIBLE will you tell me what is going on?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked clearly becoming frustrated by the randomness of her daughter.

Kim was lying on her back on the bed clutching panderoo to her chest singing, _"Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high."_

Mrs. Dr. P. leaned over the bed and checked her daughter's eyes, "This is not over, and we are so going to talk tomorrow."

"_Booyah…Booyah…Booyahahahahaha"_

"_My God Ron, where did you learn to do all that?"_

"_Tina"_

Rosalyn Cortez heard the laughter, "He's finished now, pick him up."

Ron struggled to his feet and quickly pulled on his pants, "I need to use the bathroom."

Shelly pointed towards the back, "Ron…Your legs aren't that bad."

"Maybe…they're just hard for me to look at." He said as he walked to the back.

Ron opened the bathroom door and there stood Ms. Koyoko frowning at him, "Hey Ms. Koyoko wants some of the Ron-Man too…Coolio…."

Before Ron could say anything else he was hit in the face by a black gi, "Put this on quickly. We must leave immediately."

The door to Tina Lieberman's door exploded inward as a five man FBI special anti-terrorist team entered the building. The two girls screamed and held onto one another as a man with a silenced Heckler and Koch MP5 leveled his gun at them.

"Where is Ronald Stoppable?"

"B…bathroom" Tina answered.

Two men quickly stormed to the back and threw open the door and found the bathroom empty, "No one back here….No windows…No one else in the apartment."

The message was relayed to Rosalyn Cortez at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia and her response was not pretty, "What the hell do you mean gone, turn the place inside out, look under the beds, in the refrigerator, I don't care where just find him."

She turned to Wellington Sinclair, "Person of interest?"

Wellington Sinclair nodded, "Most definitely."

**

* * *

**

After Ron's escape from the FBI he found himself on Mr. Nakasumi's Air Bus 350 headed for Japan. Ron was still in good spirits and continued to hit on Ms. Koyoto until she became tired of him and touched his forehead and put him to sleep.

Ron had slept for what felt like ages, he thought he could remember waking up and seeing Yori glaring at him before being put to sleep again. He shook his head and looked around the surroundings were familiar but the quarters were not familiar to him.

He tried to stand and found surprisingly no pain in his knee. He stumbled slightly as he tried to walk and caught himself before he could fall. He had forgotten how to walk without the limp. He took unsteady step after unsteady step towards the door. Upon reaching the door he put his hand out to slide the paper door to the side when he heard the unmistakable cooing of a baby.

Ron's eyes opened wide as he realized where he was at and quickly slid the door aside and stumbled into the main room where he saw Yori, "Mariko?" He asked desperately.

Yori nodded and pointed towards a crib, "I have just put her down for a nap Stoppable San."

He could detect a slight chill in her voice but at that moment it wasn't important. Only seeing his daughter mattered right now. Ron approached the crib slowly and looked inside. He felt a tear running down his cheek as he viewed his daughter for the first time, "She's beautiful Yori."

Mariko's oval face was dark in complexion and her big round brown eyes stared up at him from the crib. She held out and hand and opened and closed her fist a few times before making a few sounds of baby gibberish.

He turned to Yori, "Can I…Can I hold her?" He asked cautiously.

Yori nodded that he could. Ron reached down and carefully picked Mariko up. There was still a bit of chill in the mountain air and Mariko snuggled up to Ron for warmth. Ron gasped, "Oh…oh"

He sat down carefully on the floor and moved the hair away from her ear, "Yep you have my ears no denying you." He said softly with a chuckle.

Ron could not get over how beautiful the baby was and looked to Yori, "Glad she got her mothers good looks."

Mariko smiled and Ron laughed and cooed at his daughter, "Yes I am, you're such a pretty girl."

Ron smiled as Mariko stuck out her tongue. Then he stuck out his tongue and fought back tears as she giggled at him. He looked to Yori and smiled, "Just call me Papa San."

"Stoppable San, Mariko needs her sleep and we have much to discuss."

He leaned in close to Mariko's ear and whispered, "Me thinks Papa San is in trouble now…Put in a good word to Mama San for me…OK."

Ron handed Mariko back to Yori and then struggled to his feet. Yori put Mariko back in her crib and then turned to face a grinning Ron Stoppable. She narrowed her eyes and slapped him as hard as she could on his left cheek.

"OW…Hey"

"That is for drinking too much alcohol. Alcohol slows your reflexes down and makes your mind stupid…." Yori said evenly.

Ron felt as though he was hit with a sledge hammer and it made him struggle to remain upright, "Yori…'

Yori now slapped him as hard as she could on his right cheek sending Ron staggering to the other side of the room, "That is for smoking marijuana, it also slows your reflexes and makes your mind stupid…Do you enjoy being stupid?"

Ron never had a chance to answer Yori slapped him again hard on the left cheek, "That is for being a whore monger. It would serve you right if both of those women became with child."

"Hey now, I get the…"

Yori slapped Ron again on his right cheek, "That is for embarrassing me with Ms. Koyoto. What do you want to do, have a baby with her next? You made me look like a fool."

"I…I'm sorry…"

Yori slapped him hard yet again, "That is because I just find slapping you makes me feel better…You are a father now. You must become more responsible…I would hate to tell Mariko that her father died because he was a drunken whore monger who was too slow to defend himself."

Yori pointed to the door of her quarters, "I do not know why I spent so much time trying to make your legs better because you seem so determined to make yourself slow and stupid…You will now go outside and run through the mountains to gain strength in your legs. Go and run now before I lose my temper."

Ron was out the door as quickly as he could run. Once outside he kept running as best he could, _"Man if she's not mad now, I'd hate to see her angry."_

He struggled into the mountains, it was clear to him that he was way out of shape. He ran along a path and realized that he had company running with him. He turned to look and saw a short bald Chinese man in orange robes running barefoot next to him.

The man smiled at Ron and nodded, "I am Sun Chi friend of Sensei's."

Ron nodded, "I am Ronald Stoppable."

"Yes…Yes…I know who you are…Your mind is an open book of drivel, all you ever think about is sex, money and power." The Chinese man said as he slowly passed Ron on a hill.

Ron held up breathing heavily, "I…OK, sex and money…Power…not so much."

Sun Chi smiled, "Not now but soon maybe…I am here to teach you to shut your mind to those that would intrude upon it."

"That is definitely what I need right now."

"Good, good, now come run with me." Sun Chi said as he turned and began to run up the mountain.

"Do you not know why these people were able to access your mind?"

"Yea some sort of truth ray and a machine." Ron said bitterly.

"Wrong they accessed your mind because you run it to much, thinking always thinking and mostly about yourself." Sun Chi told him with a laugh.

Ron didn't want to face that truth so he decided it was a time to change the subject, "How old are you anyway?"

"Sun Chi old, very old."

"In years." Ron said grinning.

Sun Chi stopped running and gave this some thought, "In years…Oh I don't know. I track my age by wars."

Ron lifted an eyebrow, "Wars"

"Yes wars, your adopted country hasn't been around very long but they have had many wars…Let's agree to use your home countries wars."

Sun Chi closed his eyes, "I remember both of your wars with Iraq, Viet Nam, Korea, World Wars two and one, the war with Spain, Custer, oh he was a foolish man, Your Civil War…"

Ron held up a hand, "I get it, you're very old."

"Yes very old and now you will learn how to control your thoughts and emotions and hone your perceptions and killing skills or you will not survive your given tasks."

Sun Chi motioned for Ron to sit on the ground where he joined him, "All the time your mind runs, will I see my daughter, will this girl or that girl mate with me, why do people not like me, is my deodorant working…Nonsense."

Ron didn't argue because he knew the old man to be correct, "Well…ummm…Don't most people think about themselves in their minds?"

Sun Chi nodded, "This is true, but you are not most people. You are a killer, an assassin, a highly trained instrument of death…You must learn to be more aware."

"OK, teach me to be more aware."

"Before you were brought here you were mating with two women trying to hurt a third, correct." Sun Chi inquired.

"Yea…yea the one that…used the machine to access my mind…yea." Ron answered not looking at Sun Chi.

"The one you intended to hurt was Yori was it not?"

"NO"

"Well it appears you have not only hurt Yori but your friends that want to spend time with you, your mother, who now has no idea about what has happened to you and ultimately yourself."

"Did I hurt the one I intended to hurt?" Ron asked.

"Yes, you hurt her as well."

"Good"

Sun Chi nodded, "So you are willing to hurt all these other people in order to strike at another?"

"Yes"

Sun Chi laughed, "The Guardians have chosen well, for you are truly a most ruthless individual. Your sole focus is hurting one person no matter what the cost is to others…This is a good thing."

Ron's ears perked up, "What?"

"You must learn there are more ways to attack and hurt your adversary than just throwing your seed at all these different women…Would you like to know what your best revenge against this woman would be?"

He nodded his head, "Oh yea"

Sun Chi smiled, "Of course you would….Happiness and success is the best revenge. If you are happy and successful then you make the one that hurt you in a relationship die a thousand deaths because they can not share in your happiness. And as that one can not share in your happiness, your friends and family can."

Ron shook his head, "So I should just forget what was done to me?"

"No just change the focus of your attack, reduce the damage to yourself and others…You killed a man in a restroom with your bare hands. Would you have used an atomic bomb to kill him if you had one at your disposal?"

He shook his head, "No"

"No, you focused your attack and used what you had at your disposal…Your victory brought you a weapon that has saved you many times since…Appropriate force for particular threats."

Ron sat for two hours listening to Sun Chi, they worked on skills of perception, how to read people's body language, how to tell if someone is carrying a weapon, how to read rooms, and situations.

"We have been here two hours today. Come back tomorrow and we will work more on quieting your mind...If your mind is quiet you can detect when someone is trying to force access." Sun Chi said happily.

Ron nodded his head, "Yes...I think I need the break. I have so much information to digest."

Sun Chi nodded vigorously, "Yes, digest it, do not think about it...Remember you can trust no one except Sun Chi...Do you know why?"

Ron stood up and brushed himself off and turned his back to the elder, "Why?"

The voice he was hearing became very low and menacing, "BECAUSE THE WHITE GUARDIANS COMMAND IT!"

Ron spun around to see that no one was there but he could still hear Sun Chi's laughter on the wind, "Son of a bitch." He whispered to himself as he turned and began his run for back to the school.

He had a tough time finding Yori's new quarters it was in a different part of the school and they were larger to accommodate Mariko's needs. Ron finally found the right door, took off his shoes and entered the room.

"Stoppable San, I am glad to see you. I must go and teach a class, it will of course be your honor to watch Mariko while I am gone." Yori said in passing as she rushed out the door.

Ron laughed, "Yea, my honor.'

He watched the young ninja woman disappear around a corner. He walked inside and saw Mariko trying to climb out of the crib. Ron raced over to catch her before she tumbled out, "Let me help you here." He said as he picked her up and sat her on the floor.

Mariko crawled to a corner where her toys were and began to play. Ron sat down next to her and watched proudly, _"This makes me happy...This makes me very happy and I don't care who knows about it."_

Ron watched his daughter play and then Mariko grabbed hold of a ring of plastic keys and brought them over to her daddy. Ron picked her up and jingled the plastic keys in front of her, "You are so smart, you definitely take after your mother...Yes you do." Ron cooed happily.

Mariko took the keys away from Ron and stuffed them in her mouth, "bbbrrbbbb"

He laughed, "Now you look like me, eat anything."

Mariko crawled back into the corner to find another toy to show her father. Ron thought about Yori, _"She looks different now, older some how...I mean she's still pretty, just different."_

Mariko crawled back holding a stuffed animal, "What do you have girl, Doggypotomous."

Ron shook his head in disgust, _"Cuddle buddy"_ and threw the stuffed animal across the room.

Mariko began to pout and then whimper, "Oh I did it now." Ron said with a grin, "Let's go get Doggypotomous...Daddy thought he was rabid, its okay, its okay."

He picked up Mariko and quickly retrieved the prized stuffed animal and handed it to her. Ron sat her back in the floor and watched her chew on the stuffed animal, _"Sun Chi was right, I have to get myself under control...I took out my anger at Kim out on that stupid toy and about made Mariko cry...More lessons tomorrow I guess."_


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N: Many thanks to Zeroeye and Atomicfire for their proof reading skills. I do not own Kim Possible or any of the characters that appear on the Kim Possible cartoon show by Disney. **

**Many thanks to AtomicFire, Mechatech, Mooneasterbunny, Airwalker999, Momike, Zeroeye, kingprawnsct, RI100014, Whitem, Yankee Bard and Cajun Bear73 for reviewing.**

**Ron gets to spend quality time with Mariko. Monique and Tirza take a marriage compatability test, Everyone is looking for Ron, Bina needs a cordless drill, Kim is sad, Wade is going on vacation and in the next chapter 'The Return of Bonnie'**

* * *

Kim lay in bed shaking her head, "This is just like one long nightmare…I keep hoping to wake up and find the whole thing was just a bad dream." 

Mrs. Dr. P. patted her hand, "Start from the beginning, tell me what happened."

Kim nodded, "I told you all about what we were doing at the Space Center. Well, when Ron went missing in Gaza I was able to keep up with him with the chair."

"With the machine you could see his thoughts?"

"Yea…Dr. Wong was able to start recording what I was seeing…We had a DVD of when Ron was wounded." Kim said quietly thinking it over.

Mrs. Dr. P. shifted uncomfortably, "Did Ron know about any of this?"

Kim shook her head, "No…There was no real way to tell him…After he was wounded I didn't use the chair…There was no reason, he was safe and I thought would be coming home."

"Didn't you ever stop and think that maybe just maybe that Ron wouldn't want you doing any of this?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked growing agitated over what she feared the answer would be.

"We did…but I…missed Ron so much…it made it hard to give up using the chair."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "Go ahead and tell me the rest of the story. I'm still trying to gather it all in."

Kim adjusted the pillows she was lying on, "Well about a month after he was wounded…I had this feeling that he was having sex…Naturally I assumed Bonnie was making a play for him. So I called him on the Kimmunicator."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head and chuckled, "You believe you can predict when Ron will be sexually active?"

Kim closed her eyes and shook her head, "No…If…I can tell through the psychic link when he is having sex."

Her mom nodded, "OK?"

"So I try to contact Ron and got a hold of Bonnie…She told me Ron was called up and sent to Southern Lebanon."

"So Ron wasn't having sex with Bonnie?" Mrs. Dr. P. asked more than just slightly confused about how all this information had to do with anything that happened over the last several days.

"No…Now I'm not even sure he was really having sex. Maybe I just was nervous because he was spending all his time over there with Bonnie."

"OK…So he's not having sex now?"

Kim shook her head, "Yes…No…I don't know. I tell this to Monique and she thinks he's raping women over there."

Mrs. Dr. P. narrowed her eyes and her voice grew stern, "I hope you didn't' fall into this line of thinking."

"No…no…I kept telling Monique that Ron wouldn't do anything like that." Kim said sadly.

"So how does this figure in what happened when Ron came home?"

Kim softly chuckled, "Well Ron came back and we …I wasn't real happy with the way Ron was acting so I decided that we needed to use the chair to see what was wrong with him."

"And just how was he acting?"

"He…I thought…You know…He'd be excited to see me, but he kept me at arms length. He said it was the scars but…"

"…You didn't believe him."

Kim could see her mother's face becoming flushed, "It wasn't so much not believe him but…I didn't understand what was going on in his head…So we used the chair and I saw him planning Ned's bachelor party and found out that Bonnie had been in the hospital and Ron wouldn't tell his friends why."

"So that's why you attacked the club in Hamilton." Mrs. Dr. P. said angrily

"NO…I was kind of swept along on that one…I went to Tina's bachelorette party and had a few too many jello shots and I let it slip that Ron was in Hamilton with Ned…and things went down hill from there." Kim said becoming more exasperated as she remembered what happened.

"I'm starting to get the picture."

"I…I also let it slip that Monique thought he was a rapist and then all hell broke loose…We crashed the club in Hamilton…I yelled at Ron and slapped him hard when he was on the way out."

"How many girls were at this party you went to?"

Kim shrugged, "I don't remember six or eight."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "They all told six or eight people what you said about Ron and those people told six or eight people…I think I understand how he got that broken nose now."

Kim nodded and continued on with the story, "It's all my fault…I realize that…The day after the club fire…We talked at Quarry Lake and I got mad and left him out there…I found out later from Tirza that Ron could barely walk so we tried to go back and get him but the rain flooded the roads…He had to walk back into town.

Mrs. Dr. P. closed her eyes, "The day before the wedding."

"I…I felt bad about the night before so I took him to the wedding. It was tense and Tina had Ned ask him to leave after the ceremony was over…Then he was sick for the rest of the week…Then we went to the Middleton day's festival and…"

"…and it just gets worse from there." Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head sadly.

"I need a cigarette." Kim said wearily.

"No smoking in the house." Mrs. Dr. P. reminded her daughter.

Kim nodded as she continued, "Yea…So I decided to tell him everything. I thought he was taking it well so we went to the Space Center and Ron was not happy about what he saw. Then Dr. Wong showed the DVD of when Ron was wounded and he wigged out…We had to carry him out of the room crying."

"So what were you two thinking? I...I can't even put into words how wrong that was." Mrs. Dr. P. said in stunned amazement.

"Dr. Wong thinks that Ron returned to the lab later in the night and burned it down."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded her head, "Good for Ron."

Kim closed her eyes and nodded, "I got tired of waiting for him to come home that night so I went to his favorite hang out at Quarry Lake…He told me he was through with me."

"I don't blame him…Kim…It looks like you went out of your way to do everything in your power to drive Ron away from you…I'm surprised Ron wasn't running away from you."

"I…I want to make things right…I just don't know how."

"Oh Kimmie…I don't think you can. I don't even know about where you could start to regain his trust…He's not the 15 year old boy that you can just tell what to do anymore." Mrs. Dr. P. said sadly.

Kim wiped a tear from her eye, "No…no, he's not the Ron I remember anymore…He's just a mean drunk now."

Mrs. Dr. P. temper flared, "Oh I think he had some help down this road…I still can't believe you did all this to him, even after the chip…You knew how he felt about his privacy."

She held up her hands, "I just wanted to feel close to him again….It's almost as if we're cursed or something…Every thing has just gone wrong."

**

* * *

**

Yori finished teaching her course and took the long way back to her quarters. Being a single mother at the Yamanouchi School could be a bit of a challenge. There were not many women or girls at the school. The enrollment for the most part was almost exclusively boys.

This made it difficult to find people to watch the baby while she taught. The ladies that worked in the kitchen were the most reliable source for help as they were all older and had children of their own.

Having Ron at the school was a joy not so much for the company he brought to her but for the fact that it brought her a measure of freedom. It wasn't that she didn't love Mariko but having to care for the baby and earn her keep at the school could at times be overwhelming.

She enjoyed the early evening air as she socialized with the ladies of the kitchen staff. The top question of the day of course was where was Mariko? Yori would smile and respond with her father the chosen one is watching her.

The women were all excited as having Ron at the school gave them all something new to gossip about. Yori gathered some food for her little family to eat as she answered the various questions about how long he would be staying and if he wanted to take her with him.

Yori would chuckle and remind them that her place was at Yamanouchi with Sensei and The Chosen One's place was else where dealing with the agents of darkness. Now it was time to go home, she almost skipped up the path having enjoyed her mini vacation.

She stopped at the door and composed herself. She was reminding herself that she was angry at Ron for his poor behavior of late. Then she opened the door quietly to find Ron asleep against the wall with Mariko asleep on his chest.

Yori put a hand in front of her mouth and stifled a giggle. She reached into the bag she was carrying and pulled out what would normally be considered contraband at the school, a disposable 35mm camera with a flash.

She took a quick picture of Ron and the baby together and Ron roused at the sudden flash and looked around and quickly cradled Mariko, 'Hey Yori…I think we dozed off."

"Yes I see, that was careless of you. I took a picture of you two to remind you of your carelessness. You may have dropped Mariko." Yori scolded.

Ron smiled, "Awwwww…I wouldn't have dropped her. Did you…Pictures?"

Yori held up the camera, "I had is smuggled in so you could have some pictures to remember your daughter by."

Ron kissed Mariko, "Thanks Yori, Sorry I was so much trouble…I never meant to cause you any embarrassment."

Yori nodded, "It has been dealt with Stoppable San. So how has your life been since you left?"

"I guess it was going alright until the last few months…Getting wounded was bad…going home was bad…breaking up with Kim…well…that actually has gone pretty good." Ron chuckled sadly.

"The one without honor betrayed you?" Yori inquired.

Ron nodded, "Yea…Pretty badly…So when did you know about Mariko?"

Yori knelt beside him, "It was about two months after you left. I began getting sick…There was a movement by some of the instructors to send me away…Master Sensei…defended me and kept me from being banished."

Mariko squirmed and Yori took her from Ron and laid her down in her crib. Ron looked at the large drool stain on his the chest of his gi, _"Takes after me alright."_

"I wish you would have told me."

Yori looked up at Ron, "We have been over this…"

"Yori…I know…I know…I owe you so much…I never thought when all this madness started that I would ever see any hope of a family or children…Mariko is beautiful…" Ron's voice trailed away as he looked over towards the crib.

"I have brought home some food for us to eat…How was your run?" Yori asked as she opened the small sack and handed a box of food.

"It was useful, I learned some things to quiet my mind…Learned that my actions were hurting others that I didn't want to hurt." He answered as he took a small box of food from Yori.

Yori nodded sadly as she began to eat her food, "Miss Kyoko told me of your behavior where they found you and on the airplane. I believe you were out of control."

Ron sat his food down, "I am so…angry about what happened. I'm glad you guys found me…I need to get myself together."

"How do you like my new quarters?" Yori asked trying to change the subject as Ron was becoming upset.

He brightened, "Oh its great, you have a lot of room compared to where you were last time I was here."

Yori smiled and looked around the room, "Master Sensei said that I would need more room to raise Mariko."

"So is Mariko going to go to school here or…?" Ron asked nervously.

"Yes she will be schooled here." Yori answered.

Ron put his food down and stood up and walked over to the crib, "I can't get over how beautiful she is…I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble since I left."

Yori joined him in front of the crib and took his arm, "I would do nothing different. Mariko is wonderful…Now come and sit down and we must talk about what you will be doing for the next few days?"

Ron took another look at his daughter and followed Yori to the other side of the room, "Your wounds are healing normally, I took the stitches out of your left calf and did some work on your right knee. The next two days when you run in the mountains you will be working on healing your mind."

He looked at her cautiously, "My mind?"

Yori nodded, "When a warrior is badly injured his mind must be tended to as well. Other wise you could become tentative and slow to react. You must not second guess your decisions. You go with your instinct and work from there."

"I've…I couldn't remember getting wounded until that bi…the one without honor and her friends brought the memories back…I keep wondering if there was anything else I could have done."

Yori squeezed his arm, "You did what needed to be done at the time…You lived through it, so no second guessing is necessary."

Ron went on and told her the entire story from the beginning as best he understood it. He told her of the psychic link, the chair, the recording of his mental images, the fight with Kim, the putting a gun to his head to protect Yamanouchi and about his relations with other women since in order to get back at Kim.

Yori stared at him and then nodded her understanding, "You should have killed the ones without honor."

He chuckled, "Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind a time or two."

"I think it best that you speak with Master Sensei in the morning….It is time for rest now."

Ron lifted an eyebrow and gave Yori his biggest smile, "So where do I sleep tonight?"

Yori looked rather shocked and then quickly answered, "In here you think I need another baby from you?"

He looked shocked and then Yori covered her mouth, "Forgive me Stoppable San that is not how I intended it to sound."

Ron began laughing nervously, "I see how you are with your Japanese humor."

Yori smiled, "It will be your honor…'

"…I know, I know, it will be my honor to sleep in here with Mariko." Ron said trying to not sound too disappointed.

**

* * *

**

Monique and Tirza had decided it was time to talk to Rabbi Katz seriously about Monique converting to Judaism in order to marry Tirza. Monique was very nervous as she had visited with Rabbi Katz before about the subject but really hadn't thought seriously about it until he had actually proposed.

Now they sat in front of Rabbi Katz's desk watching the Rabbi looking them over and rubbing his beard, "So you want to get married?"

Tirza smiled, "Yes, we have talked about getting married sometime next summer."

"Where are you going to get married, here in the U.S. or in Israel?"

Monique looked at Tirza, "We…we were thinking about marrying in Israel."

Rabbi Katz nodded and pursued the question further, "Monique you say you would like to convert to Judaism for Tirza but are you prepared for all that this conversion would entail?"

Monique shifted in her seat, "Wha…what all would converting mean?"

The Rabbi leaned back in his chair, "It would mean that you could no longer celebrate your Christian holidays. You could no longer step foot inside a Christian church, not even for family functions. You would no longer be able to celebrate Christmas or eat pork, if your family is religious you would be alienated from them."

"I…I love Tirza but…I don't know if I could do…all that." Monique answered honestly.

Rabbi Katz smiled, "You have plenty of time to think it over…Tirza would you feel comfortable marrying Monique if she didn't convert to Judaism?"

Now it was Tirza's turn to squirm, "I would still like to marry her, but it would make it difficult on her if we lived in Israel. My mother would not like it."

"Interfaith marriages are frowned upon in Israel, you would have to get married outside the country…Tirza's family would probably not come to see the ceremony." He told them as he dug in his desk and pulled out two sheets of paper.

Monique looked at Tirza and could see he was clearly troubled by the idea of not having his family at the ceremony, _"We have to seriously talk this out when we leave here."_

Rabbi Katz handed one sheet of questions and a pencil to each of them, "This is a compatibility test. I want you to fill this out without telling one another what you are writing down. Turn them into me and I will look them over and advise you from there."

Monique took the paper from Rabbi Katz, "Oh I love taking these." She said trying her best to sound up beat.

"_Question number 1, why do you want to marry your boyfriend/girlfriend?"_

Monique thought about it for a few minutes, _"Oh this is easy, because I love my little Tirzabear and want to spend the rest of my life with him."_

She looked over towards Tirza and he appeared to be struggling with a word and he pointed it out to Rabbi Katz and he answered him in Hebrew and then he went back to the test.

"_Ok…Question 2, how would you feel if your boyfriend/girlfriend informed you they were bi-sexual?"_

Monique narrowed her eyes and wrote down her answer, _"I don't think I could deal with Tirza being a bi-sexual…I don't know?"_

"_Question 3, have you ever been in a long term relationship before?"_

Monique looked at Tirza, _"No…I don't think he has either." _She thought as she wrote down her answer.

"_Question 4, describe your personality."_

Monique thought about it, _"I'm spontaneous, very affectionate, loyal, and very picky about whom I choose to be close too. I do not suffer fools well."_

"_Question 5, how are your political leanings?"_

She giggled as she wrote, _"SNP…So not political."_

"_Question 6, do you plan on having children and if so how many."_

Monique scrunched up her nose, _"I don't know…I wouldn't mind a baby or two…So that's a yes…two."_

"_Question 7, how religious are you?"_

Monique exhaled, _"I believe in God, I don't attend any services or church functions on a regular basis. Sort of religious maybe?"_

"_Question 8, would you be willing to live together for a time before marriage and if so how long?"_

She looked at Tirza again and watched him write an answer to a question on the paper, _"I don't see a problem with that as long as it's not for longer than a year."_

They handed the papers into Rabbi Katz and he quickly looked them over and then looked at Tirza's paper much closer and then smiled, "Tirza did his half English and half Hebrew." He said with a chuckle.

Monique playfully slapped his arm and Tirza shrugged. Rabbi Katz looked at each of them with a rather serious look on his face, "Well for the most part your answers are the same but there is one major hurdle that I think you two need to discuss."

"What…What do we need to discuss?" Monique said in a panic thinking about the bi-sexual question.

Rabbi Katz chuckled, "Well Monique you said you wanted a child, maybe two…Tirza wants ten children."

Monique narrowed her eyes at her fiancée', "Ten….Ten children…"

Tirza blushed and shrugged, "I would settle for less."

Monique gave Tirza a little kiss on the cheek, "Damn right you will."

**

* * *

**

"Ouch"

Ron woke up and looked around and saw Markio standing up in her crib laughing at him. He looked around and saw a toy lying on the floor and he realized that he had just received his wake up call.

"Oh laughing at daddy…You just invented a new game, hit daddy in the head with a toy…hmmmm." He said softly to her as he picked her up from the crib.

"Ewwwwww...You are so wet." Ron quickly sat Mariko back in her crib and looked around for a diaper. When he couldn't find one he finally decided to call for help, "Yori...Mariko wants you."

"Stoppable San it will be your honor to change Mariko while I sleep for another few minutes."

Ron giggled, "You used to get me out of bed...It would be my honor to change the diaper but you are using cloth diapers and I do not have the honor of being familiar with those."

The door to Yori's room slid open and a much disheveled unhappy looking Yori emerged. Ron stifled a gasp at her appearance, "If you would have simply let her play she would have been good for another half hour of sleep."

Ron watched as Yori opened a small door and produced a cloth diaper and a fresh change of clothes for the baby, _"Man, Yori looks pretty rough...Raising Mariko on her own must be exhausting."_

Yori quickly changed the dirty diaper and put on a new baby sized gi for Mariko and dropped the dirty linen into a hamper, "Later this afternoon it will be your honor to help me do the wash." She told him as she yawned and made her way back towards her bedroom.

Ron made a silly face at Mariko and she looked at him in bewilderment. He giggled and cooed, "Yea...look at you, daddies girl." He looked towards the closed door, "I'm going to take Mariko out with me for a quick walk, what time would you like to get up?"

"I don't have to get up till 9:30...Many thanks Stoppable San." Yori called out from behind the door.

The morning air was chilly so Ron looked for a blanket and found one that had happy looking bears printed on it, "Yea, we'll just wrap you up and go find us some breakfast."

He glanced at a clock before he left, "Great 7:30, breakfast is still being served."

Down the stone pathway he went to the simple cafeteria. He met with the nice ladies who worked there as they fussed over Mariko. Ron didn't understand what they were saying but it was obvious they wanted to feed Mariko, so he let them take her from him.

Mariko was placed in an improvised high chair while one of the ladies fed her something that was well mashed up. Ron couldn't identify the food source no more than he could identify the food source in the bowl he was handed.

The ladies continued to fuss over the two and Ron just smiled and nodded, _"They could be calling me all the names in the book…I have to try and learn the language."_

He looked at his food in his bowl and began eating with the chop sticks they gave him, _"Have to talk to Yori…I wonder if it's really a good idea to bring Mariko up on a steady diet of school cafeteria food."_

Ron looked at the concoction he was eating and shivered and then pushed it out of his mind as he looked at the other ninja students coming in the entry way for breakfast. _"It's been what…nearly a year and a half since I was here last…Hard to believe, about as hard to believe as me having a daughter."_ He thought happily as he looked at the smiling baby as she reached out to him.

They finished up their breakfast and then it was time to leave to find Master Sensei. They walked down the stone paved trail towards the courtyard. He could see preparations being made for the beginning of classes.

Sitting with his legs crossed in on a large red velvet pillow in deep meditation sat Master Sensei. Ron smiled at the image he was presented with. Master Sensei opened his eyes and smiled, "I was most interested in how long it would take you to seek me out once you arrived…Nearly two days, most impressive."

Ron checked his smile and told Sensei, "I had other concerns."

Master Sensei nodded and he looked at the baby, "And how is Mariko this morning?"

"She's feeling all happy now that she's eaten." Ron told him happily.

Master Sensei nodded and then it was time for business, "I understand you have a problem."

Ron chuckled, "That's an understatement."

He then repeated the story he told Yori about Kim and the Space Center experiments with the chair and their ability to record what was happening to him half a world away. Ron also told him about the late night visit to destroy the machine but he was uncertain how long it would remain out of commission before they brought a new one online.

Master Sensei tugged at his long grey mustache as he thought the problem over, "You indeed do have a problem...Was your run in the mountains any help to you yesterday?"

"I dunno…I guess…I think it did help." Ron said with a shrug.

Master Sensei pointed towards the mountains, "Then you must return to the mountains and continue your training, learn to quiet your mind."

Ron turned and looked at the mountain range, "I guess it will be my honor to run thru the mountains and seek my answers."

"May fortunes smile upon you as you under take your quest for inner peace."

He stood up and picked up Mariko and looked at the aging Master and bowed, _"He has no clue about what to do?"_

Ron turned to leave and then turned and faced Sensei once more, "Before I leave, I have one other question that needs to be answered in my quest of inner peace."

Master Sensei nodded that he would hear the question and Ron looked around conspiratorially and cooed, "Is she not the cutest most badical little baby on the planet…Yes she is…uh huh…Wave bye to Master Sensei...See Mariko is waving." Ron said as he moved Mariko's arm for her to make the smiling baby appear to wave.

Master Sensei closed his eyes and shook his head, _"Surely there must be another chosen one somewhere?"_

"Good day Stoppable San."

Ron stopped before he walked out of the temple, "Master Sensei?"

Master Sensei sighed, "Yes Stoppable San?"

"Thanks for going to bat for Yori and Mariko."

The old man smiled, "That is how you would say...No big."

**

* * *

**

"Look for the last time I don't know where Ronald is."

Mrs. Stoppable hung up the phone and turned and looked at the crew from Israel. She was clearly upset, "I don't understand this? Why does the FBI want to find my son? Why do they think I know where he is? We just found the station wagon yesterday in the Smarty Mart parking lot…And who were those two women they claim he was with when he went missing? Why don't they keep pestering them to find out where he is?"

Monique held Tirza's hand tightly, _"I bet he's in Japan…I can't say anything…From what Kim says he's on the warpath and I know enough not to get in his way when he's angry."_

She shivered at the memory of Ron's eyes glowing blue and seeing him bend back J.D. Rottler's fingers until she heard them snap when they were still in high school. J.D. had given Ron some pills to keep his energy up for the finish Cross Country and the pills nearly destroyed him.

J.D. had asked her to the prom and she thought he was nice enough so she said yes. They ran into Ron at Bueno Nacho and J.D. got in Ron's face about the whole Cross Country ordeal and called him a loser. Ron snapped the two fingers he was pointing at him and Monique had to get Ron out before he could kill J.D.

"M…maybe we should talk to the two women that Ron was with?" Monique added trying to help.

"If you have a cordless drill I can get them to talk." Bina added helpfully.

Sergei shook his head and tried not to laugh, "I think I know who the woman was he was talking with at Smarty Mart…Maybe if we talk to her she might say something that she has not told the secret police?"

Tirza looked at Monique, "Maybe that Kim from down the street would know something."

"She's probably involved in this...The FBI should be down there now questioning her. Two days after he breaks up with her he goes missing…If I was the FBI, I would talk to her." Mrs. Stoppable said angrily.

Monique pulled on Tirza's arm and motioned for the door, "I think we better go have a talk with Kim." She whispered.

Tirza nodded and looked towards Sergei, "We will stay in touch." He said quietly as he and Monique headed out of the kitchen.

Sergei looked to Sam, "Do you feel like driving us to this Smarty Mart place?"

Sam smiled and nodded, "Yes..."

"I am coming along too." Sima said.

"Mrs. Ronnie's mom can we use the station wagon for a trip to Smarty Mart? We may be able to find something to out something the secret police missed."

Mrs. Stoppable nodded, "Yes, I think that is a good idea. I have some things I need for the baby too. I will give you a list and some money."

A twisted smile crossed Bina's lips, "Finally I will get to interrogate someone."

**

* * *

**

"I thought you said that you and Kim were not speaking to one another?"

Monique giggled impishly, "Oh that was two days ago...I'm sure she's accepted her responsibility for the whole mess by now...Just in case she hasn't...You might want to stay here in case things get ugly."

Tirza nodded as Monique shut the motor off and got out of the car. She stared at the house for a few seconds, _"I hope Kim's not in one of her nutty moods."_ She thought as she headed up the walkway to the front door.

She reached up and rang the door bell. Mrs. Dr. P. answered the door, "Hello Monique, Kim's in her room." She told her as she stepped back from the door.

"I hope your bringing happy news, Kim's still in the dumps."

Monique looked at Mrs. Dr. P. and shook her head, "No...I just wanted to see if she's...heard from Ron?"

Mrs. Dr. P. had a pained expression on her face, "No, she just finished talking to the FBI about an hour ago...I think it's just terrible what you two put Ron through."

Monique started to protest but kept silent as she walked up the stairs. She stood outside Kim's door and then quietly knocked on the door, "Hey Kim its Mo'."

"Go away, I just want to be alone."

"Come on Kim...I won't be long...I just...you know." Monique said weekly.

"Alright come on in."

Monique opened the door and walked in the room, "I guess you heard Ron's gone missing again?"

Kim was lying in the bed under the covers, "I don't want to talk about Ron, I'm tired of talking about Ron...I'm just so tired of the whole thing." She said wearily.

Monique nodded, "I'm hip tell me about it...You know he's probably in Japan."

Kim chuckled bitterly, "Yea...I figured as much...He's gone Monique."

"Oh it'll blow over and you guys will be good again." Monique offered trying to break Kim out of her funk.

She shook her head, "No...I mean he's gone...I was sensing he was very happy about something and then...It was like someone threw an off switch. He wasn't there anymore."

"Yamanouchi?" Monique offered.

Kim nodded and replied quietly, "Yamanouchi"

"So you don't think he's dead or hurt or anything?" She asked nervously.

Kim shook her head, "No...Monique...if you don't mind...I would kind of like to be alone."

Monique nodded and then tried her best to smile, "Cheer up Kim, your not the first girl to ever break up with a boyfriend...There's other guys out there...You need to try and get out of the house for a while."

"Maybe tomorrow Monique, maybe tomorrow." Kim said sadly.

Monique left her room and shook her head on her way down the stairs, _"Man she's really taking this hard."_

Mrs. Dr. P. could see Monique's concern, "She any better?"

"No, she's still pretty down about things."

"I'll have a talk with her." Mrs. Dr. P. said looking up the stairs towards Kim's room.

Monique nodded and said her goodbyes to Mrs. Dr. P. and walked slowly out to the car. She could see Tirza changing CD's out of the car stereo, _"What is he up to now?"_

He smiled as he saw his fiancée' approach and pointed at the car stereo, "Neil Diamond Hot August Nights."

She giggled and held out her arms, "I really need a hug right now."

**

* * *

**

Mrs. Dr. P. walked up stairs after Monique left and knocked on her daughters door, "Kim, come on downstairs and be with the family for a while."

"I'm not in the mood mom." Was the reply from the other side of the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure why not, everybody else has been in here why not you too." Kim said sadly.

Mrs. Dr. P. walked into the darkened bedroom, "You know you can't hide up here all summer."

Kim shrugged, "I don't know what else to do now...I mean...I don't know."

"Well step one is coming out of this bedroom and joining the family that loves you very much downstairs."

"Maybe tomorrow Mom, maybe tomorrow."

"No tomorrows Kim, today...I know you're hurting but shutting yourself off from the world is not the answer. You fall off the bike and you have to get right back on again."

Kim stirred and began to get out of bed. She stopped and began to cry and held out her arms. Mrs. Dr. P. embraced her, "Oh baby, I know...I know your hurting." She told her as she stroked her hair.

"It's not fair Mom, it's just not fair...It shouldn't have ended this way, it shouldn't of ended this way. Kim sniffled and continued to hug her mother.

"Well then honey. Get yourself together and when Ron shows back up again. You need to explain that to him. It may not help but at least you can tell yourself that you gave it a good try." Her mother offered.

"I have to try don't I?" Kim said as she wiped her eyes.

"I think you should...If nothing else to at least apologize for all the problems that you and Monique have caused." Mrs. Dr. P. nodded her head sympathetically.

Kim shook her head, "Mom, it was Monique..."

"...Who had all the jello shots and began running her mouth at a party?" Mrs. Dr. P. reminded her sternly.

Her shoulders slumped, "You're right, most of all of this is my doing...If nothing else at least try and stay friends with him."

**

* * *

**

"Sima, you and Sam go find the things from the list. Sergei you watch my back as I will do all the talking and if necessary...the unfriendly persuasion."

Sergei shook his head, "NO...You will watch my back by staying with Sima and Sam and I will ask this woman the questions."

"HA, I know you. You will try to seduce her with your manly charms and then we will have two missing men." Bina's Jealousy began to take shape.

Sam laughed, "You have nothing to worry about there unless she is carrying a box of pastries."

"You keep at it smart boy and you will be eating your pastries thru a straw."

Sima tried hard not to laugh at Sam as he made an obscene gesture to Sergei before scampering out of the way as the big man tried to slap him, "Come on Sam, I need to look at music CD's and videos that you will be buying me."

Sam's eyes grew large, "ME...I...I do not have any money."

Sergei laughed, "How do you expect to get a girl friend if you have no money?"

"Ahhhhhh" Sam said as he waived Sergei's taunt away.

The group walked into the store and split up. Sam and Sima headed their way and Sergei and Bina headed towards the jewelry department. Sergei looked at the woman behind the counter and turned to Bina, "There she is, stay here and I will be right back."

"I will circle behind her in case she tries to escape." Bina said as she quickly broke off from her boyfriend.

Sergei sighed and shook his head, _"The woman is driving me crazy."_

He walked up to the counter and read the name on the woman's name tag, "Hello Tina…I am a friend of Ronnies…"

Sergei saw a flash from the corner of his eye but couldn't move fast enough to block Bina from tackling Tina and taking her to the ground, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH BIG EARS, TALK BIATCH TALK!"

Tina thrashed around on the floor and threw an elbow at Bina's jaw, "Get off me you crazy bitch."

"Bina, get off of her." Sergei scolded as he tried to separate the two women.

Tina got to her feet and was rather upset, "Who the hell are you people?"

Sergei pulled Bina away from behind the counter, "Please, we came with Ronnie from Israel. We just want to talk to you about what happened to Ronnie."

Tina looked Sergei up and down, "Israel, huh, you're from Eastern Europe originally aren't you?"

Sergei nodded as he tried to hold on to a squirming Bina, "Yes.. I am from Lithuania...I met Ronnie when we had our paper work done and we were in the basic training together."

"Get me a cordless drill, and I will make her talk."

"Bina stop that." Sergei scolded as he tried to hold his girlfriend back.

Tina shook her head, "I figured you were from Eastern Europe. You just don't see many American men wearing lavender jumpsuits trimmed in rhinestones."

Sergei shook his head, "Bina picked it out."

"Let me at her, I will teach her to question my taste in clothing." Bina said before falling to the ground and pulling Sergei down along with her.

Sergei wrestled her till he was seated on top of her, "As…as…I was asking Tina lady. We were wondering what had happened to Ronnie?"

Tina shook her head, "I'll tell you the same thing I told the FBI. We were partying and having a great time. Ron went to the bathroom, the FBI kicked in the door and Ron was gone."

"SHE IS LYING LET ME UP!"

"Be quiet Bina…So Ronnie was able to get out of the apartment before the secret police invaded your home?"

"Yea he was in the bathroom and then he was gone…That's all I know."

Sergei scratched his head, "So he went out thru a window in this bathroom?"

Tina shook her head, "Nope, there are no windows in the bathroom."

Bina blinked and looked at her, "So how did big ears get out?"

Tina shrugged, "I don't know, the FBI doesn't know, Ron was just gone."

Sergei stood up and pulled Bina to her feet, "Anything strange happen before Ronnie disappeared? Any…blue lights?"

Tina shook her head and smiled salaciously, "No…He was just gone, left his shirt and shoes. He was only wearing a pair of jeans and a smile."

"I believe you." Sergei said with a laugh.

Bina gloomed at the two, "Did the FBI say why they wanted Big Ears?"

Both Sergei and Tina looked at Bina. Sergei grinned, "That is the first intelligent question I ever heard you ask."

"You will pay for that later." Bina said in a menacing whisper.

Tina laughed, "I bet he will…No, they just smashed in the door and said they were looking for Ron and then started badgering us about where he was and then they left."

"That is very strange behavior even for secret police." Sergei said as he was trying to figure it all out.

"Well they are going to get a strange law suite. I'm suing…Tina's got to get paid for this mess."

"If you should see Ronnie…Tell him his mother is worried about him." Sergei told her as he began to drag Bina away from the jewelry counter.

Tina called after him, "If you see Ron have him get in touch with me…Things were just starting to get interesting."

Sergei laughed and nodded his head, _"I bet they were."_

"Come on Bina, we need to leave before you get us thrown out."

Bina struggled trying to get out of his grip, "She is clearly lying, I can make her talk…"

"We are to leave in two days…We need Ronnie to get us back home." Sergei said quietly.

Bina mood changed and a smile came over her face, "So you are going home to meet my family then?"

Sergei shook his head, "No, you are going home to report back for duty and I am going to Lithuania for a month."

"Well then I am going to Lithuania also." Bina said defiantly.

Sergei stopped walking and turned to her, "Bina you will be arrested for desertion when you return home."

Bina grinned and shook her head, "No because I should be pregnant by then…They will just discharge me and put me in the reserves."

Sergei suddenly became very pale and weak in the knees, "Oh"

**

* * *

**

"I am told that Hirotaka will be her tomorrow to take you to Tokyo for your trip back to the United States." Yori explained as she cradled Mariko while Ron was doing the laundry in a mountain stream.

Ron's upper body was soaked from beating the wet garments and diapers against the rocks in an effort to get them clean, "Wouldn't it be easier just to have a ninja laundry mat?"

"Did you hear what I said Stoppable San?"

He nodded his head that he did and looked at the young ninja mother, "I...Leaving Mariko will be very difficult for me...I...I just wish I had more time to spend with her."

"We will have to arrange another visit when you are not so pressed for time."

"I have to get back. My friends need me to get them back home and Bonnie arrives back home in few days...So far seeing you and Mariko has been the best part of my leave." He told her as he continued to rinse their clothing out in the stream.

"So tell me about this Bonnie?" Yori said trying to sound disinterested.

Ron looked up from the laundry, "Well...That's hard to explain. She didn't like me in High School and then she kind of tolerated me. She went to school in Israel and led me to believe the one without honor had found a boyfriend...It's complicated."

"I see...So...do you have strong feelings for this Bonnie?"

He stopped washing and put his hands on his hips, "I...I think so. I mean...She took care of me when I was wounded...She didn't have to...She just did...I'm pretty sure I have feelings for her...I don't want to break your heart, but..."

Yori narrowed her eyes and in a frosty voice replied, "I believe my heart remains intact."

Ron noted the lack of emotion in her voice and tried to lighten things up, "What? Does everyone have hearts of stone these days...I mean come on?"

Yori stood up abruptly with Mariko to leave, "It will be your honor to finish the wash and hang them up to dry before you return to my quarters."

He watched her and the baby head up the bank and away from the stream. Once they were gone he shook his head and said sadly under his breath, "I need to learn that sometimes lying is not always a bad thing."

"She will get over it."

Ron jumped clearly startled at being caught off guard, "You got me there Sun Chi."

The smiling man in the orange robes laughed, "Of course you are sloppy...Have you learned nothing?"

"It is difficult to change. I mean...I have to interact with people." Ron tried to explain.

"Not difficult, you do not want these people to gain control over you than you must remain constantly on guard...Now tell me what you have learned?"

Ron sighed and stood up straight and dropped the last of the laundry, "I have learned that if I can quiet my mind that I can detect unwanted intrusions, react faster and have a higher probability of success with the dispatching of my enemies. That I should be more concerned with intuitive wisdom then rational thought, everything flows and when it flows it flows in a cylindrical pattern?"

Sun Chi smiled and nodded, "Yes, go on?"

"I learned that I need to be more aware of my surroundings._ Non-action does not mean doing nothing and keeping silent. Let everything be allowed to do what it naturally does, so that its nature will be satisfied._ I learned the seven strategic points to strike on the human body to cause instantaneous death. And that a Banana papaya smoothie is tough to beat."

Sun Chi glared at Ron, "I had high hopes for you...It is a Banana strawberry smoothie is tough to beat...Do you not pay any attention at all to what I try and teach you."

Ron was not in the mood to be reprimanded for confusing the fruits of a smoothie, "Oh come on...I mean how relevant is a freaking drink in the big scheme of things?"

"The only universally significant contribution your little insignificant planet makes and you say it is not relevant?"

"Are you sure you guys have all this wisdom? I mean you seem sort of random to me." Ron told him as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Your lessons will continue, I advise you to not take any of them lightly or it could mean your doom." Sun Chi disappeared in flash of lightening leaving Ron all alone by the stream.

Ron looked up into the sky, "ALL RIGHT I GET IT, IT'S BANANA STRAWBERRY SMOOTIES! Sun Chi could have at least hung around long enough to help me finish this laundry."

"DOING WASH IS WORK FOR WOMAN!" An ethereal voice called out to him.

"OH GO DRINK A SMOOTHIE!" Ron called out to the sky.

He finished the laundry and hung them up to dry in the afternoon mountain air. Ron made his way back to Yori's quarters, _"I hope she is not angry at me...I didn't mean to hurt her feelings...There I go again...Clear the mind."_

Ron stopped outside the door and took off his shoes, _"Do nothing let things play out naturally."_

He slid the door open and stepped inside. Mariko smiled and stood up in her crib and began jumping up and down giggling at him. Ron smiled at his daughter, "Well look who's glad to see daddy." He said softly as he picked up Mariko.

Yori scolded him from the doorway to her room, "Leave her in the crib if you pick her up every time she jumps up and down and holds out her hands then she will think that is accepted behavior."

Ron looked at his smiling daughter, "Well that is accepted behavior for daddies." He told Yori as Mariko tugged on his nose.

"In order for Mariko to become ready for her schooling she must be taught self discipline, something that you, yourself would be wise to practice." Yori scolded.

He looked at her and softly explained, "Yori, I have to leave tomorrow. Let me have some time with her."

Yori wouldn't yield an inch, "Back into the crib or we will have to rethink when you will be allowed to visit."

Ron's jaw quivered as he understood Yori's implied threat and then he put his daughter back into the crib, "You're the boss."

Mariko pouted and then began to cry holding her arms out to him. Yori looked at Ron, "Now if you ignore the crying she will get tired and take her nap."

He nodded and swallowed hard, "Yea"

Yori walked behind Ron to the door. She spoke up to be heard over the baby, "I have to teach my class now, I shall return directly."

Ron watched her leave. A grin came over his face and then the door slid open once again, "She stays in the crib for a nap. If she is out of the crib...I will know."

He lost his grin and slid down wall to sit on the floor. Once he was sure she was gone. Ron stuck out is his tongue and began making faces at Mariko. After a few minutes of crying she calmed down and watched Ron make different silly faces. Soon she was fast asleep.

Ron watched her sleep and shook his head, _"Using Mariko as weapon was cold...Ninja cold...Use a child as a weapon...That was so wrong...But, she did get her way out of it." _He thought sadly.

He returned to his seat on the floor with his back against the wall and worked on clearing his mind. When Yori returned home he quietly stepped outside her quarters to put his shoes on for a quick run in the mountains.

The wheezing was beginning to subside as he began to get his body back into shape. He was gaining more confidence in the knee the more he ran. He stopped well before the top of the mountain to catch his breath in the thin air.

He smiled as he looked out over the country side in the twilight. The many colors of the evening were splashed across the horizon, pinks, blues, purples, and the golden hue of the sun setting off in the distance.

Ron put his hands on his hips, looked at the ground and nodded his head, _"I am ready to go back to Middleton...I am ready to see Bonnie again."_ He thought as he turned and ran back towards the school.

It was a quiet night after he arrived back at Yori's. She tried to instruct him on various concentration techniques but stopped after he held up a hand and shook his head. He wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as he could.

He took her into his lap and found a toy she liked and played with her. He didn't talk very much afraid that he might say something that would offend Yori and cut his evening with her short.

She was teething and she grabbed hold of Ron's finger and tried to gnaw on it. Ron acted as though he was screaming in pain and Mariko laughed, _"You are such a smart girl."_ Ron whispered to her quietly.

Soon it was soon bedtime for Mariko and Ron put her down in the crib and smiled as she grabbed a set of plastic keys to gnaw on and curled up under her blanket, "You sleep tight and daddy will see you in the morning."

Yori handed him a bag, "Some clothing for you to wear for your trip tomorrow."

Ron answered with a voice devoid of emotion, "Fine"

Yori frowned aware that Ron wasn't pleased with her, "Do not judge me harshly, you are leaving and I have to stay with her. I must have complete control in all aspects of her life in order to assure her education here." Yori explained to him.

A shiver ran through Ron, _"Complete control?"_

"I see...Well I guess it will be my honor to spend my last night here with my daughter. Good night."

Yori nodded and left for her room. Ron lay on a thatch mat and looked towards the crib, _"I hope your mother doesn't go off the deep end."_

**

* * *

**

A soft knock on the door woke him from his sleep. He could see that the sun was just coming up as Ron struggled to his feet and slid the door open, "Hey"

Hirotaka bowed and Ron tried to bow as well but was still too sleepy, "Stoppable San...You must get ready. We will be leaving shortly."

Ron turned around and grabbed his sack of clothing and made his way to the showers. When he returned he was more awake, "We got those chemical launchers in Southern Lebanon." He said trying to start a conversation.

Hirotaka nodded, "Yes we heard. How are your legs?"

He shrugged, "Better...I'm able to run again."

Mariko opened her eyes and saw that her daddy was awake and quickly scrambled to her feet and began jumping up and down. Hirotaka grinned, "I hope you are not spoiling her? Yori will not be pleased with you if you are."

Ron's smile left his face and he narrowed his eyes, "Tell me about it."

He quickly changed his daughter and lightly tapped on Yori's door, "Hirotaka is here...Time to get up."

"I must get my sleep, just say your goodbyes to Mariko and leave with Hirotaka." Yori called from the other side of the door.

Ron nodded but said nothing. He made sure to pickup the disposable camera. He took twelve pictures and wanted to get them processed before he left for home. He held the camera up, "Can you take me somewhere to have this processed?"

Hirotaka nodded, "But of course Stoppable San."

He picked up Mariko from the crib and gave her a big hug, "Daddy has to leave now...You be a good girl for your mother, OK?"

He gave her one more hug and another kiss before setting her back into her crib, _"This is too hard, I wish I could stay longer."_ Ron turned and walked with Hirotaka to the door. He turned to look back at his daughter one last time.

Mariko began jumping up and down and holding her rainbow colored plastic keys out to him so he could play with her Their eyes met and Mariko lowered the keys and then raised them up again shaking them hoping that daddy would come play with her. Ron's heart broke as he watched her shake the keys, "OH" His voice cracked as he quickly turned away and walked out the door.

Ron walked with Hirotaka to his black SUV. He was numb all over and doing his best not to cry, _"I wish I could stay...I'm sorry baby...Daddies sorry."_

They rode in silence for much of the trip to Tokoyo. Hirotaka realizing that Ron was upset wanted to give him some time to compose his thoughts before he would attempt to strike up a conversation with him.

Ron looked to his left and saw the village that was devastated by the earth quake as he was leaving Yamanouchi in his senior year of High School. He pointed towards the village, "Looks like they have rebuilt, I can hardly tell the place was hit by an earthquake."

Hirotaka nodded, "Yes, the villagers along with the Government disaster assistance teams rebuilt the community very quickly."

"Good...good"

They traveled for another hour and began to hit the suburbs of Tokyo. Hirotaka decided it was time for his talk, "I have been told that some people have taken an interest in you."

Ron shook his head unsure about how to answer.

Hirotaka nodded, "The Mossad in Israel has opened a file on you after what you did with the Lotus Blade in Gaza City."

Ron laughed, "Ahhhhh I wouldn't worry about it too much...I think they will lose interest in me soon enough."

Hirotaka nodded as he pulled into a parking garage and took a ticket. The gate opened and he drove inside, "Perhaps they will but their interest has the CIA's interested in you...When we picked you up, do you remember anything else that happened?"

"Umm...I made Yori really mad by coming onto Ms. Kyoko?"

Hirotaka tried to stifle a laugh but failed, "Other than that Stoppable San.'

He shook his head that he didn't remember anything unusual.

"The FBI broke down the front door of the apartment to pick you up for questioning."

Ron looked horrified, "WHAT...What...Tina and..."

"They are fine when they did not find you they left."

"Well...well what does the FBI want with me?" Ron asked becoming indignant.

Hirotaka held up a hand, "The CIA wants you to spy for them against Israel, so they sent your FBI out to take you in for questioning."

"NO WAY...am I going to spy against Israel."

The black SUV pulled into an empty space, "Let's go get those pictures printed."

They exited the vehicle and walked towards an elevator. Hirotaka pressed the down button, "There is a one hour photo place in the shopping mall."

Ron nodded, "So what happens now?"

"It is hard to say. Now that you have disappeared into thin air you are number one on their people of interest list."

"Great as if I don't have enough problems."

"Oh you have more problems than you are aware, "There is a faction of the Yurchenko/Sakorov crime family that is also seeking information on you as well as a Global Justice agent named William Du."

They walked into the camera store and Ron handed his disposable camera to an attractive woman who ran the lab, "Ummm...Filmo...Precesseio,,,Wait here I will."

Hirotaka shook his head and told the woman what Ron wanted and she smiled and bowed and began working on the producing Ron's pictures, "Honestly Stoppable San if you are going to spend any time in our country you should at least try and learn the language."

"Alright, alright...How long before the pictures are ready?"

"She said 45 minutes."

Ron nodded, "I don't know about the crime family but Du. He's an idiot."

"He's in the United States hunting you now...There is also reports of Candy Mann operating inside the United States...Beware of Mann he is evil." Hirotaka told him quietly.

"Yea, yea, me and that...the one without honor defeated Candy two years ago...No problems...Why is Du so interested in me?" Ron said as he thought of the minor run in with Du in Southern Lebanon.

"_It would hardly be worth the trouble of someone who considers himself a world class secret agent."_

Hirotaka looked around quickly to insure they were not being over heard, "He has grand visions of bringing you in front of the World Court in the Hague Netherlands on human rights violations."

"What did I ever do?"

"Stoppable San, you forget you killed over 70 soldiers in Gaza City." Hirotaka reminded him.

Ron closed his eyes, "Of course, the truth doesn't matter. I'm nothing but a blood thirsty Jew killing poor innocent Arabs, who should be allowed to murder, bomb and kidnap as it suits them as long as it's only targeted at Jews. All because the Jews who live in Israel are evil and the rest of the world is good."

"I am told that Du and Global Justice plan quite a show trial once they capture you."

Ron chuckled bitterly, "I bet they do...Well, I'll just have to kill Will Du then...General Tova did say Global Justice was no friend of Israel."

Hirotaka pointed towards the counter, "Your pictures are ready."

He turned and walked up to the counter and before Hirotaka could stop him handed the lady his Bank of Jerusalem Visa card. She rang up the sale and Hirotaka was not happy, once they left the store he let Ron know about his error, "Stoppable San you should have let me pay for the pictures in cash."

Ron pressed the up button for the elevator, "No, it's cool, I got a little money in the bank."

Hirotaka shook his head, "You do not understand. Once you use that card you alert anyone in the world that is looking for you. The CIA, Mossad and Global Justice now know exactly where you are."

Ron's eyes grew big, "What? How am I supposed to pay for anything?"

They walked out onto the floor of the parking garage where Hirotaka's black SUV was parked, "Cash Stoppable San, always use cash...It's harder to trace."

"I see...Well...I guess this could be a good thing since I'm leaving everyone will be looking in the wrong place."

Hirotaka nodded as he unlocked his vehicle, "This is true, misdirect everyone while you return to the United States."

Once they were underway Ron opened the package with the pictures inside and looked thru his pictures. He smiled as he saw the picture Yori took of Mariko sleeping on his chest, _"She is such a pretty little girl."_

"This is where we part ways Stoppable San." Hirotaka told him as they entered the airport facility that housed Mr. Nakasumi's private jet.

Ron shook Hirotaka's hand, "Any idea on where Candy Mann's new lair is?"

"We believe it would be somewhere in the Western United States."

He thought it over and then began laughing, "With my luck it will be in Middleton, Colorado...All great plans to take over the world start there you know."

Ron waived goodbye to Hirotaka and walked up the portable stairs to enter the large Airbus. He was greeted at the door by Miss Kyoko, "A pleasure to see you again Stoppable San. I trust your visit was...enjoyable."

He chuckled and tried not to blush but was having no luck in fighting it back, "I...I just wanted to say that I was sorry for my poor behavior when you picked me up."

Miss Kyoko nodded and smiled, "Stoppable San was not himself that day."

Ron breathed as sigh of relief, "I have pictures of Mariko if you'd like to see them?"

"I will look at the photos of your daughter once we are in the air." Miss Kyoko said as she stepped away from the door to allow Ron to enter the big plane.

Ron walked to the front of the plane and sat down, _"I need to get home and get those guys on the road before they get into trouble."_

**

* * *

**

Rosalyn Cortez reported for work at the Middle Eastern desk at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Upon entering her section she was immediately stopped by the group secretary Helen Lawrence.

"Your Mr. Stoppable showed up on the grid last night."

The head of the Middle East desk took the paper from Helen and looked it over, "Japan...How the hell did he end up in Japan?"

"That's where the credit card was used from." Helen told her trying to empathize with the section chief.

Rosalyn growled and walked quickly back to her office and picked up the telephone to contact her boss Director Wellington. The phone rang three times before it was answered. Director Wellington always believed in letting the phone ring three times so as not to appear as if he were hovering over the phones.

"Rosalyn, how are you this morning?"

Ms. Cortez tried to sound pleasant as she responded to the customary pleasantry, "I'm very well this morning sir and how are you today?"

"Oh, I'm doing very well today. I see your Mr. Stoppable is in Tokyo Japan."

Rosalyn closed her eyes and shook her head. She had wanted to be the one delivering the information not the one receiving it, "Yes sir, he just popped up in Japan."

She told him that she would be there in ten minutes and left her cubical and walked straight to Helen Lawrence's desk, "He wants to see me, any idea on what he has up his sleeve?"

Helen nodded, "They have mall security camera footage that just came in about twenty minutes ago."

"Alright, thanks Helen." Rosalyn said as she made the walk to the director's office.

This would give her a chance to think things through, _"Security camera footage...Maybe he's not alone? The card was being used at a Fujika camera store. Is he buying a camera? No it was for photo processing...Damn strange."_

Rosalyn walked into the elevator that led to the director's office, "Hey Rosalyn, you packin' today?"

"No Joe, no gun today." She informed Secret Service agent Joe Bargetzi who was assigned to protect the Director of the CIA.

"Ahhhhhhhh nobody carries guns anymore...Makes my job boring."

The elevator door opened and Rosalyn walked through the metal detector. From there she was directed to go into the reception area. Cindy Trammel was seated working at her computer terminal, "He's expecting you, head right on in."

Rosalyn nodded her head and walked into the Director Sinclair's office, "Have a seat Rosalyn, I want you to see this."

He turned a 17" plasma screen television around so that she could see the picture, "Recognize the two men coming out of the photo shop?"

She nodded her head, "Our mysterious Agent X with the Japanese Secret Service and Sergeant Ronald Stoppable of the Israeli Defense Force."

"Correct, now the big question is, why is he in Japan and how did he get there?" Director Sinclair asked.

Now came the tricky part for Rosalyn Cortez, she had no idea how Ronald Stoppable came to be in Japan or how he escaped from the FBI in Middleton. She couldn't just say that she didn't know, in the information collection business 'Knowing' was everything and 'Knowing' meant job security and promotions. On the other hand 'Not Knowing' led to being posted as a case officer assigned to an embassy in Romania or at the very least termination of employment.

Now it was time to improvise and make it sound convincing, "I would have to assume that Israel and the Japanese Government have entered into a pact to gather intelligence on various militant Muslim groups that are becoming more active in the Pacific Rim nations."

Director Sinclair nodded and then tried to poke a hole in Ms. Cortez's theory, "That would make sense but you would think their Governments would use more established individuals...These two appear to be barely out of High School."

Rosalyn scratched her chin and continued to buttress her theory, "If they used more established contacts we would have been able to detect what was going on much sooner. If they are using unknown individuals it would be more likely that we would over look their operations. Thus keeping the operations secure."

Director Sinclair shook his head, "This is damn strange, and then why would Mr. Stoppable violate all known security protocols and use his Visa card to make a purchase?"

"A signal perhaps back to the Israeli government?"

Director Sinclair nodded, "That's just what I was thinking. Very perceptive Rosalyn...I'm going to alert the Embassy in Tokyo to dispatch a team to quietly pick up Mr. Stoppable and hold him for questioning."

If Rosalyn Cortez was pleased she did not show it, _"I'll be damn, he bought it."_

**

* * *

**

Sam woke up in bed and realized that he had lost the ability to move. During the night Sergei had strapped him down under his blanket so that he was unable to move. Now Sam was in a panic he had heard about blanket parties while he was in basic training.

A group of soldiers would throw a blanket over an unsuspecting soldier that was causing the platoon to get into trouble. Once the blanket was over the soldier other men would hold pull it tight so the soldier couldn't move while others would punch and kick the offending soldier to get the message across that he should shape up.

Sergei however didn't have the luxury of help so he used rope and nylon cord that he found in the Stoppable's garage. Sam was bound up and in capable of moving. He was clearly scared as he looked up at Sergei, "Wh...what are you doing?"

Seregei smiled sadistically, "Do you not remember me telling you that I would have the last laugh before we left here to head home?"

Sam laughed nervously, "Yes but you were just joking with me."

"No I meant it...I was going to thrash you but I was afraid your screams would wake the whole block up." He told the boy as he unpeeled a hard boiled egg.

Sergei dropped the shell on the floor, "I just love to eat hard boiled eggs. Unfortunately for me they upset my stomach and give me gas."

"NO...Nooooooooo" Sam wailed as Sergei stood over him and tore lose with a mighty wind that smelled every bit of rotten eggs.

Sergei laughed as Sam made faces trying to hold his breath to keep from smelling the big man's farts, "Little one I have eaten a dozen of these wonderful grade AA extra large eggs from Smarty Mart."

He quickly turned and let another powerful smelling fart pass through his system, "Oy that was a terrible one, even by my standards. Would you not agree?"

Sam was turning blue to keep from breathing and smelling Sergei's gas, "Now you are going to respect me, because I always keep my word."

The boy thrashed as Sergei stood over him once more and erupted with a mighty noise, "Oh that one definitely does not smell like flowers."

Ron arrived home and was dropped off in front of his house. He casually walked into the garage and down the stairs to where the guys were staying. When he reached the bottom he smelled the fowl air, "Damn, the sewer backup or something?"

The he saw what Sergei was up to, "Uhhh...Anything happen while I was gone that I should know about?"

"Help me, Sergei is trying to gas me to death." Sam croaked out as he was still trying to hold his breath.

Sergei smiled, "Ronnie good to see you back...We must leave today."

Ron nodded and grabbed the Ronnunicator from under his bunk and ran back up the stairs, "I'm on it."

"What about me?" Sam yelled out.

Ron stopped at the top of the stairs, "I couldn't quite hear you, I'll be back down in an hour or so."

Sergei smiled at Sam, "Now where were we...Ahhhh yes, I remember."

"NOOOOOOOOOOO" Sam screamed as loud as he could.

"Sergei" Ron said quickly as he ran to the bottom of the stairs.

He turned and looked at Ron, "Yes?"

Ron nodded his head, "You were right. I should have listened to you the other day."

Sergei smiled, "Of course I was right. Sergei is always right."

Ron shook his head and made his way back up to the kitchen and sat down at the table and pressed the button on the Ronnunicator for Wade. The computer genius's face was soon on the view screen, "Hey Ron everyone ready to go home?"

"I thought you'd forget?" Ron said happily.

Wade shook his head, "No, I kind of decided to tag along. I'm packed to go along with them...I think I could use a vacation."

Ron blinked at the boy, "You're going to leave your house?"

"Well after the whole thing with Kim and the CIA and mind control and all...I figured it might be a good idea to get out of the country for a while." Wade said sheepishly.

His blood ran cold, "What about Kim and the CIA?"

Wade tilted his head questioningly at Ron and then nodded, "Oh right, I never told you. She was going to try and rescue you while you were in Gaza City but the CIA intercepted the flight and put a tap on the Kimmunicator...It was a fairly simple to discover the tap and change the frequencies...I never thought much about it until the last week."

"_The CIA is after me to spy on Israel...Would Kim be involved? I wouldn't put anything past that bitch."_ Ron's thoughts were starting to become angry thoughts so he took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"I see, you want me to pick you up?"

Wade shook his head, "No, I will meet you at Hanger 18 in the private plane area of the Upperton International Airport at 3:00 PM sharp."

Ron nodded, "I'll see you at 3:00." He told Wade as the screen went dark.

"Where in the hell have you been?"

He jumped startled at the suddenness of his mother's question, "Oh...I had some things to take care of...I took care of them."

"Not good enough, the FBI has been calling every day asking me where you are." She said angrily.

Ron didn't know what else to say so he sat down at the kitchen table and told his mother the truth, "Mom...Do you remember when I went away for a week to go to school in Japan?"

His mother sensing she was about to be enlightened on what was really going on in her son's life quickly sat down at the kitchen table, "Yes the student exchange program."

"Yea...I went back there when I disappeared for that month...They helped me get over some emotional issues."

Mrs. Stoppable flared, "Emotional issues would this happen to involve Kim..."

Ron held up a hand, "Mom...No it didn't involve Kim. While I was there I became close to a girl who was helping me and..." Ron opened the plastic shopping bag he was carrying and handed his mother the packet of pictures.

His mother opened the packet of photographs and gasped, "Oh Ronald"

"Mom...No one must know especially that person down the street." Ron told her urgently.

Mrs. Stoppable nodded her understanding about not telling Kim, as she put a hand over her mouth, "So I'm a grandma...How old is she?"

"A month younger than Kaley."

His mother chuckled, "So Kaley's an aunt...Oh she looks so much like you." She gushed.

"Mom...No one must know." Ron reminded her.

"I understand that...So what's the baby's name?" She asked as she thumbed through the photographs once more.

"Yori named her Mariko..."

"Mariko...Mariko Stoppable? How long have you known about this?" Mrs. Stoppable asked as she was getting over the initial shock of finding out about the baby and remembering that Ron was in trouble.

"I found out when I was in Southern Lebanon...I contacted Yori and an opportunity came to go and see her and the baby...So I went." Ron said with a shrug.

"Now things are making sense...Kind of...the FBI?" She asked more than slightly bewildered.

"From what I was told they were picking me up for the CIA...It seems they want me to spy on Israel."

"Are you?"

Ron shook his head, "No...no one must know I'm back either."

Mrs. Stoppable chuckled, "This is all so cloak and dagger."

He nodded and took the pictures back from her, "Unfortunately it has to remain that way."

"Does Bonnie know? Are you going to tell her?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't know, I'll just have to see how things go with her first."

"If you two get serious, she will have to know." His mother reminded him.

"Mom...After what happened between me and Kim...I'm not real trusting right now." Ron said wearily.

"There you are, where have you been?" Sima asked as she entered the kitchen.

Ron smiled, "I've been working on finding a way to get you guys home."

"I am ready to go home so I can work on my tan."

An idea popped into Ron's head, "Hey can you call your mom and see if it's OK for Wade to stay with you guys while he's on vacation?"

"Wade is going to Israel with us?" Sima appeared puzzled.

"I don't know for sure he just wants to go somewhere on a vacation. If he goes to Israel he'll need a place to stay."

Sima walked over to the phone and Ron's mother pointed to the garage. He nodded his understanding and followed her out the door. Once they were out of earshot she handed him back his pictures, "Should I tell your father? Will we ever get a chance to see her?"

Ron put the pictures away in the packet, "I...I would prefer you didn't tell dad, he kind of likes bragging at family functions if you know what I mean."

His mother rolled her eyes, "Oh you aren't a kidding...When you won the race at Go City that clinched the State Championship in Cross Country that's all he wanted to talk about when he was around his brother."

"Really?" Ron said in amazement.

"What? You didn't think we were paying attention...Now are we ever going to be able to see Mariko?"

It took a while for Ron to answer since he didn't really know how to answer her, "I...I don't know...I think I will be lucky to see her much less anyone else. Japan is so far away." He said sadly.

The door from the kitchen swung open and Sam staggered into the garage looking very sick to his stomach. Ron looked at him and tried not to laugh, "So did Sergei introduce you to all the foods he is not supposed to eat?"

"Oh it was terrible. You could have helped me." He told Ron as he clutched at his stomach.

Ron smiled, "No that was between you two...Now go back down there and get packed you have to leave this afternoon."

Mrs. Stoppable watched the boy walk back into the house, "So everyone is leaving today except for you and Tirza...right?"

He nodded, "Right"

His mother looked sad, "I was beginning to enjoy a house full of people."

**

* * *

**

The brown Ford Crown Victoria station wagon rolled into the parking lot just outside of Hanger 18. Ron, Sergei, Sam, Sima and Bina exited the vehicle and walked into the waiting are where Ron spotted none other than Wade Load.

Ron walked over to him and poked him in the chest. Wade smiled and nodded his head, "Yes Ron it's really me."

He looked his computer geek friend over, "Of course it is...You're taller than the last time I seen you."

Wade bit his lower lip and tried to remember, "It's been...what, two maybe three years?"

Ron nodded his head and smiled, "Something like that. Let me introduce you to the guys." He turned and looked to his friends and began to speak in Hebrew, "This is Wade Load, he is the reason you were able to come here and stay with my family...He is heading to Israel for a holiday, so make sure you treat him right."

The group introduced themselves and shook Wade's hand. Ron looked the computer genius over, "Only taking two laptops?"

Wade nodded, "A primary and a secondary, I can access the equipment in my basement from anywhere in the world with this stuff."

Sima walked forward, "Piss off"

Wade giggled, "Shalom"

Sima then explained that he was going to be staying at her parent's house in Bat Yam while he was visiting. Wade smiled and nodded and then turned to Ron, "I caught a few words there...Parents and staying."

"You'll be sleeping in my room at the Oester's house in Bat Yam for your stay." Ron explained further.

Wade smiled and looked over Sima, "Coolio!"

Sam stepped in between them, "My woman."

Sima pushed Sam out of the way, "Stop it Sam."

Wade looked to Ron and he whispered into Wade's ear, "Sam has to report back to base in Northern Israel...You may want to give him some space on the trip over there."

"Gotcha"

A small private jet rolled up to the hanger. Ron looked it over, "How is everyone getting to where they have to go?"

Wade smiled proudly, "Well I have been working with the Spinelli family in setting up some online offshore gambling sites and they do favors for me from time to time."

"So they are taking Sergei and Bina to Lithuania and the rest of you to Israel?"

Wade blinked, "Two people going to Lithuania...I thought only one?"

"Bina is going AWOL to go and meet Sergei's mother."

Wade now understood and nodded his head, "Right, well...I can fix this while we're in the air. The Spinelli's are only taking us to New Jersey where we I have arranged overseas flights with two carriers...Remind me around the beginning of July to get those two back to Israel." He said pointing towards Bina and Sergei.

The door to the plane opened up and Wade motioned for them to head towards it. He stopped and turned to face Ron, "Hey, just a heads up...The Government is highly interested in you...They've been working nexus search engines using your name as a keyword...Oh and they've crashed your old website."

Ron's eyes shot open, "That things ancient...It's still out there?"

Wade nodded, "Yea and your message board has quiet a following...Most of the posters want to know where you are and if you've nailed Kim yet?" Wade began laughing, "You are on the top of the people of interest list for the FBI, CIA, NSA, ATF, Mossad, Global Justice, Hamilton Security Services, the Palestinian Authority, Sakorov Properties LLC, and People Magazine who want to name you sexiest man alive."

"Wow, Really?"

"No I made the part up about People Magazine...So while you're running around town, don't use your Visa card nor do anything that will make you stand out. Remember Ron the nail that stands out gets hammered."

Ron nodded, "You got it Wade, thanks for the heads up."

"Sure, I have to get going." Wade said as he turned and began walking towards the airplane.

"Ron watched the plane taxi away from the hanger, _"Hirotaka was right, oh man...I've got to hide...Meet Bonnie tomorrow and then go into hiding."_

He smiled and nodded his head, "_Yea, that's the plan alright kick back and relax with Bonnie. If I'm able to do that what could possibly go wrong?"_


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N: I finally powered thru my mental block and finished up this chapter. Bonnie comes hone and finds that all is not well not only in Ron's world but hers as well.**

**Thanks to AtomicFire for the early proof reads. Hope you all enjoy the chapter...Bubba**

* * *

Bonnie Rockwaller was on pins and needles as she made the final leg of her trip home from Israel. The stop over in New Jersey only heightened the butterflies in her stomach.

She was very nervous, it had been a little over a month since she saw Ron Stoppable and his friends off in Israel and now it was her turn to come back home.

She had received a call from her mother just before she left letting her know that Ron had got in touch with them and would be waiting for her arrival at the Upperton Airport. She looked out the window of the airplane as it made its journey to the west, _"I'll be meeting Ron for the first time with Kim Possible no longer in the picture. I still can't believe it. Ron won't talk about what happened over the phone...Must have been ugly."_

Bonnie had intended on her trip to Israel to insert herself as a romantic rival to Kim for Ron's affections and drive a wedge between the two. The plan took an unexpected turn when Bonnie became attracted to Ron for real. The plan was uncovered by Kim. When then showed up and in Bonnie's mind wrecked everything.

Her next plan was simple. Get Kim upset by passing herself off as Ron's fiancée'. This plan worked too well, everyone believed the story to be true. So true in fact that when Ron was missing in Gaza City she became the main source information back to Middleton to the Stoppable family on Ron's whereabouts and ultimately his condition once he was wounded.

Bonnie felt guilty because of the game playing she had done while Ron was away. While Ron lay wounded she was inspired to help him recover from his wounds so that he could go home and propose to Kim During his recovery Ron was called up for duty once again to serve in Southern Lebanon.

During Ron's tour of duty in Southern Lebanon the stress of daily living through constant missile attacks in Netanya took its toll on Bonnie as she suffered a breakdown after seeing her bomb shelter take a direct hit from a missile that left her prone to panic attacks.

Ron came back wounded from Southern Lebanon and Bonnie was there once again to help get back on his feet. Ron returned to Bonnie's apartment one evening to discover her unconscious on the floor. She had accidentally overdosed on the medicine that was given her to help ease her anxiety and head off her panic attacks. Bonnie swore Ron to secrecy over the whole ordeal and Ron had kept his word by refusing to talk about it with anyone.

They had grown close to one another during their time in Israel. Now it was time to see if their relationship could exist outside of Israel or outside of a war. Bonnie was very nervous about this as the fasten seatbelt light blinked on in front of the airplane.

Bonnie tightened her belt down and let her nagging thoughts enter her mind before the planes final approach, "_What if I don't feel the way I did when I was in Israel? What if it was just a passing moment?"_

She felt as if she were on roller coaster as the plane landed, her stomach went to her throat and she unconsciously gripped the armrests of her seat with all her might. She felt the plane touch down and she let out an audible sigh of relief, _"Flying isn't bad but God I hate landing."_

The plane pulled up to the gate, Bonnie peered out the window to see how the weather was, _"The sun is out, looks like a warm June day. Must be hard for Ron having to wear long sleeves all the time?"_ She thought absently.

The passengers were finally allowed to exit the aircraft and Bonnie made her way towards the baggage carousels where she knew her parents and Ron would meet her. She heard them before she could see them.

"Bonnie…Bonnie, over here." They called to her.

Bonnie cringed. She could clearly hear her mother calling her Bon Bon, _"I wish she wouldn't call me that in public."_

Finally she spotted her parents and then standing just behind them was a very awkward looking Ron Stoppable with his big goofy grin. She hugged her mother and father and then received a long heartfelt hug from Ron.

She smiled as he whispered in her ear, "You don't know how much I missed you."

Bonnie pulled away from the hug with a slight blush as she knew her parents were watching her intently, "Well I'm back in town now. So go help dad get my luggage."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yes Officer."

She stopped him before he could walk off and looked his face over, "The nose isn't that bad. It gives you character."

"I could do with a little less character."

Ron and Elliot Rockwaller began retrieving the luggage from the baggage carousel. Bonnie kept a count of the bags, "Nope only 10, I have two more coming."

Elliot Rockwaller looked over to Ron, "I'm glad you're going to be taking this job over soon."

Ron chuckled nervously, "Yea….I better go get another luggage caddy."

They finally managed to load Bonnie's entire collection of luggage onto two caddies and make their way out of the airport and into the parking garage. Ron brought around the old brown station wagon and lowered the rear seat to make room for all of the suit cases.

Bonnie's mother hugged her youngest daughter again, "Now we'll let you ride with Ron, I'm sure you two have a lot of talking to do. Ron you just follow us to Shelton's for dinner, okay?"

"That sounds great Mrs. Rockwaller."

Mrs. Rockwaller laughed, "You'll just have to start calling me mom from now on."

Ron smiled uneasily and nodded as he held the door open for Bonnie. She gave him a wink as she sat down in the passenger's seat. He quickly closed the door and ran to the driver's side and quickly got in.

Mrs. Rockwaller waived as she walked towards the Rockwaller's 'S' class Mercedes Benz. After she closed the door she looked to her husband, "Did you see he held the door open for her, you could hold the door open for me once in a while."

The Rockwaller's silver Mercedes pulled away from the curb and Ron fell in behind them. Bonnie took Ron's right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Then she got right down to business, "So tell me, where did the bullet holes come from?"

Ron looked at her puzzled for a moment and then laughed, "Oh yea, the night everything went down hill for my visit home."

As they made their way out of the maze that was the airport parking lot, Ron told Bonnie about everything that had happened from the day they landed until his final breakup with Kim. He made sure to leave out the parts about the mental focusing unit, his sleeping with Tara, the lady from the Smarty Mart parking lot, Tina and Shelly and of his trip to Japan to see Yori and Mariko.

He only told her enough to get her up to speed about what had been happening since he returned to Middleton. Bonnie shook her head and clinched her jaw, "Hamilton, you took Ned of all people on the planet to Hamilton?"

Ron nodded his head slowly, "It was only one night, it wasn't like we were going to make a habit of it."

They argued the various merits of just how sick and wrong Ron was for even considering the idea of taking Ned to a strip club as they entered the city limits of Middleton. Ron finally agreed with Bonnie that it wasn't the best of all possible things he could have done for a bachelor party.

Then Bonnie moved on to what Tara had told him, "So Kim and Monique are really running around telling people that you raped me and put me in the hospital?"

Ron nodded sadly, "That's one of the more popular stories. The other was that I was just in Southern Lebanon on an all expenses paid rape-a-thon courtesy of the IDF."

"Was all this before or after you and Kim broke up?" Bonnie asked as she was becoming more upset.

"Before"

"I don't understand it. I just don't understand it. What could have made those two do that to you?"

Ron shook his head, "There's more stuff going on than just that, but it gets...a little deep."

Bonnie closed her eyes and chuckled softly, "Oh boy, I don't know if I really want to hear anymore...So what's up for the weekend?"

"I don't have anything planned other than to attend temple with the folks on Saturday...I have to go to boulder on Monday to see a physical therapist...I was sort of hoping you could go with me?" Ron asked shyly.

Bonnie was quiet as Ron turned into the restaurants parking lot and found a place behind the Rockwaller's car. Ron shifted the car into park and turned to face Bonnie, "...but if you can't go..."

She put a finger to his lips, "I'll go with you on Monday. Now let's get something to eat, I'm starving."

He breathed a sigh of relief, _"Yes...I don't have to face this alone."_

Ron got out of the car and joined Bonnie and her parents for dinner. Elliot Rockwaller grilled him as they waited for their food to arrive, "So Ronald what are you looking at doing once you leave the army?"

"Well...uh...I have another few years to serve yet. I...I was kind of eyeing an opportunity to go into the restaurant business with my friend Ned...but that idea kind of fell through, his wife doesn't like me." Ron said sadly.

Bonnie looked at Ron, "You didn't tell me about that."

"I was working up to it when we pulled into the parking lot...Ned's been offered the Middleton and Lowerton Bueno Nacho restaurants and he wanted to me to be partners with him and manage the Lowerton store." Ron explained with a note of sadness in his voice.

Mrs. Rockwaller shook her head, "I can't imagine why she wouldn't like you?"

Ron shrugged and found a convenient excuse, "Oh…I think it was the whole…Jewish/Catholic thing."

"Oh" The Rockwaller's said in unison. Bonnie squeezed Ron's hand. She had already guessed the truth.

"Ron, how are your mother and your little sister doing?" Mrs. Rockwaller asked.

Ron brightened up, "Well mom is putting up with me just fine and Kaley is a cutie, always into something."

Mrs. Rockwaller sighed, "I remember when Bon Bon was that age..."

"Mother, please." Bonnie protested

Mrs. Rockwaller giggled and waived a hand at her daughter, "Honey, I don't care how old you are. You'll always be my little Bon Bon."

Ron was trying hard not to crack a smile as Mrs. Rockwaller began to tell one embarrassing Bonnie story after another. Bonnie folded her arms and glared at her mother.

"Oh Bonnie stop pouting it's not lady like." Her mother scolded.

Mr. Rockwaller chuckled, "Now, now Bonnie, I'm sure when you have dinner with the Stoppable's they will have loads of embarrassing Ron stories to tell you."

Bonnie looked at Ron and he giggled and pulled at the cuffs of his long sleeved shirt to pull them down lower. He felt awkward because he had never really been close to his parents when he was growing up because of their on going marital problems.

He was finally able to choke out an agreement, "Oh...yea...oh, loads of badical way embarrassing stuff...I'm sure."

Their food was finally delivered to the table and it couldn't have been a moment too soon for Bonnie or Ron's sake. The conversation now centered on food and various sauces for beef. Subjects that was much more fitting to Ron's culinary expertise.

Ron took a bite of his steak and rolled his eyes, "Now that's good beef...Israel we don't get beef like this."

Bonnie nodded her head, "Oh yea, this is good. I never thought I'd miss steak."

Ron laughed, "Exactly what I said our first or second night back."

Mr. Rockwaller chuckled, "You see Joanie, they are beginning to think a like."

Bonnie and Ron both blushed and tried to not look at one another as they ate. Ron finally looked over to Bonnie, "How did your finals go?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well...If there wouldn't have been that war I think I would have done better. I'm not sure. I'll have to wait for the grades to be mailed out. I think I did alright though."

Joanie Rockwaller cut in to ask Ron a question, "I imagine it is fun staying in your old room again at home isn't it?"

Ron shook his head, "No, I'm sleeping on a roll away bed in the basement. Dad converted my room to a home office."

Mrs. Rockwaller looked aghast, "Well that just won't do. Our Bon Bon's fiancée' sleeping on an old cot in a basement. You will simply just have to come and stay with us before you both head back to Israel."

Bonnie looked at Ron nervously, "Mom...I don't think we have enough room with Lonnie and Connie still living at home."

Mrs. Rockwaller chuckled, "Oh Bonnie, Connie's moving out."

"She is?" Bonnie said in stunned amazement.

"She is, only she doesn't quite know it yet." Mrs. Rockwaller said firmly.

Ron shifted his weight around and looked nervously around the restaurant, "I...I couldn't, I don't want to cause any problems."

Bonnie quickly put a stop to Ron's waffling, "Oh I'm sure Ron would just be thrilled to sleep in a real bed again." She said as an evil grin crossed her face.

Ron swallowed hard, _"Uh Oh"_

* * *

"OK, so we are getting married in Israel, I have to convert and then we'll try and see if you can be allowed to come and work over here." Monique said confidently. 

Tirza thought it over and nodded, "Yes, I think I would like that. It would keep momma happy."

Monique picked up a calendar off the table, "Now, when should we get married?"

"Ummm...I think maybe June?" Tirza offered.

"You want to wait a whole year?" Monique said slightly bewildered.

Tirza sensing he may have just offended Monique quickly explained himself, "We do not know how long it will take for your conversion."

"That is true." Monique said quietly as she thought it over.

"I know maybe we try and get married with Ronnie and Bonnie? We could make it a double wedding." Tirza said happily.

Monique shot Tirza a dirty look, "I ain't sharin' the stage with nobody. Besides Bonnie is just playing Ron, there is no way little miss food chain would ever marry someone like Ron Stoppable."

Tirza shifted in his seat, "So...But Bonnie took care of him after he was wounded."

Monique grinned evilly, "That's just the way Bonnie works. Make you think one way and then 'WHAM' she pulls the rug out from under you."

"So...she doesn't really love Ronnie?"

"Ha, no, and they're not really engaged. You just wait within a few days Ron be all 'boo hoo' and begging Kim to forgive him." Monique theorized happily.

"Oh" Tirza said not trying to hide his sadness at what was coming for Ronnie.

Monique chuckled, "When he does I'm going to tell Kim, kick that man to the curb girl. You don't need him around any how."

Tirza nodded, "Well I hope you are wrong. Bonnie is good woman, took care of Ronnie when he was hurt. I think you are wrong about her."

Monique bristled, "Oh you think I'm wrong do you?"

"Yes, when you are wounded as badly as me and Ronnie, you remember the people around you. Ronnie brought you over to me on that video phone when I was hurt to make me feel better. Then when Ronnie was hurt Bonnie did not leave his bedside." Tirza said as he drove home his point.

"Oh yea, well, well...You don't know Bonnie like we do. So when I saw you on that video phone it made you feel better?" Monique asked shyly trying to change the subject.

Tirza smiled and pulled her close to him, "I had reason to get well. I had to come visit my Monique baby."

Monique giggled and made a half hearted effort to pull away before giving in and letting Tirza kiss her neck, _"ohhhhhh I can't remember when I've been so happy."_

* * *

"_YOU BITCH YOU DID NOT JUST THROW A LAMP AT ME!"_

A loud crash then sounded from Connie's bedroom. Ron sat up straight on the couch with his eyes directed at the ceiling. Mr. Rockwaller was watching the Rockies lose their third straight game on television and then he turned and saw Ron's look of concern.

He laughed at the young man, "Ronald, sibling rivalry around our house is a full contact sport."

Ron eyed the elder Rockwaller with more than a little concern, "Oh"

The Rockwaller's and Ron had just returned to their family residence a large two story home in Middleton's exclusive Monticello subdivision. Bonnie and her mother promptly strode upstairs to inform Connie in the change of living arrangements that had just been decided upon without her knowledge.

Mr. Rockwaller cringed as another large crash occurred upstairs, "That didn't sound good. Glad I just let the ladies of the house work things out."

He chuckled nervously with Mr. Rockwaller until one of the Rockies got a base hit, "Did you see that, runners at first and third and nobody out."

"_Connie you've been bragging about how much you make at your job for the last year and half. It's high time that you moved out on your own."_

"So what do you think the Rockies should do?" Mr. Rockwaller asked.

Ron was still captivated by the noise coming from upstairs, "I think I'd bring out the field goal unit and go for three." He said absently.

Mr. Rockwaller looked at him strangely and then laughed, "Not paying attention are you?"

"_JUST BECAUSE YOUR LOSER FIANCEE' IS HERE IS NO REASON THAT I SHOULD HAVE TO MOVE OUT!"_

"_HE IS NOT A LOSER!"_

Ron smiled, _"Yea, you tell em' Bonnie."_

"_Maybe Ron and Connie can just share the room."_

Three female voices joined in unison, _"SHUT UP LONNIE!"_

"_WELL IF HE'S SUCH A GREAT FIANCEÉ' WHERE'S YOUR RING?"_

Mr. Rockwaller laughed, "Well she's got her there."

"Oh I got a ring." Ron told him and then quickly covered his mouth as he realized what he had just said.

"Oh going to surprise her with it. Don't worry I won't say a word." Mr. Rockwaller smiled happily.

Silence came over the upstairs room before Bonnie and her mother came downstairs to meet with Ron. Mrs. Rockwaller was red in the face but smiling happily, "You can move in on Monday if you'd like Ron."

Bonnie sat next to Ron and took his hand, "I'm going with Ron to Boulder on Monday. He has to see a physical therapist about his knee."

"Oh that's wonderful, that will give me time to have the holes in the wall repaired." Mrs. Rockwaller exclaimed happily.

Bonnie turned to Ron and took his hand, "I'm kind of tired from the flight and all, I'll walk you to your car."

He sensed an opportunity for escape quickly seized upon the idea, "Yea, I'm getting kind of tired myself."

Bonnie led him by the arm outside, "I hope our little discussion upstairs didn't put you off…Connie is really very excited to be moving out…I mean after all she is 29."

Ron chuckled, "Umm…No…uh, thanks for…real bed?"

She nodded her head to with him, "Yea real bed."

"Bonnie…I was wondering if you'd like go out and do something tomorrow night. I mean if you don't have any other plans or anything." Ron asked nervously.

"I don't have anything going on. What do you have in mind?" Bonnie asked.

"Oh…I don't know, date type stuff." Ron said more confidently.

Bonnie began to giggle. "OK" then she started laughing.

Ron shook his head, "What?"

Bonnie laughed even harder and Ron shook his head, "What?"

She finally was able to stop laughing long enough to tell him what was so funny, "It finally happened, I'm dating that loser Ron Stoppable."

Ron looked away and began to blush, "That was so wrong...Wrong on so many levels." He said as he began laughing too.

Bonnie folded herself into him and hugged him, "I couldn't resist."

He smiled and hugged her back, "I'll let you get away with it this one time."

Bonnie looked up and kissed Ron full on the lips after a few moments she pulled away, "You drop on by about five or so and I'll see if I can't get us fed again."

Ron kissed her again and hugged her tightly, "Oh so you're saying I'm too skinny?"

She laughed and nodded her head, "You're too skinny."

They both had a good laugh before Ron hugged her again before getting in the car and backing out of the driveway. Bonnie smiled and waived at him as he drove away in the station wagon. Then she turned and walked back into the house. She was on a cloud. She had never felt such a rush of emotion before.

She still felt the same way she did about him in Israel much to her relief. He was still Ron but somehow he was different. Bonnie found him to be quieter than she had remembered, _"He must be trying to keep a low profile after all the bad things that have happened to him since he came home."_

Bonnie smiled as she began to walk up stairs toward her bedroom, _"It's kind of cute that he's still not sure about where he stands in the relationship...I think this is a good thing. Don't want him to get too comfortable."_

She walked past her eldest sister Connie with a large grin on her face. Connie turned up her nose and refused to look at her as she walked by. Bonnie marveled at how her mother handled the bossy all knowing older sister. She never flinched and never backed down no matter how much of a tantrum Connie had thrown.

A new day was dawning and Bonnie was well aware of the significance of the situation. Bonnie had the fiancée', the other two sisters didn't. That meant that a shift in power was underway and for the first time in Bonnie's life she would be the one with the power, _"Ahhhh my dear sisters, its payback time."_

She lay down on her bed and remembered Ron holding her tightly during the missile attack and how safe she felt with him. _"Surely"_ she thought, _"Surely he feels the same way as I do?"_

The grin spread across her face, _"No more Kim to screw Ron up, no more Connie to screw up my life around the house. If I still kept a diary this would be a day to remember."_

She closed her eyes and began to drift of into a happy slumber, _"I have him on the hook, and all I have to do is reel him in."_

* * *

Ron drove home and rushed inside the house to find his mother, "Mom, mom, Bonnie's back and I'm moving out…and…and Connie's moving out, she thinks I'm a loser but Bonnie says I'm not…Oh and Bonnie says she's going to Boulder with me on Monday." 

"Ron what are you talking about?" His mother asked with more than a little bit of a puzzled expression.

Ron sat down on the couch and took a deep breath. While his mother turned down the television, "We picked Bonnie up at the airport and I asked her if she'd go with me to Boulder on Monday when I go to the physical therapist. She said YES."

Mrs. Stoppable smiled, "Ahhh see I told you Bonnie was a nice girl."

Ron was grinning like an idiot and then remembered where he left off, "Oh and I told them that I was sleeping on a rollaway bed in the basement. Connie's moving out so they invited me to come live with them for the rest of my stay."

"So how did they find out that you were sleeping in the basement?" His mother asked as she raised an eyebrow.

Ron tilted his head, "Oh Mrs. Rockwaller asked me if I was enjoyed staying in my old room and I told them that it was a home office now."

"Great so now the Rockwaller's think I'm a bad mother for letting her only son sleep in the basement. Never mind that he brings a small army home with him, with guns no less."

"Mom it's not like that." Ron said becoming exasperated.

Mrs. Stoppable crossed her arms, "Oh and how exactly is it?"

"What do you want me to do? Lie to them, they may be my future in-laws and you want me to lie to them." Ron countered.

Mrs. Stoppable grinned, "Oh so you are thinking about getting married?"

"Yes...NO...I don't know. I'll just wait and see how things go." Ron said as he began to laugh.

"Ronnie, do you love me?" Mrs. Stoppable asked.

"NO"

"WHAT?"

"Yes, of course I love you. You're my mother. Come on what kind of question is that?" Ron was clearly becoming exasperated with his mother.

Mrs. Stoppable nodded her head, "Well if you love your mother, then you'll listen to her for once in your life. This Bonnie Rockwaller's a nice Jewish girl. She'll make you very happy. So don't screw this up."

Ron threw up his hands, "I give up...Oh yea, I was thinking about inviting Bonnie over for Sabbath dinner on Saturday...Is that a good time."

Ron's mother smiled, "If it helps get you married off to a nice Jewish girl, I'll lay out a spread. You can bring Bonnie over and we'll tell embarrassing stories about when you were little."

He looked at his mother and blinked, "You mean you and dad have embarrassing stories about me?"

Now it was time for Mrs. Stoppable to become exasperated, "Oh Ronald, I could write a book."

Ron smiled, "Sorry I asked."

He hugged his mother and walked into the kitchen, made the turn and headed down the stairs to the basement. Tirza was gone and now with Sergei and Sam gone it was much lonelier darker place, _"OY, mom is in Jewish mother mode...It's going to be good to get out of the basement and sleep in a bed for a change."_

"RONALD, COME UP HERE THIS INSTANT!"

Ron rolled his eyes, "I didn't do anything." He said quietly to himself.

He climbed the stairs to the kitchen where his mother was pointing at the garage, "The glue trap caught a mouse I need you to throw it away."

Ron chuckled and nodded, "OK, I didn't think I was in the door long enough to be in trouble."

He hated glue traps. The extra sticky paper would catch the rodent and prevent the mouse from escaping. He remembered throwing his one and only temper tantrum when he was younger when his dad brought the traps in to catch mice in the garage. He was afraid that Rufus would accidentally get caught in the trap prematurely ending his life.

Now that Rufus was at the Possible's there was no longer any such concern by Ron's parents. Ron however still thought the traps a grizzly way getting rid of rodents as they would suffer tremendously when they were caught on the traps. Many times the mice would live for a few days before dying of dehydration.

"By the trashcans." His mother called to him from inside the house.

Ron walked over to the trashcans and froze. There on the glue trap was a little gray mouse. Ron could see where the mouse had strayed onto the trap and in a effort to get away chewed two of its legs off to try and escape.

The mouse only moved further into the trap where its face became stuck on the paper cutting off the poor creature's airway finally ending the rodent's life by suffocation. He stared at the poor creature before finally sitting down on the concrete floor of the garage to continue staring at.

Images of Gaza City and Southern Lebanon flooded his mind. He didn't notice the sun going down or the car pulling up in the driveway. He felt a hand on his shoulder. What are you looking at Ronnie?"

Ron pointed to the mouse on the glue trap, "He could have stayed right where he was, but he didn't."

Tirza knelt down and looked at the mouse, "Maybe he was scared by the trap?"

"Maybe, but he could have stayed right where he was and maybe his little mice friends would have figured a way to get him loose." Ron speculated.

"Maybe his mice friends couldn't find him or they too were scared of the trap?" Tirza said as he sat next to Ronnie looking at the remains of the dead mouse.

"If he would have stayed where he was when he first got stuck, he could have lived for days."

Tirza nodded, "Not a pleasant way to die though."

Ron nodded, "It made a decision...Better to try and escape rather than die a slow death."

"Maybe it was just so afraid it didn't know what it was doing?"

Ron nodded his head, "But what if it was a conscious decision to take control of ones own life? He made a choice to end his life on his own terms and not on someone else's."

Monique was watching the whole scene in disbelief. She decided it was time to restore a measure of sanity to the whole conversation, "It's a dead mouse on a glue trap." She said as she picked the poor lifeless creature up and threw it into the trashcan.

Tirza sheepishly stood up and brushed his bottom off, "Sorry, I was distracted."

Ron continued to stare at the spot where the mouse was and shook his head, _"Yori said not to second guess my decisions, but to accept that I did the right thing because I survived...It's just so hard to do that."_

He stood up and gave Monique a look that let her know that her interference in the whole mouse question was unwelcome. Then he looked at Tirza, "my mom's putting together a big Sabbath dinner for me and Bonnie if you'd like to attend with your...fiancée' I'm sure they'll be plenty of food."

Monique smiled and tried to back out of the dinner, "Well it just so happens..."

"We'd love to come and eat dinner with you and Bonnie." Tirza said happily.

Ron frowned and nodded, "Great, I'll let you know at Temple what time dinner will be." Then he turned to Monique, "You are planning on attending Sabbath services on Saturday aren't you?"

Monique swallowed hard and shook her head, "Yes"

He nodded, "Great, see you all on Saturday then." He said with his voice void of emotion as he walked back inside the house.

"_If I would have stayed where I was at...I could have been rescued...I left cover and, and why? After that first day of shelling I should have had us pull out or go around the village but I didn't...Why?"_ He thought sullenly as he walked downstairs into the basement.

Ron flopped down on his cot and stared at the ceiling, _"Yori says not to focus on the past but to learn from it...The only thing I think I learned was that I'm going to end up like the mouse on the glue trap...Sucked in till it's too late."_

He let out a deep breath, "Damn I'm glad Bonnie's back."

* * *

Shortly after dropping her fiancée' off at the Stoppable's residence, Monique made it a point to drop by Kim's house. She parked her car in the driveway and walked up to the front door and rang the bell. 

Mr. Dr. Possible opened the door and stepped outside, "Hello Monique, a little late for a visit don't you think?"

Monique looked at him strangely and then looked at her watch. It was nearly ten o'clock and she gasped, "Sorry, I didn't know what time it was. I was just hopping to visit with Kim for a bit before heading home."

"Well, she's not here right now. Penny, one of her cheerleading friends from High School found Kim a job over at the park. She's helping her run a snow cone stand." Mr. Dr. P. informed her.

Monique smiled, "That's great, gets her out of the house."

Mr. Dr. P. nodded, "Yes, she seems to be perking up again...Now if I get to lay my hands on that Ronald...Well...He better stay clear of this house for a while that's all I can say."

"Oh...okay, well then...I'll just try and reach her at the park then." Monique said as she began to walk slowly down the steps towards her car.

"I'll let Kimmie know you dropped by in case you don't see her." Mr. Dr. P. said as he walked stepped back inside and closed the door.

Monique started up the car and backed out of the driveway, _"Man the 'Rents' are involved...I don't have the heart to tell Kim's dad that I don't think Ron's afraid of him anymore."_

She turned back towards the downtown area of the city, "I bet she's working in Tillis Park. The only place I can think of that has snow cone stand open this late."

Monique drove into the quiet neighborhood park. She could see the base ball fields were still lit up as the evenings night games were coming to an end. She spotted the small snow cone stand by the edge of the ball field, _"That has to be it."_

She pulled up behind another car parked along side the road and then walked up the small hill to the stand. Monique smiled as she spotted Kim wearing jeans and a t-shirt wearing an apron with her hair tied back, "Girl you are a mess."

Kim turned around and smiled. She was covered from head to toe in various flavors of syrup that was added to the shaved ice to give it flavoring. Kim waived, "Hey Mo', I got a new job."

"I see that, slinging snow cones."

"Yea, it's not much but, hey, it's money." Kim said happily as she took off her apron.

"Hey Kim, how about a cherry one before you guys close up."

Kim held up an index finger to Monique and went to wait on the very good looking man who was dressed in an American Legion baseball uniform, "I'll be just a second."

Penny spotted Monique and walked over, "Remember Kenny Hubler, a year ahead of us...He's been hanging around the stand all night flirting with Kim."

Monique smiled as she eyed the 6 foot 2 inch baseball player. He was lean and slightly muscular. His brown hair was cut close and he was definitely interested in Kim. It was hard to miss as the boy leaned in the window of the booth and pretended to be hanging on Kim's every word, "Go girl...Just what she needs to take her mind off Ron." Monique said softly so that only she and Penny could hear.

Penny frowned, "Yea the last thing she needs is to get stuck with a rapist...Never thought Ron would be such a loser."

Monique lost her smile, "Oh...Well...uh...maybe...maybe Ron didn't do any of those things."

"Oh yea, the skinny little pervert did it, you can see it in his eyes...I kind of clued Ken in on the whole sitch...He was asking Kim about Ron and all she would say is they broke up...I made sure he knew the truth." Penny said vindictively.

Monique shivered, "Oh"

Kim finished serving the last snow cone of evening and her and Penny closed the window of the booth and began cleaning up. Kim looked at Monique and smiled, "Kenny asked me out Saturday night and I said yes." She said excitedly.

"Ewwwwww Girl you have got it going on...He is so fine, lot beefier than Ron." Monique gushed.

Kim smiled but Monique could see a certain sadness in her eyes, "Oh yea, much bigger than Ron...I mean he's a real athlete...Supposed to have a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds."

Monique could hear the forced happiness in Kim's voice. Kim took off her apron and began to help clean up the small booth. Monique licked her lips, "Saturday...The Stoppable's are having a big dinner. Tirza is making me go...I...I didn't want to go because Ron's bringing Bonnie."

Kim stopped working and stood up straight and after a long silence said, "Oh"

"Yea"

"So Ron finally turned up?" Kim asked.

Monique giggled nervously, "Yea...just...walked in the door one day."

"Did he say where he was?" Kim asked.

"Girl you know he was in Japan."

Kim nodded and turned around to face Monique, "Yea...I guess."

"Want me to let you know if Bonnie starts bad mouthing you?"

Kim shook her head, "No...I...Ron made his choice."

"But Kim its Bonnie we're talking about...I mean...Ron's been really out there lately."

"I bet Kenny would be good on missions." Kim said clearly not wanting to talk about Ron any longer.

Monique sighed, "Yea, you never know…So…how do you like the job?"

Kim shrugged, "Hours are OK, kids are fun…Kenny is fun…It's not really a bad job."

"Yea, well you have fun on Saturday night….Call me and tell me how it goes."

She smiled and nodded her head, "Yea…You have fun too…."

"Yea…See ya." Monique said as she walked back to the car.

Monique sat in the car and thought about Penny running around telling anyone that would listen about Ron being a rapist, _"I have really screwed up…Poor Ron, I hope he doesn't run into anyone else before he leaves to go back to Israel."_

* * *

"Ronald are you getting enough to eat?" 

Ron let out a quiet belch, "Oh yea, I can't remember when I ate so much. Thanks for the food Mrs. Rockwaller."

"Yesterday at Shelton's" Bonnie reminded him.

"Oh yea, that was good too." Ron said as he sat back in his chair and began rubbing his stomach.

Mr. Rockwaller patted Ron on the shoulder, "We'll have to keep bringing you over if we're going to get fed like this."

"He's moving in next week Elliot." Mrs. Rockwaller reminded him.

Bonnie leaned over and whispered in Ron's ear, "We have to fatten you up before you go back into the army."

Ron grinned and nodded, "I have to say this is the highlight of my trip so far. Well this and taking my baby sister to the zoo."

"Ohhhhhhhh that is so cute...I bet she loved it." Bonnie gushed as she took his arm.

Ron smiled contentedly and leaned further back in his chair, "Well I don't know if she did or not but I sure loved it."

"That just gets you warmed up for when you and Bon Bon start having kids of your own." Mrs. Rockwaller chimed in.

The shock of the statement caused Ron to nearly topple over. He flailed at the air with his arms until Bonnie grabbed his arm and yanked him upright. Bonnie then spun and gave her mother a 'will you shut up look', "MOTHER"

Mrs. Rockwaller smiled, "Just thinking ahead dear."

Bonnie pursed her lips together and puffed up her cheeks, "Well stop thinking ahead then."

"I swear you'd think at least one of my daughters would want to have children. Children are a blessing from God, Ronald darling."

Ron began coughing, "Yes, ma'am"

"MOTHER"

"Three girls Ron, all of them think they're fashion models...Except for Bon Bon of course, all those years of ballet."

Bonnie face took on a particular bluish red hue, "MOTHER"

Ron quickly looked at his watch, "Oh look at the time, Bonnie we have to get moving so we aren't late...for...that thing we don't want to be late for."

Bonnie recognizing opportunity when she saw it agreed promptly, "Yes, we mustn't be late...for that thing, we can't be late for."

The couple quickly stood up and left the table and hurried outside to their waiting vehicles, "Thanks for the dinner Mrs. Rockwaller" Ron shouted as he quickly closed the door behind him.

"_Call me mom."_

Bonnie began laughing, "Must be late for that...thing."

Ron shrugged somewhat self consciously, "I couldn't think of anything to not be late for."

Bonnie looked at the old station wagon that Ron was driving, "We're taking my car, I'm not going to be seen chauffeured around in that heap."

He began to giggle, "Oh so that heap is good enough to chauffeur your luggage but not you?"

"You got it mister." Bonnie said.

Ron nodded his head and slid into the passenger seat of the two tone blue and gray Pontiac Grand Am, "Works for me, I kind of like being driven around. So where are we headed."

Bonnie held up a finger, "Be right back, I forgot my purse."

He watched her run inside, _"This is great, this is how the whole trip should have been."_

Ron pressed himself further in the seat relaxing as the day was coming to an end. He felt a jab in his back and sat up just a bit to adjust where he was carrying his glock under his sport coat, _"Wish I could leave this thing at home." _He thought as he settled back into his seat.

Blue jeans, a clean white shirt and a blue sport coat, he was the picture of sartorial splendor and he knew it. Bonnie complemented him on how good he looked. Of course she did add the caveat that he was too skinny but looked good none the less.

He opened his eyes just in time to see Bonnie coming from her house. He thought she looked particularly attractive. Her shoulder length black hair highlighted her round oval face. She was wearing a frilly white spaghetti string top with a lacey wrap a mini skirt that wasn't too mini and a pair of black pumps she was ready for a night on the town.

"Sorry about mom, she's..."

"Being Jewish?" Ron offered.

Bonnie laughed, "Yea, being Jewish."

"I know my mom's getting all weird too. She keeps telling me not to blow this." Ron told her with a smile.

"Wise advice indeed." Bonnie said with a grin.

"So where are we headed to for tonight?" Ron asked as he was more than a little curious as to where they were going.

"I called some friends from High School and we're going to meet up at The Meridian coffee house downtown."

Ron took a deep breath, "Oh...OK, I better warn you now my luck with the locals hasn't been real good since Kim and Monique started their crap."

"I'm here it can't get too bad. Besides there's only going to be a few of us there. You remember Tegan Kneemiller, Bobby Casebolt. I think those two are engaged. Umm...Cindy Monroe and Kenny Hubler should be there too."

Ron chuckled nervously, "I didn't really travel in those circles. I remember Tegan and Kenny was a year ahead of us, if memory serves."

Bonnie nodded, "You remember correctly...Shouldn't be too much of an ordeal. Of course Cindy can be a little snot at times. She's not shy about speaking her mind."

Ron smiled and looked out the window, "Sounds like someone else I know."

Bonnie shot Ron a nasty look, "Hey now."

He began laughing, "Sorry couldn't resist."

They were making good time towards the downtown club district of Middleton. Bonnie shot Ron a sideways glance as she drove, _"He is grinning like an idiot...He must be having a good time. After all he's been through he deserves a break."_

"So when you get married do you want kids?"

Ron turned to her more than a little surprised by the question, "Well...yea, I'd like to have a family."

Bonnie nodded, "I was thinking maybe one kid. I don't want to bloat up like my mother did after three...So how many kids were you thinking about?" She inquired slyly.

"Oh...I don't know, ten maybe."

Bonnie squealed in shock, "TEN, ten kids, Ronald Stoppable you had better have a damn good job if you want ten kids."

Ron laughed, "Now, now Bonnie, kids are a blessing from God...Besides I didn't say they all had to be with the same mother."

She made a face at him and punched him in the arm, "Smart ass"

"Ow" Ron rubbed his arm as if the blow had hurt him.

Bonnie grinned as she found a parking spot on the street, "God, I can't wait to get inside...Feels like forever since I saw any of my high school friends."

Ron didn't say anything as he got out of the car, _"God let this go alright."_

They made their way inside the trendy little coffee house and Bonnie spotted Cindy Monroe and Kenny Hubler. She waived happily and went to join them at their table. Ron followed along after her.

He saw Cindy give a sideways glance towards Kenny as they saw Ron approach. Suddenly he knew he was going to be in for a very long night. Cindy gave Bonnie a polite half hearted hug and Kenny just smirked at the two of them.

The couple sat down and Cindy looked over at Ron and then back to Bonnie, "So I see we're into felons now."

Bonnie shook her head, "What?"

Cindy chuckled, "You knew, you had to know...Everybody's talking about it...So how many women did you rape Ron?"

Bonnie gasped and Ron closed his eyes, _"Well here we go."_

"I never raped anyone." Ron said coldly.

Cindy looked over at Kenny Hubler, "Well Kim Possible...Kenny's new girlfriend thinks otherwise."

Bonnie turned to see the Ron's face become cherry red, "I don't care what she thinks, I never raped anyone."

Cindy a dirty blonde girl with more than a little attitude leaned across the table, "So where's the little pink mole rat you used to carry with you all the time...Maybe he can shed some light on this?"

Kenny Hubler laughed, "Ron was in the Israeli army, he probably had to eat him...Oh...No that's not right, mole rats aren't kosher are they?"

Ron said nothing but began to drum his fingers on the table. Bonnie now was the one losing her temper, "Ron didn't rape anyone, now drop it and let's talk about something else...So Kenny how's baseball going for you."

"Hi Guys"

They turned and Bonnie's eyes lit up, "TEGAN"

Tegan Kneemiller and her boyfriend Bobby Casebolt pulled up chairs to the small table. Tegan saw Ron and lost her smile, "Ewww, Who invited him?"

Bobby winked at Kenny Hubler, "So Ron the Rapist, heard a lot about you from Kenny and Kim...You did know that Kenny's seeing her now didn't you?"

Ron smirked, "That's his problem."

Bobby laughed and winked at Kenny again, "So a rapist...I always heard that men with small penises turned to rape...Do you have a small penis Ron?"

"You want to see my penis Bobby? Mighty bold of you coming on to me in front of your girlfriend."

"STOP IT, Ron never did anything like that." Bonnie stated again.

"Of course not." Bobby said in a condescending tone.

"So does this mean you don't want to see my penis or we going to meet up later?" Ron asked sarcastically.

Bobby glared and tried to say something before Tegan interrupted by chuckling nervously, "So...Kenny, how was your baseball season?"

Kenny sighed deeply, "I had a good record, it would have been better if I had some players behind me..."

Bobby nodded, "Yea, I think you would have had at least three more wins and advanced further in the College World Series in Omaha if you had a few more bats in the line up."

"First penises now bats, I think Bobby has some issues to workout." Ron said forcing a measure of cheeriness to his voice.

Bobby glared at Ron as Kenny cleared his throat, "Let me tell ya, the College World Series, now that's stress. Isn't that right Ron? Oh that's right. You weren't smart enough to go to college." Kenny said as he and Bobby began laughing at Ron's expense.

Ron let out a bitter laugh as he stood up, "You know when I was in a bombed out building in Southern Lebanon and we were undergoing hours of shelling, I was scared to death of being blown to bits at any moment by a stray shell...and I remember praying and thanking God that I didn't have to worry about the stress of college baseball."

He turned to Bonnie, "I think I better leave...I'll call you later."

Bonnie stood up quickly, "I'm going with you."

They both exited the coffee house red faced and humiliated by the evenings events. Bonnie took Ron's hand, "I think I see what it must be like for you."

A voice from behind called out, "Hey Ron, don't go away mad. After all it was just Bonnie you were supposed to have raped...We'll just tell everyone that's how your kind break in those Jew bitches."

Bonnie gasped and before she could say anything she saw a flash of blue light come from Ron's eyes as he spun around and came face to chest with Kenny Hubler, "I'm a little deaf from the shelling, what did you just call Bonnie?"

Kenny wasn't expecting Ron to become aggressive and took a quick step back, "What? Uh..."

"Easy question for a college boy, I just want to know what did you just call Bonnie?" Ron said his tone becoming more menacing.

"Come on Ron, don't do this?" Bonnie said from behind him.

Kenny shook his head and Ron pressed him further, "Oh come on, you was all in my shit five seconds ago and now your afraid to tell me what you called Bonnie?"

"RON...Don't"

Ron slapped the taller man in the face with his right hand, "Does that help your memory?"

"Calm down alpha male."

He still didn't get the answer he was looking for so he slapped him again with his left hand, "That any better? I'll give you some help. I believe I heard the word Jew in there somewhere."

"Let's go Ron."

Kenny tried to save face by taking a swing at Ron. He easily dodged the blow and punched Kenny Hubler in the mouth sending him to the ground, "Don't worry Kenny it's all kosher babe."

He tried to scramble to his feet and Ron punched him again sending him to the ground. Kenny had enough and raised a hand to signal he had enough. Ron squatted down next to him and pointed his middle finger at him, "You tell that lying bitch Kim Possible I didn't rape anybody and she knows it."

Ron felt a tugging on his arm, "Let's go Ron, your starting a scene."

Kenny was breathing hard and nodding his head, _"That guy is seriously crazy."_

Ron stood up and he and Bonnie quickly walked to the curb where her car was parked, "Did you really have to hit him."

Ron gave her a dirty look as he slid into the passenger seat, "The bastards lucky I didn't kill him...If I didn't have to send that bitch a message...I probably would have."

Bonnie shook her head, "You are trying way too hard to be an alpha male Ron."

"Oh and I should just stand by and let him call my girlfriend names is that it?" Ron said disgustedly.

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow, "Girlfriend?"

Ron was suddenly shocked back to reality, "Yes...umm...yes...I think?"

"OK...Girlfriend it is then...Ron, you just can't go around beating people up that say bad things about me." Bonnie scolded him.

Ron narrowed his eyes, "Why not?"

Bonnie thought about it for a few minutes as she started the car and drove away from the coffee house, "Yea, why not?"

Ron grinned sheepishly. Bonnie returned his grin, "So you want to tell me about the whole glowing blue eye thing?"

Ron shook his head and looked out the window and then turned and evaded her question, "What's an alpha male?"

Bonnie stopped at a red light, "Someone who is confident, considers himself God's gift to women, someone who sees themselves as a leader, someone who's got their shit together, someone who is territorial and quick to fight over the smallest of infractions."

"I'd say that's a big Booyah, Ron Stoppable...Alpa Male...Ronald A. Stoppable...Someone who's got his shit together." Ron extolled happily.

"Where to now Ronald A. for ass..."

"Hey now, I'm still basking in glory here." Ron beamed happily.

"Where to now?" Bonnie said chuckling.

"I want to dance. I haven't had a chance to go dancing since I came back to this nightmare."

Bonnie looked over at him and grinned, "The Oz in Hamilton?"

Ron lifted his eyebrows and thought it over, _"They're looking for a brown station wagon...hmmmmmm, and nobody would know me in Hamilton."_

"Sure why not?"

Bonnie made a left once the light turned green, "So what's with the glowing blue eyes?"

Ron laughed nervously and looked out the window again, "Well...ummm...Where to start?"

The ride to the Oz wasn't long enough for Ron to finish the story so they sat in the car talking while Ron explained all that had happened to him after being tricked by Wade into going on the mission to Monty Fisk's mansion with a holographic Kim Possible.

He told her of his exposure to the ray from the jade idols that infused him with mystical monkey power to defeat Monty. He told her of the joy of defeating the monkey ninja and having his very own arch foe.

Next Ron told her of his selection for the student exchange to Yamanouchi, where he met Sensei and Yori for the first time. He gave her a rough idea of the training he had to undergo to become a ninja. He was still concerned about maintaining the secrecy of the ninja school.

Bonnie made a face that told Ron that she did not quite believe what she was hearing. Finally she raised a hand, "So the whole Yamanouchi exchange was a scam to begin your training for your future mission in life?"

He nodded, "Yea, but I didn't know it at the time."

Ron next moved to his problems with depression after the death of Lacey and how one night he had become so depressed that he decided it was time end it all. How Yori had showed up with Sensei and took him back to Yamanouchi to continue to hone his skills and try and use the secret power that he possessed.

"So that's what happened when you disappeared for that month." Bonnie exclaimed.

"Yea, that is where I found the path that was chosen for me."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Oh now that sounds mysterious."

Ron chuckled sadly, "It's not a pretty path...You see there are two factions locked in this eternal struggle. The White Guardians, who are a group that I alone fight for and The Dark Guardians that have their people in the world...My calling is to...I think this, is right. Hunt them down and kill them...I am an assassin...Or I will become one...I don't know?"

Bonnie was getting ready to tell him he was full of it but the pained look on his face told her that he wasn't at all happy about what was happening to him, "So...why don't you know for sure?"

"The White Guardians are not too forth coming with information...They apparently didn't like what I was doing in Israel and allowed me to be wounded to teach me a lesson." Ron wiped a tear from his eye, "They could have given me a book or something..."

Bonnie was trying to understand it all as she rubbed the back of his neck, "So does this mystical monkey power give you super strength or something?"

Ron laughed, "I don't know, it only seems to take over when I'm really angry or scared. I think I can kind of control it now...I think it makes my mind work faster, makes my movements more fluid, allows me to fight more efficiently, utilize more of my potential...I'm still trying to figure it all out."

"So why did you move to Israel?"

"I was told that...I...I...couldn't have a family and that I would bring nothing but danger to those I love...So I figured the best place to be was the other side of the planet."

Bonnie was now more than a little concerned, "Why can't you have a family?"

Ron shook his head, "I'm not sure if that's true or if I misunderstand the definition of family from the Japanese? Something happened recently, something great and unexpected that is leaving me to wonder about that."

"So...so you can have a family?"

Ron shrugged, "I think I can if anyone would have me, but in the end it all comes down to my life is not my own...Everything I learned in Israel from the army and everything that I learned in Japan from Yamanouchi is preparing me for the future."

Bonnie took his hand, "So what happened between you and Kim?"

He laughed and shook his head, "Another story for another day...I want to dance."

"OK, master ninja let's go dance." She tried to exit the car but Ron held her hand fast keeping her from leaving.

"Bonnie...No one must ever know...My parents don't know, I don't want to become a freak or worse...No one must know." Ron warned her.

"Does Kim know?"

Ron felt a shiver run up his back and he frowned, "Yes"

She nodded as she saw the concern in his eyes, concern that Kim might one day betray him, _"I hope he isn't feeding me a line of shit. If he isn't...Kim could really cause him some problems...Kim has already caused him a lot of problems."_

He released her hand, "Running around with that bitch for all those years...came at a price. I just wish I had known all this going in."

Bonnie leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, "Stop thinking about her and start thinking about us...I want to dance."

"Booyah to that." Ron said with a grin as he exited the car.

He held out a hand and Bonnie took it. He was relieved that Bonnie didn't end the whole date right then and there. Happiness was beginning to settle in once again, _"Maybe Bonnie is the one? She seems to be handling things well."_

"I can't believe how nasty everyone was to you."

Ron squeezed her hand, "That's been the way things have been going since I came into town."

There was a large muscular African American man checking ID's at the door. Bonnie took her ID out of her purse and Ron pulled his fake ID out and presented it to the man along with Bonnie.

The man waived Bonnie in and stopped Ron, "Your not twenty one."

Ron never blinked, "What does the driver's license say?"

"I don't care what the license says. I can tell you're not twenty one."

A line was starting to form behind Ron, he looked around and pulled up the sleeve of the jacket to reveal his right arm, "Come on man, I just got back from Iraq and I only want to dance with my girlfriend."

The man looked at his arm and handed the license back to Ron, "Go on in."

"Thanks man" Ron said as he shuffled past him.

Bonnie was waiting for him, "Good line."

"Works for me…Let's find a secluded table and check things out first." Ron suggested.

"Not expecting trouble are you?" Bonnie asked nervously.

Ron chuckled and answered her quietly, "With my luck…" He let the thought go unfinished.

Bonnie shook her head, "I never will understand why they let girls in at 18 and guys have to 21."

Ron smiled and whispered in her ear, "Because all these old guys are looking for fine young ladies such as you for one night stands."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh"

The club was alive with music and a thumping bass beat that pounded on Ron's chest, _"Oh yea this is going to be fun."_

They sat down at a small round table in the dark and Ron scanned the area around the two level club and the dance floor on the bottom level, _"Looks harmless enough. Last thing I need to do is get in a gunfight in a dance club."_

"I never realized what jerks those guys were till tonight." Bonnie said still thinking about what had happened earlier.

"I think they were expecting High School Bonnie, and I know they were expecting High School Ron." Ron told her with a bitter chuckle.

"I don't think they expected you to go right at em' the way you did."

Ron grimaced, "I'm tired of taking these people's shit, all I can say is that bitch and Monique better keep their mouths shut."

"Hey no more talk about them two, tonight is about us remember?" Bonnie reminded him to get his mind off things.

Ron waived a waitress over, "True, so true, Southern Comfort and Coke…You want anything?"

Bonnie brightened, "Fuzzy Navel"

The waitress looked at Ron, "Let me see you're ID"

Ron handed it to her and she looked over and passed it back, "I'll be back with your drinks."

Bonnie giggled, "Where did you get that, it looks real."

He smiled, "Wade hooked me up for the bachelor party."

"Ahhh…I feel dangerous. Mom and dad would kill me if they knew I was drinking." Bonnie said in a conspiratorial whisper as she reached across the table and took Ron's hand.

Ron smiled, "Going out with Brick I figured you were used to drinking."

Bonnie shook her head, "I got really drunk one time with Brick and I got in so much trouble…I threw up all over Lonnie's car."

Ron began laughing, "I'm glad we took your car then."

Their drinks arrived, Ron handed the lady a ten and waived off the change. Bonnie smiled as she took a sip of her drink, "Whoa that's strong…Anyway dad made me clean her car off…It was a pretty ugly episode."

"I guess that's embarrassing story your mom won't tell me about."

Bonnie laughed, "Oh yea"

They continued to talk and Ron continued to survey the room. They finished their drinks and Ron pointed to the dance floor, "Ready to do some dancing?"

The music was loud and the dance floor was packed and it wasn't too long before they both began to perspire heavily. Ron pulled Bonnie to him and began to grind his pelvis into her to the rhythm of the music.

Bonnie leaned into him, 'You really can dance."

"Oh yea" He said as the song changed to something a little slower and Bonnie folded herself into her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Her arms bumped into something shaped like a pistol. She pulled back and whispered into Ron's ear, "Ron are you carrying a G-U-N under your C-O-A-T?"

Ron chuckled as Bonnie spelled the words gun and coat. He pulled her close and nibbled her ear, "Y-E-S"

Bonnie's eyes bulged for a moment, "Oh"

Ron leaned and whispered into her ear, "O-H"

She slapped his chest, "Smart A-S-S"

"Uh Oh" He said softly as something triggered his parameter alarm.

Two security guards had entered the building and appeared to be interested in the dance floor in Ron's direction. One guard broke off and began to move along the wall towards Ron's left.

The other guard pulled out a radio and began talking into it, _"Now, now they might be looking for someone else…Still…"_

A much faster song began playing over the speakers making it nearly impossible to hear anything on the dance floor. Ron began dancing Bonnie to the other side of the club. He toyed with the idea of taking her to the second level dance floor thinking they're had to be a fire escape.

Still this was Hamilton and the town was not known for being up to code. He saw a double swinging door behind the bar towards the right side of the club. The bar however was at the opposite end of the club from where they and the oncoming security guard were currently at.

Ron looked back towards the front of the club. Four more guards had just made their way thru the entrance. He nodded, _"The bar it is, they have to have a back entrance for deliveries"_ He thought to himself as he took Bonnie by the hand and began to lead her in that direction.

"What's wrong Ron?"

"Thanks to that bitch I'm not real popular in Hamilton these days…Time to leave." Ron told her.

Ron pulled her behind the bar and they both went thru the double doors to the storage area. Ron quickly spotted a door that was prompted open to let a night breeze into the very humid storage area.

"RON?"

His voice lowered and became more menacing, "Go to the car, start the engine and sit on the passenger's side. I will be there in a few minutes."

"I don't think…"

"DO AS I SAY NOW!" Ron screamed and pushed her towards the open door just as the security guard came in to the storage area.

Bonnie ran out the back door and immediately saw her car, _"Ron you are so dead."_

Ron turned and spread his arms out, "I give up where's the men's room?"

The guard wasn't interested in small talk as he pulled his baton and took a wild swing at his head. Ron ducked the blow and grabbed the baton arm by the wrist with his right arm and twisted quickly forcing the guard to drop the weapon.

The guard yelled in pain before Ron could slam his head into the open steel door rendering the man unconscious. He reached down and took the man's side arm and two clips of ammunition that were on his belt before heading out the back door.

Ron shoved the pistol into the waist band of his pants and dropped the magazines into his jacket pocket. He spotted Bonnie's car and walked quickly towards the idling automobile.

He quickly got in the car and put it in drive and pulled out of the parking spot without turning the headlights on.

Driving past the door he had just come out of as four men came running out and Ron gunned the car and shot out of the parking lot. He spotted the remains of the Larry Flint's Hustler Club and pointed them out to Bonnie, "That crazy bitch burns the place down and they're after me…Go figure."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Now about you're yelling at me…"

Ron looked up in the rear view mirror as four large SUV's pulled out onto the street behind him, "Later…Time to hit the highway."

Ron floored the Grand Am as he took the entrance ramp to the I-167 headed north towards Middleton with the four SUV's in pursuit with their emergency lights flashing and sirens blaring. He looked up in the rearview mirror and smiled, "They're chasing us…This is so cool, my first car chase."

Bonnie grinned nervously as she saw Ron pull the pistol from his waistband and place it between his legs, "Uh Ron, remember it's my car…and I don't approve of guns in my car."

Ron looked at her bewildered and then nodded his head, "Right…Got any good tunes in here?" He asked as he turned on the in dash CD player.

Bonnie tried to stop him before he learned one of her most closely guarded secrets, "NO RON…"

"_Stop playing games with my head"_

"Booyah, you're still into the Oh Boyz?" Ron asked happily.

Bonnie's eyes lit up, "You're still into them too?"

Ron glanced at the speedometer and saw that he was doing over 90 mph as he weaved in and out of traffic, "Are you kidding me…Of course…This was Nicky Nick's big number."

"I thought it was more of a Robby vehicle." Bonnie added enthusiastically.

"My first car chase, I've got a hot babe with me and I'm listening to the Oh Boyz….Life doesn't get…."

Ron slammed on the brakes and shot off the side of the highway. The car slid into the grassy medium in center of the four lane highway to careen onto the southbound lanes of I-167. The oncoming traffic blew their horns and the tires squealed as the other drivers slammed on their breaks to keep from hitting the Grand Am as it entered their lane,

"Sorry didn't want to take these guys into Middleton with us….Like I was saying. Life doesn't get any better than this….Hang on."

An SUV was trying to cut across the highway to cut Ron off. He rolled down the window and pulled the gun from between his legs and fired five shots at the windshield of the SUV causing it to veer off to the left.

Bonnie covered her face, "Ron you do know whay you are doing right?"

"I'm ummm...improvising."

Bonnie looked at Ron's face and saw the pale blue light coming from his eyes. He looked over to her in the passenger seat as he put the gun back between his legs, "Gun bucked a little more than I'm used to, must be a heavier caliber….Have to check it out when I get home."

"RON"

"Yea Bonnie?" He answered in a very calm voice that was somewhat soothing to her.

"Please don't destroy my car."

"Oh no doubt…Is that Hello, Hello, Hello?" Ron asked as he looked at a road sign for an upcoming exit ramp.

"As if you have to ask? Why are we heading south?" Bonnie asked excitedly as she turned to look at the pursuit vehicles that were rapidly gaining on them.

"I'd rather have these guys tearing apart Lowerton looking for this car than Middleton…._Hello, Hello, Hello_…" Ron began to sing along with the CD.

"Ron, why are you slowing down?"

"Hmmm…Oh, I'm going to ditch these losers at the next exit ramp…I need em' closer for this to work." Ron explained confidently.

The Ellington Avenue overpass was one of the most congested intersections in the Tri-County area. On a busy Friday night the intersection was packed all night as most of Lowerton's fast food restaurants were located on Ellington Avenue.

Ron veered off to the right and took the exit ramp with his pursuer's right on his tail. Bonnie's eyes grew big as she realized that Ron had no intention of stopping at the light, "RON"

She turned to look at his face. A half smile adorned his other wise expressionless face and his eyes were emitting a bright blue light, "I need more speed." He said quietly as he floored the accelerator.

The V6 engine of the Grand Am screamed in protest as it gained speed towards the top of the hill. There was a long line of cars waiting at the light to make a left. Bonnie could barely see the horrified faces of the passengers as her car rocketed by them at a 115 mph. The light remained red as the gray and blue Grand Am rocketed to the top of the hill, "BOOYAHAHAHA"

At the intersection the car was carrying so much speed that it left the ground a few feet and there was a loud crash and the car laded in the center of the intersection sending a spray of sparks out from behind the car. Bonnie was screaming as the car zoomed thru the intersection between crossing traffic and down the exit ramp back onto I-167 South.

Ron looked into the rear view mirror only to see pandemonium behind him as cars and SUV's were spinning wildly out of control. It appeared, at least to him that one of the SUV's that was following him was tumbling end over end off the exit ramp that he had now reached the bottom of.

He slowed the car down to a more Bonnie friendly 65 mph and turned on the headlights, "WOW, Did you see that?"

Bonnie was breathing heavily, "You were using the mystical power thingie just then right?"

Ron faced her with a big grin and glowing eyes, "Oh yea, I never would have tried that on my own."

They turned around at the next intersection and headed back towards Middleton. As they approached the Ellington Avenue overpass they could see dozens of emergency vehicles arriving at the scene of the accident.

He turned to Bonnie and gave her a wing, "I guess they didn't time the light right?"

Bonnie smiled wearily and then began giggling, "Ron"

"Yes Bon Bon"

"We're taking your station wagon to Boulder on Monday."

Ron looked at her and could see her smiling. He began laughing and nodded, "OK, we'll take my car on Monday."

She looked over at Ron and smiled, _"Ron can really be dangerous if he gets out of control...Hell who am I kidding he can be a pretty dangerous guy when he is in control."_

"I am so going to slap the shit out of you when we get back home…You don't ever raise your voice like that to me again…Got it?" Bonnie scolded him as she crossed her arms to let him know she was serious.

Ron began to defend himself but decided against it, "Yes Officer"

Bonnie closed her eyes and smiled, "That was the best date I've ever had in my life."

"It was pretty good." Ron said happily as he turned off the highway at the Middleton exit.

Once they had returned home the two attacked each other before they could get out of the car. Bonnie moaned as Ron kissed her behind the ears and down her neck. She in turn was rubbing Ron's crotch and moaning into his ear.

She then pushed her away from her, "We have to stop…We both have to get up early tomorrow for Temple and then I have to get ready to have dinner with your mother."

Ron kissed her on the nose and nodded, "God I'm glad you're back in town."

"Me too."

They got out of the car and shared a deep kiss before parting, "See you tomorrow."

Bonnie nodded breathlessly, "Yea"

Ron sat in the station wagon and watched Bonnie head inside her house and smiled, "Ron Stoppable…Alpha Male."


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N: Nothing like a ten thousand word chapter to start the year off with. Many thanks to those that reviewed. I hope you got my replies before the bot shut down. Thanks to Zeroeye and Atomic Fire for proof reading. **

**Kim learns her new boyfriend may not be all he seems to be. Bonnie's back in town and Monique knows it. Bonnie discovers the joys of Smarty Mart. Next chapter off to Boulder and Ron learns to play poker. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Bubba  
**

* * *

Charles Hamilton stood before his guard force the morning after the events of the previous night where four SUV's and four guards lay dead after a wild car chase up and down Highway 167. He looked out at his large well paid force of mercenaries and knew something had to be done and quickly to shore up the Hamilton Security Forces lagging image problems.

Charles Hamilton the 44 year old business man wore a black morning suit to show grief at the loss of his security officers. This was something new to him. In the past he was always wearing his blue business suits and ordering lackeys to address the media about strange disappearances or out right murders of patrons to the numerous clubs in the small village. Disappearances and murders that always somehow seemed to be linked to the Hamilton Security Force.

Now the tables had turned, they had lost a strip club less than a month ago and now four of his officers were dead, 12 injured and the only connection he could see to both events was Kim Possible.

Kim had been the one that led the raid on the Larry Flint Hustler Club and now her buffoonish side kick had effectively eliminated two thirds of the third shift guard force. This could no longer be tolerated and he had gone out and hired someone who he knew could bring this Team Possible down.

When he was introduced he walked to a podium as the remaining security officers stood at attention, "Good morning, I'm sure that everyone here is aware of the tragic events of last evening. We lost some fine men, Captain David Megbey, Sgt. Adam Teasdale, Officer Jay Malone, and Officer Daniel Pike. These were fine men and died in the line of duty keeping the businesses of Hamilton safe."

"I prefer to think of Hamilton and the many fine recreation clubs as a family operation. I am aware that others do not see it as such. I have come to a decision that these recent matters need to be dealt with in a most aggressive fashion. I have had an individual come forth that I believe is more than capable of not only neutralizing the threat of Team Possible but of helping to restore the honor and integrity of Hamilton's finest." Charles Hamilton gestured towards a young woman seated off to his left.

"Captain Adrena Lynn has been at the forefront of extreme stunts for a number of years now and has done extensive research into the methods and motivations of Team Possible. Please join me in welcoming Hamilton's new head of security Captain Adrena Lynn." There was a number of gasps and a smattering of applause as Adrena Lynn stepped forward to the podium.

Adrena Lynn stepped forward her blonde hair having grown to shoulder length wore the dark navy blue Hamilton Security uniform replete with captains bars took the podium, "I know you're all thinking this is freaky. Me the leader of extreme stunts taking over the operations for one of the most well known security teams in the state of Colorado."

"I have studied this Team Possible and believe I have found a weakness to exploit. She and her bofoonish side kick are currently in a relationship and if we are able to take Kim Possible out of the equation then the rest of the team will fall like a deck of cards." Adrena Lynn grinned evily as she raised a clinched fist in the air to the stunned silence of the officers under her command.

"You can trust me when I say that I have developed a positively freaky plan to capture Ms. Possible. I will hand select a team of 12 men for a night time foray into Middleton where we will corner and capture Kim Possible...All of your commrades who died last evening will not have died in vain my friends. Once we have rid ourselves of these meddlesome teens the Hamilton Security Force will once again reclaim the honor it is due to them." A smattering of applause was a less than rousing ovation to what she was expecting but she took it in stride after all these professionals just suffured a horrific loss.

Charles Hamilton stepped forward to shake Adrena's hand he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Of course you understand that once you have captured Ms. Possible there must be no way to trace her disappearance to the village of Hamilton."

Adrena Lynn grinned evily, "Relax, I have a rather anxious buyer lined up that is going to pay me two million dollars and take Kim Possible off our hands."

"What about the rest of her team?"

Adrena Lynn laughed, "Does it really matter how we dispose of Ron Stoppable? I mean after all half the planet has no idea at all who he is."

Charles Hamilton smiled and nodded, "You will of course have the full backing of the Hamilton family in order to bring this matter to a successful conclusion."

Adrena Lynn shook her employer's hand and turned to pickout the men that would participate in the operation to capture Kim Possible. A rush of excitement coursed through her body, _"Prepare Team Possible, Adrena Lynn's back and Adrena Lynn's going to be positively freaky."_

**II **

Temple had been a nerve wracking event for Monique. She not only had to be the dutiful fiancee' of Tirza Cohen and have to answer and a myriad of questions that centered on if she was really going to take Rabbi Katz's conversion classes that began in the fall. She also had to be polite to Bonnie Rockwaller and her family and try to stay clear of Ron who usually did little more than glare at her or answer her in a terse manner.

Mrs.Rockwaller had now cornered her and try as she might she was unable to escape the woman and her nonstop questions, "Tirza seems like such a nice young man, how did you two meet?"

Monique smiled politley and fought off the urge to tell her they met when she and Kim flew to Israel to slap the shit out of her daughter. The urge passed quickly enough as Tirza put an arm around her. She turned and smiled at Tirza and then answered Bonnie's mother, "We had a mutual friend with Ron."

"Oh I should have thought of that? Silly me...Bonnie is very excited Ron's moving in with us on Monday. She keeps checking his room to make sure that everything is just right." Joni Rockwaller continued on.

Tirza grinned, "I know Ronnie is anxious to move in. I think the cots are hard on his back."

Monique closed her eyes as she thought about Ron hurting his back after Kim had stranded him out at Quarry Lake after an argument on his hike out of the park he slipped and nearly slid into a flooded creek. The back was injured as he fought to keep from rolling over during the fall and squishing Rufus, _"I bet a real bed would be better for his back."_

Bonnie and Ron were on the other end of the large room talking with Rabbi Katz about their trip on Monday to see the physical therapist on Monday. Rabbi Katz couldn't help but be happy as he saw the transformation in the couple from what they had been only a year ago.

Ron was a young man in search of direction who in the Rabbi's opinion acted too rashly in his decision to make his aliyah to Israel. However it appeared that he had found himself in their homeland as he noticed in the conversations he had that he kept refering to Israel as home.

Bonnie in the Rabbi's mind was in much the same situation as Ron. She knew little of her own Jewish heritage and appeared at least to him to have little interest in learning about her culture.

After a year of study in Israel she had not only come to enjoy her heritage but had found a fiancee' in Ronald to help in her understanding. They had spent a year facing hardships together as Ron had been wounded twice and each time Bonnie had been there for him to nurse him back to health.

Now as the two stood in front of him discussing their trip to Boulder together Rabbi Katz considered them a model of what a young Jewish couple should be. When Ron spoke Bonnie was attentive to every detail to the point of getting after Ron for not properly cleaning his lower plate.

"I know, I know I should have let it soak overnight in Efferdent. I just never got around to doing it." Ron said defensively.

Bonnie smirked at him to show him her displeasure then she took him by the arm, "We'll run by Smarty Mart so you can pickup a box, tube or whatever they come in."

Rabbi Katz held up a hand, "I see I am leaving you in good hands Ronald. I will leave you two now to continue planning for your trip to Boulder."

Bonnie and Ron said their goodbyes to the Rabbi as he made his way to talk with other members of the Temple. Bonnie then turned to Ron, "You are not packing a G-U-N in here are you?"

He shook his head as placed his arm around her, "N-O it's in the station wagon."

Out of the corner of her eye Bonnie caught sight of Monique heading for the ladies room, _"I think I better go see exactly what the hell Monique and Kim are running around telling people."_ She thought as she turned and patted her boyfriend on the chest.

"I have to use the restroom. I'll be right back and then we can go to Smarty Mart."

Bonnie waited for Monique outside one of the stalls she turned and twisted the dead bolt lock on the rest-room once she made sure there was just the two of them inside. She then leaned back against the door and waited.

The toilet flushed and a short time later Monique opened the door and went to the sink to wash her hands. Bonnie grinned evily, "So what's the little game that you and Kim are playing at now?"

Monique jumped, clearly startled by Bonnie's voice, "Wha…uh…Hi Bonnie…I see your back from Israel."

Bonnie nodded and continued, "I come home and find Ron with a broken nose, a bad back and a very ugly story that you and Kim are running all over town telling anyone that will listen that Ron is some sort of serial rapist. According to Tara, the new line is that Ron raped me."

"I…I…never said that to anyone…"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Monique, we both know Kim's a little flighty but she always used to think the best of Ron. She wouldn't have concocted this story unless she had someone egging her on."

Monique was at a loss for words and wanted out of the restroom badly, "Kim…Kim ummm…well…What does it matter to you? Your just playing games with Ron anyway."

"WHAT?"

"You were only going out with him and being nice and caring to get him to break up with Kim?" Monique said accusingly.

"First of all you don't know anything about Ron and me, secondly we aren't playing this game of turning everything back on me. I wasn't the one that welcomed him back into town by spreading malicious rumors about what he did in the war." Bonnie was flushed with anger as she began to point at Monique.

"Kim knows…."

Bonnie waived her hand and cut Monique off, "KIM KNOWS NOTHING…She wasn't there when they brought him into the hospital. I WAS. Neither of you was there to hold him when he was crying out in pain from wounds that would barely let him stand up…I WAS…Thinking back on it now, I don't recall either of you two sending him flowers or even a stinking get well card."

Monique was cornered and she knew it, "Look Kim didn't know how badly…"

"You know what the hardest part was Monique? The screaming, the yelling, the crying was all easy to deal with. The hardest part of Ron's whole ordeal was having to listen to him talk about all the fun he was going to have when he got back home and how he was going to propose to Kim. If I knew he was going to be coming back to all this crap…I never would have let him leave Israel.

"Well…we…I…I was…It was mainly Kim, she got drunk at Tina's bachelorette party…It was all a big misunderstanding." Monique said as she was trying to hold back tears.

Bonnie nodded her head, "There wasn't any misunderstanding last night when me and Ron went out to meet up with some of my friends from High School. All Kenny Hubler did was talk about Ron being a rapist and how he heard it all from Kim." Bonnie said angrily.

Monique shook her head, "No…Kim just tells people they broke up. Kenny's been talking to Penny…"

"Well Kenny sure drops Kim's name a lot…Kenny said some very nasty things about me and Ron stomped him outside the coffee house last night…All I could think of was good for Ron and he should have slapped the shit out of both of you too."

"Bonnie, I never told anyone that Ron was a rapist…Kim can tell when Ron has sex and he wasn't with you soooo…We…I sort of speculated that he was raping someone." Monique said sadly.

"What the hell are you talking about? Knows when Ron has sex? She has some fantasy and…Is that why I got that weird call when Ron was in Lebanon? She wanted to talk with him and wouldn't believe he wasn't with me?" Bonnie said with a bewildered look on her face.

Monique nodded her head, "She was convinced he was having sex with someone and naturally thought it was you playing games with Ron again."

"Monique, what I do with Ron is not game playing…I mean what in the hell do I get out of this if I'm game playing?"

Monique shook her head, "Bonnie you know how you are, you hated Ron."

Bonnie looked shocked and shook her head, "I never hated Ron…True I never had much use for him because he was always Kim's lap dog…I never hated him."

"Well everyone thinks this is just a get even with Kim game."

Bonnie shook her head again, "Oh for God's sake, this hasn't been about Kim for months…I put him back on his feet so he could go back to Kim…What happened between those two was not my fault."

"Well I'm just saying…"

"I DON"T GIVE A DAMN WHAT ANYONE THINKS!" Bonnie screamed. Then she sighed and shook her head, "I've got my work cut out for me…I helped him walk again to come home to this mess. Now I have to get to quit being so angry and bitter…Ron should never have to be angry and bitter." Bonnie said quietly as she turned and unlocked the bathroom door.

Monique sighed heavily and followed Bonnie out the door. Ron was a good distance away holding his sister and talking with Tirza when he spotted Bonnie, "Hey we thought you two fell in or something."

Bonnie smiled wearily, "No…no…Let's just go to Smarty Mart so you can buy that stuff for your bridge."

Mrs. Stoppable spotted Bonnie and hugged her tightly, "There you are…You don't know how happy I am to see you and Ronnie getting on so well."

"Thank you Mrs. Stoppable…"

"Mom" Mrs. Stoppable gushed.

Bonnie chuckled and nodded, "Alright…Mom. What time do you want me there so I can help with the cooking?"

"Oh nonesense, just make sure Ron's home by four…Now where did your mother go?" Mrs. Stoppable said happily as she went off in search of Joni Rockwaller.

Ron leaned over and whispered in her ear, "You just love this don't you?"

Bonnie smiled and tugged on his arm, "Come on let's get out of here."

He nodded and turned to Tirza, "See you at four." Then he frowned at Monique again, "Four"

Monique smiled meekly, _"I am going to have to do so much apologizing."_

Ron handed his sister off to his grinning father, "You know this will make good practice for when…"

"NO…Don't you start too."

Bonnie quickly took his arm, "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"Your sure you don't want to swing buy your house and pickup your car?"

Bonnie shook her head and gave Ron one of her give it up looks to his teasing question, "No...no more high speed chases in my car."

Ron returned her look with a big grin, "Did I tell you how great you look today?"

She acted as though she were deep in thought, "Hmmm…Only about four time now I think?"

The pulled up to a stop sign and he took her hand and kissed it, "So am I an OK boyfriend so far?"

Bonnie giggled, "Well I will say you're more passionate than I expected."

The light turned green and Ron continued on his way, "Passion is a good thing I think."

"What happened between you and Kim?"

She could see him tense up as he drove the smile fell away from his face, "You want the long version or the short version?"

Bonnie took a deep breath, "We do have a few hours before we have to be back at your parent's house."

Ron didn't say anything until they reached Smarty Mart, then he parked the car and turned to Bonnie, "I know this is going to sound as crazy as mystical monkey power but it's the truth."

He started from the beginning, from the truth ray, to Kim's job at the Space Center, the mental focusing unit and how Kim had been spying on him since October. He told her of how Kim knew they were together in Israel and how the chair allowed her to see everything that Ron saw and hear his thoughts.

Ron finished the entire story along with his narration of the night he burned building one down. How he destroyed the DVD of his day in Gaza and the final fight with Kim at Quarry Lake that ended the relationship.

Bonnie sat in the passenger seat of the station wagon and blinked "Wow when you said it was deep…You weren't kidding…She could see everything?"

He nodded, "Everything"

"The night….The night we first got together…She called you on your phone thing you carry to talk to Wade…I sort of answered it and talked to her…I…I always wondered how she knew right when to call?" Bonnie said quietly.

"I hope you told her to mind her own damned business." Ron said angrily.

Bonnie chuckled nervously, "Well…I sort of…taunted her a little bit…I…I was sort of game playing then."

Ron chuckled and nodded his understanding, "Then I come back here and all this shit happens and she's telling me the whole thing is my fault….MY FAULT !" Ron punctuated his last statement by punching the dashboard of the station wagon.

Bonnie was startled as she watched the vinyl dashboard crack just above the climate control settings, "Calm…Calm down Ron…It's over now."

Ron was not finished, "You know what the worst part of this mess is…She had me believing it was all my fault…I…I thought…I thought everyone was shunning me because of the wounds…Then that whole rape shit…"

"Come on Ron, let's go into the store." Bonnie patted him on leg as she tried to get his mind off of what had happened.

"Then I gave Rufus back to them because I was afraid everyone would hate him like they hated me." Ron was starting to tear up.

Bonnie burried her head into his shoulder, "It's over with Ron…Let's go inside."

He was quiet for a moment, "They know you were in the hospital."

"WHAT?"

Ron nodded, "Oh yea…Kim was using the device the day I planned the bachelor party and Sam was teasing me about why you were in the hospital….I didn't say anything. That's how that whole I raped Bonnie story started."

Bonnie turned red and gritted her teeth, "It's none of their damned business what happened over there…I run into Kim while we're here I'm punching her in the mouth…I might get my ass kicked but at least I'm going to get one good shot in."

"I'm just letting you know ahead of time…Monique may ask about it…I think the whole I raped you shit started with her." Ron said bitterly.

"I already had words with Monique in the restroom back in the temple…They're coming to dinner tonight?"

Ron nodded his head, "Yea they'll be there."

Bonnie let out a deep breath, "I'm sure she's reporting back to Kim as we speak…I'll think up something to tell her if I'm asked…Let's go inside and get your stuff."

They both got out of the car and Ron began to walk to towards the store and stopped. Bonnie turned a looked at him, "You coming?"

He nodded, "I never meant for any of this to happen Bonnie."

She walked over to him and took his hand, "Well it did. We'll just have to take things as they come."

Ron tried to smile, "Want to see my badicle Oh Boyz dance moves."

Bonnie shook her head, "No…at least not here. People will think you're a dork."

A broad grin crossed Ron's face, "Maybe that's what I need to do is to have people think I'm a dork again."

"Come on, you start dancing out here people will just think you're a dorky rapist." She giggled as she began to pull on Ron's arm.

Ron winced painfully, "True, I didn't think about that."

"We lay low for a few days and then off to Boulder." Bonnie reminded him.

They walked into the store and Ron looked to his girlfriend, "OK so where do we go to get the…Efferdent?"

Bonnie looked at him strangely and in a sarcastic voice reminded him, "HA…How should I know. I wouldn't be caught dead shopping here for myself."

Ron laughed, "OK retail snob."

"Well…I'm just saying…"

"That you wouldn't be caught dead shopping here." Ron parroted her.

Bonnie laughed, "Exactly"

Ron pointed to the right, "I guess we'd find it in the pharmacy department."

They headed towards the pharmacy department and Bonnie spotted something she liked, "Crunch n Munch…5 lb box for $1.99!"

Ron laughed, "Want me to get a cart?"

"NO…I was…just saying…"

Ron turned around, "I'll get a cart."

He grabbed a cart and Bonnie thru in the large box of Carmel flavored popcorn mixed with peanuts. Then she found the liquor isle, "Do you think your mom would want us to pick up a few bottles of wine?"

"Oh I don't know…I do know mom enjoys her Manischewitz wine."

Bonnie ran and grabbed a couple of bottles. She returned to the cart and looked around and whispered conspiratorially, "You still have your ID right?"

"Yea"

Bonnie went on a shopping spree hitting every department in the store and finding something she needed before they finally made it to the pharmacy department to pick up the Efferdent for Ron, "I think we have enough here."

Ron smiled, "I'm glad you wouldn't be caught dead shopping here…."

She turned and narrowed her eyes and placed a hand on her hip, "Ronald Stoppable…Do you have any idea how long it's been since I shopped? I mean since I really shopped and bought things with labels in English?"

He took her in his arms and gave her a big hug, "Never thought of it that way."

"Good now lets head to house wares and get stuff for your bedroom."

Ron rolled his eyes and just tagged along behind Bonnie. Bonnie had turned into a shopping machine. Isle after isle passed by as he continued to follow the blazing trail being cut by Bonnie as she pushed the cart at blinding speed, "Do you have enough socks?" Before he could answer Bonnie answered for him, "Of course not, no man has enough socks and eight pairs for $4.00…"

"Ummm Bonnie?" Ron said nervously as he thought about what could happen if they just happened by the Jewelry isle and saw Tina.

Bonnie chuckled, "Bikini briefs…You'd look sexy in…"

"With my legs?" Ron reminded her.

Bonnie frowned, "Oh yea"

Ron smiled, "Besides I'm….briefs are a little too constricting for me."

She smiled at the last statement and looked at his crotch, "I agree"

Bonnie next made her way to the women's clothing isle. She picked up various items of clothing and shook her head disapprovingly, "Smarty Mart has the ugliest clothes."

"It's the same stuff that's sold in Club Banana…It just doesn't have the banana on it." Ron informed her.

"Shaa…You expect me to believe that…What just because they're owned by the same company?" She picked up a black nightie and held it up in front of her, "Give you any ideas?"

Ron smiled, "Oh yea"

"Well too bad, no sex." Bonnie reminded him as she put the nightie back on the rack.

He shook his head and then spotted the food isle. His jaw fell open and Bonnie turned to see what he was looking at. Ron stammered, "It's…it's Pop Pop Porter's Big Little Corndogs…Industrial size."

Bonnie shook her head, "I'd rather you had that look with me and the lingerie…Come on alpha male those aren't kosher."

"I…I know, but they're soooo good." Ron told her as Bonnie physically pulled him away from the offending food group.

"Come on Ron. Defile your body later, let's go get your Efferdent."

Ron finally responded and allowed Bonnie to lead him away from the freezer section. With his breathing returning to normal, he realized that they were now in the pharmacy section, "Oh man, I hate getting this stuff it makes me feel old."

Bonnie smiled and handed him the box, "Here you go old man."

Ron looked at the box and dropped it into the cart. Then he spotted an item further up the isle and showed it to Bonnie, "Industrial sized box of Trojan condoms…Give you any ideas?"

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "I'm on the pill Ron."

He smiled and shelved the condoms, "It's all good. I don't use them anyway…Bareback is the only way to go."

"Ewwww too much information Ron."

Ron allowed a grin to cross his face until a sharp elbow into the ribs wiped it off his face, "Let's check out…We have to go back to your parent's house."

They stood in the checkout line and then the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He remembered what Hirotaka had told him about trying to remain hidden from the CIA while he was in the U.S. swiping his Bank of Jerusalem visa card would tip off everyone to where he was.

"Ummm…Bonnie…I'm kind of embarrassed to say it but…I left my visa card at the house."

Bonnie dug into her purse, "Oh no problem. Mom gave me cash to get the stuff for your room."

Ron breathed a huge sigh of relief, _"Thank you Mrs. Rockwaller…Mom."_ He thought happily to himself.

"OK Ron, load up the cart…I do not do bags." Bonnie told him as she handed the cashier her money.

He nodded and began putting the bags into the cart. He glanced at the total on the cash register and smiled, "Only $231.35…Not bad for a lady that wouldn't be caught dead shopping here."

"Let's just keep this our little secret."

* * *

Kim held up two outfits in front of her. She eyed the first it was a little too dressy. This was after all just a first date and from what Kenny had told her they were just going to hang around the park and maybe take in a game or two.

So she hung the out fit back up and settled on her khaki Capri pants with the white midriff top that had a heart in the center. She looked at the top distastefully, _"I've worn this thing since high school. I think it's time for a wardrobe makeover once this date is over."_

She rifled thru the other tops in her closet, _"Wool too heavy for summer...Here we go, light tan top with spaghetti straps...I bought this in Israel...Ahhhhh identity theft...I wonder if I can get Wade to hook me up again."_

The top along with a several thousand dollars worth of clothing she purchased while on a trip to Israel to rescue Ron from Bonnie's clutches earlier in the year. Wade had spoofed the identity of Christy Carlson Romano for Kim and provided her with a Master Card that had no limit. Kim quickly took advantage of the situation ringing up a grand total of twelve thousand dollars on the card.

She spent so much that the real Christy Carlson Romano couldn't afford to pay so he billed the only person that he could think of that had enormous amounts of money and would never miss both Kim and Monique's phony credit card bills and that person was Tom Cruise.

Tom noticed the charges and viewed it as a sign from L. Ron Hubbard that he was to purchase the nation of Israel. So he turned to the only realtor he could think of capable of selling the country to him, Senor Senior, Sr. and Son Real Estate for the Mega Rich Company.

Of course these after effects of Kim's trip were completely unknown to her. She was just happy she was able to buy lots of cool stuff and didn't have to pay for it. After all Wade had told her it was a victimless crime.

Now she surveyed herself in the mirror and applied a little makeup, slipped on a comfortable pair of shoes and headed downstairs to wait for Kenny to come pick her up. She sat on the couch and watched TV with the rest of the family. She noticed her mother looking at her, "Something wrong?"

Mrs. Dr. P. shrugged, "Looks like you're all dressed up with no place to go?"

Kim gave her a quizzical expression and then realized, "Oh...I have a date tonight."

Mrs. Dr. P. smiled, "Oh good you made up with Ron."

"NO...I met a boy I knew in high school. He was a few years ahead of me. I met him while I was working at the park...He asked me out...and I said...yes." Kim said trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Mr. Dr. P. looked at his daughter, "Now I know you're out of school and it's the summer time but you still have an eleven o'clock curfew."

Kim rolled her eyes, "Daddy I'm not a little girl anymore..."

Mrs. Dr. P. chimed in her support of her husband, "Our house, our rules Kim."

She groaned and before she could continue her argument. She was shushed by her brothers and Rufus, "Can't you see we're trying to watch TV here?"

Kim gave them a look as the doorbell rang, "That'll be Kenny."

She rose slowly from the couch and Mrs. Dr. P. followed her, "Well bring...this Kenny inside to meet the family."

"Mother"

She opened the door and there stood Kenny Hubler smiling appreciatively, "Hey you look great."

Kim smiled and looked over the young man dressed in jeans and a golf shirt, "Thanks you look pretty spankin' yourself."

"Well Kim..." Mrs. Dr. P said from a respectful distance away.

Kim closed her eyes and nodded, "Right, time to come in and face...I mean meet my parents."

Kenny laughed, "No big"

The couple walked into the TV room and Mr. Dr. P. rose from his chair, "Hello...Kenny isn't it?"

"Yes Sir"

Mrs. Dr. P. followed them into the room, "Kim really hasn't told us much about you...Where did you two meet?"

"I met Kim at the snow cone stand in Tillis Park. I play American Legion baseball there now that I'm home from school." He told them.

Mr. Dr. P. smiled, "A ball player, eh' what position?"

"I'm a pitcher."

Tim turned his head around to face the boy, "Any good?"

Kenny laughed, "I like to think so, I have a tryout with the Cincinnati Reds next week."

Jim turned to face him, "Wow...How about trying out for the Rockies? They always need pitching."

"Well...So far they haven't shown much interest."

Mrs. Dr. P. looked him over and noticed some bruising on his face, "So I guess playing ball is where you got that bruise on your face and the busted lip?"

Kenny frowned, "No ma'am I ran into Kim's psycho ex-boyfriend last night." Rufus now spun around and gave his full attention to the man who had a fight with his pal.

Jim's eyes grew big, "And you're still living?"

Kenny looked at him in astonishment, "Uh...yea"

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "So where did you bump into Ron last night."

Jim narrowed his eyes, "I bet he used his base running speed to out distance Ron."

Mrs. Dr. P. nodded in agreement, "Ron does have that bad knee."

Rufus chuckled, "Bullets Bang Bang"

Mr. Dr. P. rubbed his chin, "True, Ronald is partial to shooting people these days."

Kim blushed and chuckled nervously, "So...where did you run into Ron again?"

Kenny blinked and shook his head, _"These people know he's crazy too? Wait, their OK with him being crazy?"_

"Downtown at the coffee house...I told him I was dating you tonight and he just sucker punched me."

Mrs. Dr. P. detected right away that he was lying but chose to say nothing about her suspicions. She narrowed her ice blue eyes and raised an eyebrow, "Oh really"

"GOOD" Rufus called out and fell over backwards laughing.

Kenny was not pleased with the naked mole rats comments, "I see Ron didn't eat you after all."

Rufus quickly regained his feet and stuck out his tongue at the boy, "Blppppppppppph"

Tim picked up Rufus, "Now Rufus, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation as to why he's still living."

Kenny just stared at the twins and the naked mole rat in disbelief, _"Looks like it's gong to be hard to impress this crowd."_

Kim shook her head, "I don't understand. What was Ron doing at Tink's last night?"

"Oh he's all up Bonnie's ..." Kenny was about to say something vulgar but checked himself in font of the Possible's, "He's dating Bonnie Rockwaller and she brought him there."

Tim took a closer look, "Wow, looks like Ron really got you good...You sure he didn't try to shoot you?"

Kenny snorted, "This was the only shot he got on me...I took care of business after that."

Now it was Kim's turn to lift an eyebrow, _"Something tells me he's lucky Ron didn't kill him. Dating Bonnie...figures."_

"Well, it's getting late so I think it's time we moved on."

Kenny nodded, "Yep, my pickup is just outside."

After the couple left Tim looked to his father, "So do you really think he beat up Ron?"

Mr. Dr. P. shrugged, "I'm not so certain about that...I think there is a little more to the story than meets the eye though."

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "I have the feeling he's lucky Ron didn't kill him...He said he was dating Bonnie Rockwaller now...Hmmmm."

Rufus laughed maniacally, "Yea...Kill him"

* * *

"Oh I see you two bought wine as well." Mrs. Stoppable exclaimed happily as she took the two bottles of Manischewitz wine from Ron.

Bonnie handed Ron the box of Efferdent, "Now go get a glass and start soaking that plate."

"Yes officer"

Mrs. Stoppable smiled as she watched Ron head for the kitchen, "You'll really have to keep up with him. He's not really big on listening to doctors or following instructions."

Bonnie grinned, "Oh I don't think you'll have anything to worry about Mrs...mom...I have him pretty much figured out."

The front door opened and Tirza and Monique walked into the living room. Tirza sniffed the air, "I smell something very good cooking."

Monique smiled sheepishly at Bonnie and Mrs. Stoppable clearly unsure of what kind of welcome she was going to receive, "Hi"

Bonnie nodded her head but didn't return the smile, "Monique"

Mrs. Stoppable smiled, "Come on in you two, Ron told me to expect you."

Mr. Stoppable came down the stairs from his office in Ron's old room, "Muri, I found...Bonnie how nice it is to see you."

"Thank you Mr. Stoppable"

Then he turned his attention to Tirza and Monique, "And look at you two, you both looks so good all dressed up."

Monique was feeling more at ease, "Thank you Mr. Stoppable."

"Now I will head to the dining room since I think I smell some delicious food being cooked it must be almost time to eat." Mr. Stoppable said to them as he began to walk past his wife.

"WALTER, where are your manners? The guests go first." Mrs. Stoppable scolded.

Mr. Stoppable waived a hand at his wife, "Ah...These two have been living here for the last month."

Mrs. Stoppable pursed her lips and said sternly, "BONNIE"

"Oh...Yes, right Bonnie goes first." Mr. Stoppable said as he motioned for Bonnie to take the lead.

Bonnie smiled and walked past Ron's parents, _"Ahhhhh finally someone who gets it...Bonnie goes first."_ She mused happily.

The look on Bonnie's face was not lost on Monique as she rolled her eyes, _"This girl is going to eat this up."_

Mr. Stoppable began to take a seat until he saw the look of death coming from his wife's eyes, "I think I need to help my lovely wife bring in the food."

Bonnie smiled and waived at Kaley who was in her high chair and took a seat near the head of the table. She was still wearing the blue dress that she wore to temple. Ron reappeared from the basement still wearing his suit the only addition being a kippah and sat next to her.

He cast a suspicious eye at Monique. As she and Tirza sat opposite of them, _"I wonder what kind of lies her and Kim are going to cook up after this nights over with?"_

"Tirza, it's good to see you."

Monique slid a little further down in her chair. Ron's snub clearly not lost on her, _"Please God just let me get through this night."_

Bonnie looked at Ron's yarmulka, "Where did you get that?"

Tirza smiled, "That is his Golani kippa...Couldn't find your other one?"

Ron shook his head, "I think I left it at the temple."

Bonnie nodded as she remembered Ron having it on earlier in the day, "Yea...I think you did. We'll run by there tomorrow and pick it up."

Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable began bringing in the food and Ron looked at the new china that was on the table, "Wow, mom went all out...When did you get the new china?"

Mrs. Stoppable puffed out her cheeks, "We've always..."

Mr. Stoppable interupted his wife and proudly replied informed the group, "Oh I found it on Ebay a few months ago."

"Oh great Walter, now Bonnie's going to think we don't have nice things?" Mrs. Stoppable said testily.

"What? It was nicer than what we had so I bought it. What's wrong with that?"

Bonnie smiled nervously, "The pattern on the china is very pretty."

"Well it should be...It's new." Mrs. Stoppable replied gruffly as she spooned a large helping of potatos into her husband's plate.

Ron covered his mouth with his hand and tried hard not to laugh, _"Poor dad's in for it now."_

"So...Tirza you ready for your visit to Boulder on Monday?"

Tirza smiled nervously as he watched Ron's parents out of the corner of his eye, "Yes...ummm...Monique is driving me up to see the cardiologist."

"Muri, sit down and have a glass of wine. You don't have to serve everyone." Mr. Stoppable said as he opened a bottle of wine.

Mrs. Stoppable paused for a moment and then sat down next to the baby and across from Bonnie, "You'll all have to forgive us we don't do this very often."

Bonnie smiled, "It's alright all the food looks so good."

Mr. Stoppable poured his wife a large glass of wine and Ron grimaced. He knew his mother and alcohol didn't mix too well. He then proceeded to pour everyone at the table a large glass of wine.

He lifted an eyebrow as his father came over to him, "Dad...Are you sure about this?" He whispered.

"Of course" The elder Stoppable said as he poured Ron and Bonnie a glass of wine.

Ron sighed_, "This will be a night to remember."_ He thought nervously.

* * *

"This truck…is great Kenny."

Kenny smiled as he shifted gears on the old Ford Ranger, "You don't have to lie, it's a beater but it's good enough to get me through until I sign a pro contract."

Kim giggled nervously, "Well it is a nice truck."

He turned the corner and pulled into the parking lot of Tillis park, "My little brother Calvin is playing over on field number three so I kind of have to pop by and make an appearance."

"_I wonder if I should ask any more questions about Ron."_ She wondered before answering Kenny.

"Sure, sounds like fun…Maybe we can play cage bats later?"

Kenny laughed and stepped out of the car, "I think you mean drop by the batting cages."

Kim giggled and quickly recovered, "Oh yea, that's what I meant."

The couple stepped out of the truck and Kenny took her by the hand, "It's over this way."

They walked over to the baseball diamond that his brother was playing on. Kim noticed the boys were about ten or twelve years old, "So how old is your brother?"

"He's ten, he kind of worships me….So I hate to let him down and not come watch him play."

The last statement Kenny made hit Kim's cute button, "Awwww, that's so sweet."

Kenny nodded as they took their seat on in the bleachers, _"Yep, using the little brother line works every time."_ He looked over the ball field and spotted his brother, "There he is in right field."

"Oh I see him. He's on the right side of the field."

Kenny patted Kim on the head condescendingly, "That's why they call it right field."

Kim cringed at her fopah, "Oh yea right…field."

"So I hear your going to Upperton University. What are you majoring in?"

She chuckled nervously since she hadn't exactly told that many people she was asked to leave the school because of the trail of violence and destruction that always seemed to follow her where ever she went.

Kim looked skyward and sucked in her cheeks and pretended to give the matter considerable thought, "Well I think I'm going to transfer to Rutgers for next semester and major in…Criminal Justice or something….I'm sort of undecided on my major right now."

"THERE YOU ARE KENNY" The voice called out from behind them.

Kenny was startled and spun around, "Anna…You're in town?"

A very angry brunette came stomping up the bleachers towards them. Kenny was beginning to sweat, "Now…Anna I can explain…"

"WHO IS SHE?" Anna demanded to know.

Before Kenny or Kim could answer the angry woman thrust out her left hand towards Kim and screamed hysterically, "I SUPPOSE KENNY FORGOT TO MENTION THAT WE ARE ENGAGED!"

"Ummm…No?" Kim said feeling embarrassed as people in the crowd were starting to stare.

"Anna, she's just an old friend from High School, she's nobody." Kenny quickly said as he quickly took the angry brunette by the arm and led her away from the ball diamond leaving Kim all by herself.

Kim stared at the couple as they walked towards the parking lot, _"Ron did not hit you hard enough."_

She put her foot up on the bleecher in front of her and put her elbow on her knee so she could rest her chin in her heand. It was time for serious thought. Being that she was away from everything and everyone she hoped would help make things clearer for her.

She mumbled sadly under her breath, "I used to be someone…I used to be Kim Possible crime fighting cheerleader…"

"Did my brother just dump you?"

Kim turned her attention to Calvin Hubler, Kenny's little brother. She smiled and nodded, "Looks that way."

The boy shook his head and smiled, "You want to be my girlfriend?"

Kim chuckled, "Don't tempt me."

"I gotta go, I'm due up this inning." Then the boy turned and ran back towards his team's dugout.

She smiled and shook her head, _"Sorry Calvin, I need time to get over the pain and shock of being dumped."_

Kim really didn't feel all that bad about Kenny running off on her. There was no real attraction to Kenny, it was just a date to jump start her sagging social life and little else. Then another thought crossed her mind, _"Why did Ron punch him?"_

She sat up straight and tilted her head to one side, _"If he is with Bonnie, why would he punch Kenny in the mouth for going out with me? Unless he still has feelings for me….That has to be it."_ She mused.

Kim shook her head again, _"NO…I think Kenny may have been…exagerating just a bit…I just wish I could find a way to talk to Ron again…Just the two of us…like it used to be."_

She sighed and shook her head, _"No...That really hasn't worked out too well lately...Ron's become so...touchy after he was wounded."_ Then she rolled her eyes, _"Not to mention that whole rape thing. I wonder why Bonnie was in the hospital…Hmmm…Think on that later."_

Meloncholy was beginning to set in. She closed her eyes and longed for the old days when she and Ron were inseperable. She missed the missions and the adulation that came her way when the missions were successful and the world was saved.

Another sigh escaped her lips, "Well that's all gone. Now what do I do?" She asked quietly under her breath.

The sun was sinking lower on the horrizon. The sky was turning a lovely shade of pink when Kim came to her next problem, _"What am I going to do with myself?"_

Kim noticed that the baseball game was coming to an end. So she stood up, _"Guess I'll head over to the snow cone stand."_

The parents of the players were slow to leave the bleachers and Kim waited her turn to head the steps to the ground. Kim looked off in the distance and noticed three black SUV's in the parking lot, "Company cars?"

She shook the SUV's out of her mind, _"I haven't even made an effort to go to Rutgers. I don't even know if that's where I want to go for sure. I think I'm ready to leave town, move out of the house…Ron did OK, and so can I."_

Once she reached the bottom of the bleachers she turned for the snow cone stand several hundred yards away, _"Let's face it. I'm in a rut. No more super villians to fight, Shego and Drakken in jail. Man, I miss fighting Shego. She really kept you on your toes…"_

She could feel movement behind her. She then dismissed the feeling as just the parents of the players wrapping things up, _"I wish there was some mad science guy running loose that I could fight…Just a few henchmen. Is that too much to ask?"_

"THERE SHE IS GET HER!"

Kim spun towards the voice just in time to see twelve men begin to encircle her. Kim's shoulders slumped and large grin crossed her face, _"Thank you God."_ She suddenly straightened herself up and crossed her arms and looked at the leader of the group, "You guys have no idea how happy I am to see you."

The men looked at each other in astonishment before Kim closed on the closest man and kicked him as hard as she could in the genitals to mark the official beginnings of hostility between her and Hamilton's finest.

* * *

"So then we come home and find Ronnie in his room dry humping his teddy bear! He was sooooooo cute." His mother slurred as she patted Bonnie on the hand.

Bonnie lifted and eyebrow and looked over at Ron who was now beat red in the face, "Now I know where you developed your mad skills at."

Ron cleared his throat, "Mom, I was only four...I was fighting the bear or something."

His mother tilted the wine glass back to finish her fourth glass of wine and she began laughing, "Walter was so afraid Ron was going to turn gay…Then the next year he wanted to be a ballerina for Halloween!"

Bonnie laughed and looked at Ron, "I was a ballerina then too."

Tirza and Monique just looked at one another. Monique was trying hard not to laugh and agrivate Ron even further. She tilted her glass back and polished off her fourth glass of wine. Tirza being the gentleman he was promptly refilled it.

"Thhhhhhannnk uuuuuuu, Tirza Bear." Monique slurred.

Ron was in his own personal world of torment, "I…I thought the tutus looked cool….I was in a ballet class."

Bonnie tilted her head, "Drydan Academy of Dance?"

He shrugged and his mother grinned drunkenly, "That's the one."

"Oh my God I remember you…You were good….For only being 5 years old." Bonnie said as she covered her mouth.

Ron frowned and snorted, "I was better at tap."

Mrs. Stoppable now turned her attention to her husband, "Do you know what time it is Walter?"

Mr. Stoppable smiled knowingly, "What time is it dear?"

Mrs. Stoppable weaved back and forth in her seat, "It's time you take me upstairs and mount me you semetic stallion you."

Ron put both hands over his face, "Oh good God!"

Mr. Stoppable stood up and helped his wife to her feet, "You can put Kaley to bed anytime Ron." Then he helped his wife towards the stairs.

Monique turned to Tirza, "I think it's time for you to help me downstairs and mount me you septic stallion you."

Ron kept his face burried in his hands, "Why Me?"

Bonnie laughed softly and pulled one of his hands away from his eyes, "It's OK Ron. I can tell your mother isn't used to drinking."

"Now I know why we never do things like this." Ron said sadly as he was pelted with a small carrott by his little sister, "Oh sure join your parents in the Ron Stoppable festival of humilation."

"I guess it's up to us to clean up?" Bonnie said surveying the damage done to the dining room.

"_I don't know why I get so horney when I've been drinking?"_ A voice drifted down from the stairway.

Ron closed his eyes and shook his head, "Mom…I swear."

"Come on Ballerina and help me clean up."

"You are like the only official ballerina in the room." He said as he stood up, "I'll go get some bowls for the leftovers…Glad I did invite Tirza and Monique to dinner. Mom cooked enough food to feed an army."

Bonnie shook her head as she looked at Kaley. Her entire upper body was covered in food and she was having fun smearing food all over the tray of her high chair with her hands. She saw Bonnie and laughed and held out her hands to be picked up.

"Ron, I think I'll let you clean up your sister and I'll put the leftovers away."

Ron looked up from covering the green bean casourolle and saw his sister, "Oh my"

He began to remove the tray from the high chair and stopped, "I better change first." He explained as he crossed the dinning room for the kitchen and the entrance to the basement. He opened the door at the top of the stairs and heard Monique's drunken cries of passion, "I think I better wait a while before I head down there."

Bonnie heard Monique down in the basement, "Maybe you should just take off your coat and tie?"

"Yea" Ron said as he stripped them off and laid them over a chair.

Then it was time to tend to his sister. Bonnie stopped cleaning as she watched him look after his sister, _"I do believe he would be good father material."_

"Yesssss look at you all dirty. You like being dirty don't you?" Ron cooed as he took Kaley out of her dirty jumper and then looked down the back of her diaper, "Did Kaley leave her brother any surprises…noooooooooo…Goooooood." Ron cooed happily.

Bonnie giggled, "I do believe you're enjoying yourself."

Ron smiled, "Apart from you coming back into town, this has been the only good thing to come of this trip."

After Kaley was cleaned up Ron put her in a baby walker and let her roll around in the kitchen while they cleaned up. Once the dishwasher was loaded and started Bonnie hugged Ron tightly, "Ron do you remember when you had all that money?" She asked in a sultry voice.

Ron grinned remembering his 99 million dollar check, "Yea"

Bonnie let her fingers walk up his chest, "I really was only interested in you just for the money."

He was unfazed by her admission, "That's The Ron to you."

She giggled and pushed him away, "Let's finish cleaning up."

Ron was still grinning at her, "I had so much money then…Now here is The Ron loading a dish washer and being….all domestic and stuff."

Bonnie shook her head as she wiped down the table, "No bling bling for you." She called out over her shoulder.

He walked up behind her and embraced her, "You were the only one who really looked good with the bling bling on."

She leaned back into him and let him nibble on her ear and then begin to kiss her neck. Bonnie sighed contentedly, "I know."

Their romantic tryst was coming to an end as Kaley rolled into the back of Ron's legs knocking him and Bonnie forward. Bonnie fell across the table with Ron on top of her, "Sorry, sorry, my bad." Ron said as he tried to climb off of Bonnie.

Before they could recover Mrs. Stoppable staggered around the corner wearing a bathrobe, and caught them in their compromising position, "Oh….Don't mind me, I'll just tell Walter there's no whipped cream." She slurred happily as she turned to go back upstairs.

He helped Bonnie back to her feet as he began to laugh. Bonnie however was not happy, "It's not funny, now your mother thinks I'm a slut."

"Bonnie, Moms so sauced she'll be lucky if she can remember dinner much less…Our little accident." Ron looked around suddenly and spotted his sister, "Talking about little accidents…I think it's time for a certain little girl to go to bed."

Bonnie frowned again, "Now that's mean Ron. I'm sure your parents planned to have a baby late in life."

Ron chuckled, "I was talking about her running into the back of me with the walker."

"Ohhhhh…My bad" Bonnie said sheepishly.

He made quick work of running down the toddler before she could escape into the living room and snatched her from the walker, "Gotcha, you heard the word bed didn't you. Kaley is such a smart girl."

His sister put up a brief struggle before she realized Ron was headed towards the kitchen and not the stairs. Her brother opened the refrigerator and she spotted the bottle. Now it was time to start struggling and crying.

Ron forced a grin on his face and looked at Bonnie, "Want to hold Kaley while I get a bottle together?"

Bonnie put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Ron and with a voice filled with conviction said, "I don't…"

"Mind at all." Ron said interrupting her as he held Kaley out to her.

She growled and took Kaley, "I was going to say I don't do babies."

"I know what you were going to say. This will only take a minute….Besides she likes you." Ron commented as Kaley quit crying.

Bonnie scowled at him as he turned to warm up the bottle. She put Kaley over her shoulder, "I have no maternal instinct."

Ron smiled as he checked the bottle in the steamer, "Too cold…You're doing fine. Kaley quit crying so that must mean something."

Kaley grinned at Bonnie. However Bonnie didn't share her happiness, "Hurry Ron…Ugh, I can't believe you want ten kids."

"Bottles done" Ron said as he took the squirming baby back from Bonnie. Kaley started to cry before Ron held up the bottle. She stopped and held out her hands.

"Ba ba"

Ron smiled, "Yea…Ba ba." He said as he gave her the bottle. He turned to face Bonnie, "I'll be right back." He told her as he made his way to the stairs.

"She only quit crying because she was afraid I'd drop her." Bonnie called out after him. Then she crossed her arms, _"He's crazy if he thinks I'm gong to have 10 kids…Maybe one…Ten…Oh hell no."_

The door to the basement opened and Monique staggered out wearing little more than a grin, "Where's the bathroom?"

Bonnie shook her head, "Girl you are so wasted…I don't know where the bathroom is, now go and put on some clothes."

Monique grinned, "Why, Ron knows what I look like naked."

Bonnie fought the urge to slap the drunk woman and instead used a little female psychology on her, "You think Tirza's going to be impressed with his fiancée prancing around nude in front of his friends?"

Monique stood up straight and a look of controlled panic came over her face, "Well…I'll just go back down stairs then."

Ron walked into the kitchen just as Monique headed back down the stairs to Tirza, "I think Kaley will be alright. Did I just hear Monique?"

"She's still drunk. She came up naked wondering where the bathroom was."

"Powerful stuff that Manischewitz wine. Want sit on the couch and watch a little TV?" Ron asked pointing at the couch.

They both sat on the couch and Bonnie curled herself up next to Ron and held out her hand, "Remote please."

Ron handed her the remote, "We watch what Bonnie wants to watch and Bonnie wants to watch VH1 Classics."

He looked at his girlfriend quizzically, "VH1?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "You call your self an Oh Boyz fan…It's the show Remembering The Year 2005 and they'll have a lot of Oh Boyz stuff on."

A look of panic crossed Ron's face, "Aughhhhhhhhh, NO NOT NOSTALGIA SHOW!" There ought to be a law. No nostalgia shows until at least twenty years after the year they want to cover."

She slapped Ron's wondering hand away from her breast, "No sex. Now shush the unfunny comedians are talking about Madonna."

Ron smiled and held her tightly, "I'm glad your back."

Bonnie giggled and allowed his display of affection. She was feeling equally as affectionate so she scooted into her boyfriends lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Bonnie felt a tingling sensation run thru her body as she became aware of his erection growing beneath her. She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear, "I can tell."

* * *

"GET UP AND FIGHT YOU PANSIES!" Kim screamed at the Hamilton security force as the remaining conscious members rolled around on the ground clutching various body parts in pain.

"We…we give up…Quit hitting us." A hapless security man begged.

Kim quickly crossed the ground to where he lay and kicked him savagely in the mouth, "YOU CALL YOURSELVES HENCHMEN! YOU WOULDN'T LAST TEN MINUTES WORKING FOR SHEGO!"

A much disheveled Kim Possible looked up at the sound of police sirens caught her attention. She turned and saw an audience had gathered to watch her beat up the Hamilton Security detail.

She blinked and thought about the sirens, _"It was self defense but the corrupt legal system might not see it that way…Since I kind of kept beating them after they were finished fighting…They might want to actually arrest ME!"_

A wolf's whistle suddenly alerted her to the fact her top was tore and a breast was exposed. Kim quickly covered herself and made a dash for the snow cone stand, _"That was so cool…Twelve…twelve of them and I kicked the crap out of them…Repeatedly."_

Kim ducked into the back entrance of the snow cone booth. She was winded and her fists and feet hurt, she was clearly out of fighting shape but she still had enough skills to take care of business and that made her feel invincible once again.

Penny stared at Kim, "You OK?"

Kim turned and looked at her reflection in the shinny stainless steel finish of the ice machine and saw the blood running from her nose. She wiped her face quickly, _"Someone did get a lucky shot in early in the fight." _She thought as she turned to her friend.

"Penny, do you have a shirt or something I can wear? My top kind of tore."

Penny handed her a wet rag, "Yea, hang on…Did Kenny do that to you?"

She took the rag and wiped her face, "Who? Oh, no…His fiancée' showed up as soon as we arrived and the date kind of ended."

Her friend made a face, "Oh I'm so sorry to hear that."

Kim shrugged, "So not the drama."

"Well then what happened to you?"

She smiled happily, "A goon squad from Hamilton jumped me…It was great." She said breathlessly.

Penny looked at her in disbelief, "Uhhh…If you say so." She then reached into her gym bag and pulled out an old t-shirt and threw it to Kim.

Kim held it up and saw that it was from a Muscular Dystrophy walk-a-thon that was held a few years ago and nodded, "This will do, thanks."

"I'll close up and then I'll drive you home." Penny said softly.

Kim nodded as she sat on the floor of the booth wearing the t-shirt and an extremely large grin, "Thanks"

Penny closed the windows of the booth, "Sorry your date ended so badly."

Kim closed her eyes and smiled, "I haven't had this much fun since I was dating Ron."

Her friend rolled her eyes, "You are just ate up."

She smiled dreamily as her muscles began to ache, "Oh yea"


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N: Many thanks to those that read and reviewed chapter 60, Thurston, Mooneasterbunny, Lycox, Whitem, Atomic Fire. Also many thanks to those of you that voted for me in the Fannie Awards. I really appreciate it. Thanks to Atomic Fire for proof reading and to Airdwalker999 for letting me bounce ideas off of.**

**Once again right a review receive a reply. If the mailbot God's comply.**

**Mature warning...Bonnie gets a littly mouthy and then gets a handfull and isn't afraid to tell Ron what she'll do with it.**

* * *

"Does this hurt Ronald?" 

Ron was laying on his back on an examination table shook his head, "No"

Dr. Ehlert next applied pressure to the side of Ron's knee, "How about that?"

"Little bit of pain."

The doctor continued poking and prodding of the knee in various positions as Ron turned his head to look at Bonnie nervously. She smiled and squeezed his hand. It was only 10:00 AM and it was already a long day.

He and Bonnie had left Middleton for Boulder at six in the morning to make the trip to Boulder. They had just made his appointment at the Colorado Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center on time.

Ron was presented a packet of information from the American Friends of the IDF with information on what he was to do for the week. After the doctors examination he would be checking into the Holiday Inn Express off of I30 on Broadway for the next three nights while he underwent conditioning and strengthening exercises.

"Well the knee looks like it's healing faster than anyone expected. I'd almost say that it had been scoped but there is no scar. You haven't had any other work done to it have you?" Dr. Ehlert asked.

He thought of Yori in Japan but said nothing as he shook his head, "No, just taking it easy."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at his last statement as she thought about what Ron had been through for the last month. Not to mention the high speed chase they had been in the other night.

The doctor nodded, "Well I can only come to the conclusion that the doctors that first looked at you were correct. When you get about 30 or so you are going to have to start thinking about knee replacement surgery."

Ron was crestfallen, "So will the knee ever be right?"

Dr. Ehlert frowned and shook his head, "There's too much damage done for that. You'll have trouble with it for the rest of your life. But you can strengthen it and keep it flexible."

"I guess I was hoping for better news." Ron said sadly as he looked over towards Bonnie.

"I've done all that I can do…You have your packet of information, in it you will find your workout schedule for the rest of the week. That should help the damaged muscle tissue gain some strength."

Ron nodded his head, "Boulder Physical Therapy Center?"

Dr. Ehlert nodded, "It's over by the University about five miles from here….I'll leave you two alone so you can get dressed and then we have some papers for you to sign up front."

Ron sat up on the examination table and Bonnie walked over and hugged him. Ron felt like crying but kept his emotions in check. Bonnie ruffled his hair, "It'll be alright, I know it's not what you were expecting."

He hugged her tightly, "It kind of was what I was expecting but I still didn't want to hear it."

Bonnie placed her hand gently on Ron's face, "Let's finish this up and go check into our hotel…I think we're close to the 29th Street Shopping District."

Ron took her hand from his face and kissed it, "I think I'm scheduled over at physical therapy place...Your chomping at the bit to do some shopping aren't you?"

"You know it." She said as she lightly kissed his lips.

She helped him dress and figure out his paper work, she could see Ron's mind wasn't totally into what he was looking at as she had to remind him of his address and point to where he had to sign.

When they were outside the building Bonnie took him by the arm, "You OK?"

Ron shrugged, "I'm a little overwhelmed."

They walked towards the beat up old brown Crown Victoria station wagon. Ron opened Bonnie's door first and she pulled him to her and gave him a deep kiss, "Feel better."

He smiled and nodded, "Yea"

"Good, I don't want you droopy all week."

Ron walked around the car to the driver's side and got in the car, "I hope it's not twin beds, just on big king sized bed."

Bonnie laughed, "I bet you do…No sex."

He sighed and nodded his head in agreement, "No sex…"

They drove up North Broadway to the Holiday Inn Express and pulled up out front. Ron grabbed a luggage caddy and put his two bags and Bonnie's seven suitcases on it and rolled it inside the hotel.

Bonnie wondered around the lobby looking at various advertisements for area attractions while Ron went to the front desk to check in. The lady at the front desk saw Ron approach, "Can I help you?"

"Umm…I have a room reserved…Name is Stoppable, Ron Stoppable."

"Yes Sir Mr. Stoppable, I have it right here…Are you by yourself?"

Ron nodded, "No, my girlfriend is with me…Just out of curiosity what kind of room is it?"

The woman tapped a few keys and looked at her computer screen, "No smoking, two twin beds."

He quickly looked over to see where Bonnie was at, "Any way I can get the room changed to a king bed?"

The woman looked at the screen, "I think you're in luck."

Ron smiled, _"Booyah, going king."_

He signed the papers and took the cards for the room and went to find Bonnie, "We're in room 520, they only have king sized beds here."

"Oh…Well, that's great, I guess…Let's put our luggage up so we can go to your appointment and then out to do something."

Ron told her to call for an elevator while he pushed the luggage caddy towards it. Bonnie smiled as Ron pushed the luggage on to the elevator, "I don't know why I'm just so excited about being here this week."

"I don't know why but I became so excited when they told me the room had a king sized bed." Ron replied.

Bonnie shook her head, "Men"

Ron opened the door and pushed in the luggage cart. Bonnie followed him in and looked around the room, "This is nice."

"Awwww Yeaaaaaa" Ron exclaimed pointing at the large bed.

Bonnie shook her head, "No sex Stoppable."

**

* * *

**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FAILED TO GET HER?" Adrena Lynn screamed at the leader of the team that was sent out to capture Kim Possible.

"We tried she was just too good." The man stammered.

"She's only one teenage girl…I can't believe you guys couldn't take her down."

The heavily bandaged security guard shifted his weight on his feet nervously, "She was fast and relentless…She kept fighting even after all of us were down…She was inhuman."

Adrena Lynn shook her head in disbelief, "She's out of shape, on the hippy side and you yo-yo's failed to apprehend her…You and your men are a DISGRACE!"

"Well…I didn't see you out there leading the mission." The man said defensively.

Adrena Lynn scowled at the man, "That is because I am in charge. I should not have to lead missions. Just make the assignments and expect them to be CARRIED OUT!"

The man had nothing to further to say. Afrena shook her head, "GET OUT YOUR FIRED."

"You can't fire me. I'm on workman's comp."

Adrena mocked the man, "I'm on workman's COMP….Get out!"

The man quickly left the office, _"I'll wait for the injuries from Ms. Possible's ass kicking to heal then I'll fire your sorry ass."_

Adrena Lynn slumped down in her chair behind her desk and began to make her next plan, 'Two million dollars just waiting for me. Ms. Possible you are going down whether you like it or not."

**

* * *

**

Kim lay on her bed talking on the phone with Monique as they compared their dates from the previous Saturday night, "So why didn't you call me yesterday?"

Monique chuckled, "Because I was hung over all day…The Stoppable's served up some really strong wine…and from there it got ugly."

Kim laughed, "That bad, huh?"

"No…I just don't remember a lot of it. I know Ron's mother got shit faced and then the embarrassing Ron stories started…I just don't remember much else."

Kim laughed, "What kind of embarrassing Ron stories did she tell?"

Monique sighed, "I really don't remember…Tirza kept filling my glass?"

"So where are you now?"

"Ummm…We're in a hotel in Boulder…Tirza's kind of down." Monique said sadly.

"Oh…Cardiologist didn't go well?"

She could hear Monique's voice sounded flat, "No, nothing new…Tirza could live another six months or another 60 years…There's no way to tell."

"Awww Monique I'm so sorry."

"Yea…So how did your date go?" Monique asked trying to take her mind off of Tirza's condition.

Kim laughed, "Well…Kenny is engaged and his fiancée showed up."

"Oh my"

"Oh Yea"

"Sorry to hear that, I was hoping it would go good for you."

Kim became animated and quickly gave Monique the highlight of the evening, "Oh he was no loss but these guys from Hamilton showed up and I kicked their asses…There was about twelve of them."

Monique laughed, "Only you would find that fun."

Kim laughed, "Yea…Oh…before Kenny ran into his fiancée he told me something very interesting….Apparently he had a run in with Ron on Friday night and Ron punched him…He had a bruise on his face."

"Oh yea…Bonnie cornered me in the bathroom at the Temple on Saturday…Kenny was riding Ron pretty hard over the whole rape thing….and he told Ron that you told him all about the rape stuff." Monique said shyly.

"WHAT…Oh no, oh no, oh…damn…I never said…oh no." Kim stood up from her bed and began walking around the room.

"Yea…I still haven't been able to talk to Ron. He won't talk to me at all." Monique said sadly.

"Oh no…awww, why is this happening? Bonnie told you this?" Kim asked again.

"I tried to tell Bonnie it was Penny and not you that told Kenny….Bonnie wasn't buying it."

Kim bristled, "Penny told Kenny that?"

There was a moment of silence, "When I came and visited you at the snow cone stand Penny said she made it a point to tell Kenny all about Ron."

"I thought Penny was my friend…WHY…Ron will never want to talk to me now."

Monique empathized at how distressed Kim sounded and tried to make her feel better, "Kim, you know Ron…He'll be…."

"NO, no…I don't know Ron anymore…Every time I think I do…Everything's different now…Oh God…Monique…I'm starting to feel sick…I'll call you back later…Oh no."

Kim's voice sounded on the verge of tears. Monique sat on the bed in the hotel room, "OK Kim, it'll all work out you'll see."

Kim ended the call and Monique wiped a tear from her face, _"I wish I never would have thought that about Ron. Everything is just so screwed up now."_

"MOM…MOM!" Kim screamed as she ran out of her bedroom. Then she remembered that her mother had already left for work. She ran back into her room and called her on the cell phone.

Kim dialed the number and paced back and forth in her room, _"Why doesn't she answer?"_

"Hey Kimmie"

"MOM, take me off of speaker phone!" Kim told her urgently.

"You're not on speaker honey I'm between surgeries."

"Aughhhhhhh, Let me figure out how to start…Monique talked with Bonnie on Saturday night…Ron punched Kenny on Friday night after he called him a rapist and stuff." Kim explained urgently.

"I don't understand…How did…"

Kim interrupted her, "Penny told him that Ron was a rapist but Kenny told Ron and Bonnie that I told him…and now I don't know what to do…" Kim said in desperation.

There was a long pause before Mrs. Dr. P. finally spoke, "I guess it's just not something you can talk to Ron about."

Kim put a hand to her head, "Ron…I don't think Ron would believe me…Especially with Bonnie in the picture."

"I don't know what to tell you honey…I think it might be time to just let Ron go his own way."

"NO…no…I can't do that. Not like this….What am I going to do?" Kim cried out in desperation.

Mrs. Dr. P. thought long and hard before she answered, "I...I think maybe if everyone sat down with Ron...maybe we could get a lot of these misunderstandings cleared up."

Kim had a hand over her head, "I don't know how we can do that...Ron's...not really Ron anymore..."

"Honey he's still Ron, he's just got a lot more on his plate now than he used to."

"Yea, I guess..." Kim said sadly.

"We'll talk about it more when I come home tonight."

"Thanks mom." Kim said as she was resigned the fate that there really was very little that could be done but just talking to her mother always seemed to make disastrous situations more manageable.

Now the largest single possible disaster she'd ever face in her young life was looming before her. The loss of her best friend, at least with her mother by her side it would help ease the pain of her loss.

Kim looked at her reflection in the mirror, _"This isn't over yet. I'm not going down without having the real truth be known."_

**

* * *

**

The couple reported to the Physical Therapy Center as was directed on their schedules. Ron was looked over by one of the specialists on the staff and shown some exercises to strengthen the muscles around his knee.

Ron had packed a bag of workout clothes to take with him. All of the clothing was long sleeve since he was still terribly self conscious about how his body looked. While with the therapist he would keep looking towards Bonnie and finally she reached out and took his hand.

The therapist noticed that Ron kept looking to Bonnie so he included her in on the training schedule and how to help Ron do the exercises. Bonnie was being trained to coach him and the therapist also warned that Ron would become angry and frustrated because some of the exercises could be quite strenuous.

Bonnie worked him hard in the gym on the stationary bike. She knew how to do repetitive exercising due to years of training for the ballet. Ron was becoming more and more stressed and his temper was starting to show.

Ron finally had enough and let out a string of obscenities and slung a towel at Bonnie hitting her in the face. Once he threw the towel he immediately realized he had made a bad mistake. He called Bonnie by a name that wasn't hers.

Bonnie wasted no time in pulling the towel off her face and threw it to the ground, "YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME KIM!"

"I'm sorry Bonnie…"

"YOU DID NOT JUST CALL ME KIM!" Bonnie repeated becoming very red in the face.

Ron was stammering he knew he goofed, "I'm sorry Bonnie."

"No it should be I'm sorry Kim, the only problem is I'm not Kim." Bonnie reminded him.

Ron helplessly threw up his arms, "I'm sorry Bonnie…"

"Sorry ain't getting it Ron. Do you think this is fun for me? I don't need to be here. I could be running around Middleton with my friends working on my tan instead of being here with a…." Bonnie stopped short of calling Ron a loser as she quickly looked away and crossed her arms.

"…a loser like me." Ron finished for her.

Bonnie sucked in her cheeks and shook her head, "I never said that."

Ron leaned forward and rested his head on the control panel of the exercise bike, "I'll get the keys to the wagon…You don't have to do this. I'll be alright." He said sadly as he slid off the bike.

Bonnie watched him go to the gym bag, his legs wobbling. He fished around inside the bag and handed the keys to the car to her, "You can go hang out at the mall or whatever…I'll be fine."

She snatched the keys from his hand and turned to leave the workout room. She made it to the glass doors and saw Ron with his shoulders slumped in reflection in the glass. She stopped sighed and shook her head, _"This is crazy. I should leave. Get out of here for a while."_

Bonnie growled and spun around in her tracks and walked resolutely towards him, "Oh no Stoppable you aren't getting off that easy. Get your ass back on that bike, you aren't done until I tell you your done….GOT IT?"

Ron smiled wearily and nodded. Then he tried to say something and stopped himself.

"What?"

He looked away from her, "I…"

She pointed towards the exercise bike, "Get back on the bike Ron."

Ron looked at her again and tried to express himself one more time, "I…I love you Bonnie…" He said suddenly.

Bonnie's mouth fell open as she continued to point and motion towards the exercise bike, "Oh…well…I love you too Ron….Now get back on that bike so we can finish up and get out of here."

He nodded and smiled, "Yes officer." He said happily as he walked back towards the bike.

It felt like a ton of bricks had just been taken off of Ron's shoulders, _"She loves me too…God what a relief…I…I wasn't sure…Booyah."_ He thought as he began to ride the bike again.

Bonnie found her a chair and sat down. She also experienced a great deal of relief, _"He loves me and I didn't have to do anything nasty or wrong…Kim's out of the picture and it's just us now…I just hope he can quit being so angry."_

Ron finished up with his exercises, took a quick shower and went out front to meet with Bonnie. He greeted her with a hug, "My legs feel like Jello."

She put a hand on his chest, "You want to just call it a day?"

He shook his head, "No, I can make it…You've been looking forward to going out."

"Let's go back to the hotel so we can get changed."

Ron nodded and kissed her quickly on the lips, "Sounds good to me."

Bonnie giggled and pushed him away, "No sex."

On their way back to the hotel Bonnie took the wheel so Ron could rest. She could tell by the way he was walking that his legs were shot. Bonnie smiled as she helped him sit down in the passenger's seat, "Bet you haven't worked that hard since you were in cross country."

Ron exhaled, "No…basic training."

She nodded and pulled the station wagon out into traffic, "So what do you think about my idea for dinner?" Bonnie asked as she looked over at Ron and saw that he was already a sleep.

"_Poor Ron, hopefully tomorrow isn't so bad. I don't think he could take it."_ Bonnie thought as they headed back to the hotel.

Ron began to snore and Bonnie giggled as she pulled into the hotel parking lot, "Ron…we're back at the hotel…Ready to go to the room?"

"Huh…yea…" Ron said sleepily as he struggled to get out of the station wagon.

He staggered out of the car and opened the backdoor and retrieved his gym bag, and moved it into the front passenger's seat. Opened the bag and then the glove compartment and withdrew his Glock and dropped it in the bag

Bonnie looked on distastefully, "I wish you'd have left that thing at home."

Ron shrugged and zipped up the bag, "Don't really plan on using it. I guess I probably could have."

They walked into the hotel and took the elevator to their room. Bonnie pulled the plastic credit card sized key from her purse and pushed it into the lock. The light turned green and they entered the room.

Before Bonnie could say anything Ron was taking off his clothes. Once he was down to his boxers Bonnie awaited the inevitable groping she thought was soon coming her way but instead Ron fell face first into the bed and mumbled that he only need an hour or so of rest.

She sat down next to him on the bed next to him and tugged playfully on his earlobe, "We aren't going out tonight are we?"

Ron lifted his head and groggily replied, "Uh huh, I just…." He never finished his sentence as sleep over took him.

Bonnie chuckled and got off of the bed and grabbed her purse, _"I guess I'll head down to the hotel gift shop and get a few bottles of water."_

She had made sure Ron drink plenty of fluids while he was working out but sensed he would need more if he ever woke up. She pressed the button for the elevator and waited for it to arrive.

The door slowly opened and there stood Monique. She smiled shyly, "Hey"

Bonnie got on the elevator, "Hey…I guess you survived Saturday night alright?"

Monique giggled as shrugged, "Yesterday was kind of a blur."

"So how did Tirza's doctor visit go?"

"Not good, nothing's changed he can still live 6 months or 60 years." She said sadly.

Bonnie winced, "Sorry to hear that. Ron's didn't go so well either, nothing they can really do for his knee."

The door to the elevator opened to the lobby. Monique pointed to a couple of large oversized chairs in the lobby, "Got time to talk?"

Bonnie sighed, "Sure"

The two walked over to the chairs that were well out of the way from the prying ears of others. They sat down and Monique got right to the point, "I want to get with Ron and tell him how sorry I am for all that stuff that's happened to him since he got back."

Bonnie nodded, "I think that would be a good idea…It's kind of hard to break thru to him sometimes. He's just so angry."

Monique nodded, "I know Kim wants to talk with really badly…This whole rape things way out of hand and she feels just awful."

Bonnie leaned back in her chair and let out a bitter laugh, "That's going to be a lot harder. He is so angry at her….I rode him pretty hard today at the gym…The physical therapist told me to do it…anyway Ron got so angry at me he slipped up and called me Kim."

Monique chuckled sadly, "Oh, that bad huh."

"That bad" Bonnie confirmed.

"Still I suppose you must love this?" Monique mused.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "What kind of monster do you and Kim think I am? You think this is fun for me? You think I want to sit around all day listening to Ron talk about what a bitch Kim is all the time? I think the only time he mentions you is when he wonders about what kind of lies you two are going to come up with next."

Monique's lower jaw quivered, "No…I…I didn't mean it like that…"

"Yes you did." Bonnie countered as she began to get up from the chair.

"Bonnie, I didn't mean for it to sound like that, I swear." Monique whined desperately.

She sat back down in the chair and looked Monique straight in the eye, "Somehow I think that no matter how much of a monster you two think I am…It's probably not even half of what Ron's thinking about you two now."

Monique nodded, "I never meant to hurt Ron…I never should have even thought about rape when Kim brought the whole thing to me….I know the only reason he tolerates me now is because of Tirza."

Bonnie nodded, "He still feels bad that Tirza was wounded covering him up."

"I...I know. Tirza considers it no big…he says its just war." Monique said sadly.

"Boggles my mind Ron's so anxious to get back home and report for duty…I guess he had a rough month." Bonnie said sadly.

Monique nodded her head, "It wasn't easy for him and I didn't make things any better."

Bonnie stood up once again, "I'll talk to Ron, we're going out to dinner soon want to come along with us?"

"I think that would cheer Tirza up, take his mind off of things." Monique said as she nodded her head in agreement.

"I'll give you a call when we're ready. What room are you in?"

Monique stopped to think about it, "We're in room 624, double beds nothing remarkable as far as rooms go."

Bonnie looked strangely at her, "Ron said they only have king sized beds here."

"Well we have two twins."

She chuckled, "That Ron…he upgraded the room to a king."

Monique looked at her, "Can you do that?"

"Ron did it, that little stinker." Bonnie said as she was still chuckling over Ron's changing of the room arrangements.

"Aw I want a king."

Bonnie eyed the woman, "I should teach Ron a lesson and switch rooms with you guys…Then again, he's so sore from this afternoons workout I don't think he'll be too frisky."

Now it was Monique's turn to look at her strangely, "You mean…you guys aren't…"

She winked at Monique, "I just want to remind Ron who the boss is."

Monique laughed, "Oh you are evil."

**

* * *

**

Bonnie returned to the room with a couple of bottles of water. Ron was still asleep and appeared to have not budged an inch since she had left the room. She sat down on the bed and began to ruffle his hair. She leaned over and whispered softly, "Ron, time to get up."

Ron shifted around on the bed slowly and turned to where the voice came from, "I'm getting up. I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead, "Tomorrow will be better. I bought you some water to drink before we go out."

He tried to sit up and held a hand out towards Bonnie. She grasped it and helped sit on the edge of the bed. Bonnie then climbed on the bed behind him and started to massage his shoulders, "Guess who I seen in the lobby?"

Ron shook his head, "I don't know…Barkin?"

Bonnie took a deep breath, "No, Monique"

He tightened up, "How's Tirza?"

"No change with his heart…Kind of like your knee. Monique wants to talk to you to apologize."

She felt the muscles in his shoulder start to tense, "I don't really want to hear it. What's done is done."

Bonnie leaned forward and whispered into Ron's ear while she massaged his shoulders, "Now Ron, I think it's important that Monique talk to you…I think this would be good for you…get rid of some of that anger your carrying around with you."

He winced, "I really don't think…"

"Ron, do you want to have a relationship with me?"

Ron nodded his head, "You know I do."

"Are you thinking about a commitment?"

He was quiet for a moment, "yea" He replied quietly.

Bonnie smiled, "Right answer…Now you are going to have to resolve some issues."

"Bonnie…"

"Ron, if this is going to work between us you have to quit being so angry." Bonnie said quietly.

Ron was quiet for a long moment, "I'll…I'll talk to Monique."

Bonnie kissed his cheek, "You want me to help you to get dressed?"

Ron laughed and shrugged, "Yea…OK."

She hugged him tightly, _"This might just work out after all."_

**

* * *

**

Bonnie placed a call to room 624 and warned Monique they were on the way up. Then she half pulled half carried Ron up to the room. She sensed Ron would rather be anywhere else but inside that room, "Come on Ron, let's get this over with and get something to eat."

Now they stood outside the room. Ron took a deep breath, _"I don't know what I'm so nervous for…I didn't do anything wrong."_ He thought as he reached out and knocked on the door.

He heard the door unlatch and open. Tirza answered the door and gave Ron a weak smile, "Ronnie, come on in to my crib…I get it right, yes?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea you got it right. How'd your doctor visit go today?"

Tirza stood out of the way and let Ron and Bonnie into the room, "Oh…You know poking and prodding and some x-rays to tell me the same thing they told me in Israel…How about you?"

Ron shrugged, "The same for me, except they gave Bonnie her own personal mission of trying to kill me. So now I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

Bonnie could feel the tension in the room and tried to lighten it, "Watch what you say. I get my second crack at you tomorrow."

He smiled feebly, "Yes officer"

Tirza forced a chuckle and pointed to a chair, "Sit down, I think Monique has something she wants to say to you."

"OK" Ron groaned as he slumped heavily into chair.

Monique was playing with her hands before sitting on the edge of one of the twin beds facing him, "Uh Ron…I…I just wanted to say how sorry I am…I don't know why I ever put the idea in Kim's head that you had raped anyone?"

Ron gritted his teeth and nodded, "All that rape stuff pretty much ruined my trip back here."

"I…I know and I behaved like a jerk and made things worse. I never meant for any of this to happen…" Monique put a hand to her face and wiped away a tear as she tried not to cry.

Ron felt a tightening in his chest and looked towards Bonnie and she nodded to him, "I may have had two good days before Bonnie came home….I couldn't figure out why everyone was treating me coldly…I thought it was because of my wounds…Then…" He stopped talking and looked away to compose his thoughts.

Monique began to sob, "I'm sorry Ron…I'm so sorry…I tried to deny it and put it all on Kim…"

"Oh Kim did her share…That evil bitch had me thinking it was my entire fault.' Ron set his jaw tightly and shook his head and looked at Bonnie, "and I believed her…"

"I'm sorry Ron, I'm so sorry." Monique said as she continued crying.

A long uncomfortable silence enveloped the room as Ron stared at the ground, "Do you remember Mary Gariono?"

Monique nodded, "Yea"

Ron chuckled and wiped at his eyes, "I…I seen her at the Mall a few weeks back. In high school she would smile and say 'Hi' to me every now and then. There never was any kind of romantic sitch there…but she had a nice smile and I used to feel good when she'd acknowledge me. Anyway I saw her in the mall a few weeks back and she gave me a looked at me as if I was garbage before walking the other way to avoid me."

Monique winced as she knew where Ron was going, "I'm sorry Ron…I didn't…"

"…She will never look at me the same way again because of all this." Ron said sadly.

"I'm so sorry Ron…I'm sorry I treated you like a jerk. I don't know what I can do. Can you forgive me? You have no idea how badly I feel." Monique sobbed.

Ron closed his eyes and turned away to look towards Bonnie, _"I hate it when they cry."_ Bonnie was ever so slightly nodding her head that he should forgive Monique.

Finally he sighed and said softly, "Yea…I guess so."

Monique threw her arms around Ron and hugged him tightly. Ron's eye's nearly popped out of his head by the unexpected display of appreciation. He slowly returned the hug and said quietly, "OK…OK…Let's just…go eat. I'm hungry."

Bonnie stepped forward, "I saw a menu for a place down the street Boulder On the Green…They only serve salads and they have 70 different salad ingredients to choose from."

Tirza wore a frozen smile as he turned to Ron, "I was kind of hungry for that steak house."

"OK fine. Lunch tomorrow then…No getting out of it Ron." Bonnie said sternly.

Monique was happy now and feeling good, "Steak is good."

Ron smiled, "Boulder Chop House."

"Then we go shopping." Bonnie reminded him.

They walked out of the room and Tirza noticed Ron walking slowly, "Bonnie worked you hard?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Oh yea….Legs are like lead."

The guys took the lead to the elevator. Bonnie hung back with Monique who whispered to her, "Do you think I should bring up meeting with Kim?"

Bonnie vigorously shook her head no, "It was all I could do to get him to come up here with me. Let's just enjoy the night and not push him too much."

Monique nodded, "Right"

**

* * *

**

"How does this look?"

Ron slowly opened his eyes and took in the outfit, "Looks great Bonnie." He said wearily.

It was decided over diner that since the guys got their way on where to go eat that they would now have to endure a shopping spree until the stores closed. They were now working on their fourth clothing store and it was now near closing time. For an exhausted Ron Stoppable closing time couldn't come fast enough as this was the fourth fashion show he had to sit through.

Tirza was enjoying the show Monique was putting on for his benefit as she tried on one outfit after another. He elbowed Ron. Who was sitting next him, "The only thing that could make this better was if I was listening to Neil Diamond or Justin Timberlake."

Ron stared at his friend expressionless, _"Justin Timberlake? You are definitely insane." _Before he finally acknowledged him, "Oh…yea, it doesn't get any better than this."

One of the sales ladies working in the store came over to the group, "We'll be closing in ten minutes. So you'll need to be wrapping things up."

Monique smirked at the woman, _"I guess this is The Acorn's idea of customer service."_

"I found what I want, come on Tirza." Monique said as she emerged from the dressing room.

Ron watched the woman walk away, _"Thank you"_

Bonnie walked out of the changing room, "I found what I want, so get the bags Ron. Now don't look at me like that…Bonnie does not do bags."

"Huh…Oh…Yea" Ron said as he struggled to his feet and picked up the six shopping bags that had accumulated during the course of the evening.

The girls checked out and Ron was presented with two more bags to carry. Monique and Bonnie chatted happily as they made their way out of the 59th street shopping area to the station wagon. Ron tuned them out as best he could. He was tired and sore, _"Have to get back into shape. This is embarrassing."_

They finally reached the station wagon and Ron loaded the bags into the back of the station wagon followed by Tirza with Monique's bags. Tirza whispered to him as they put the bags up, "I'm going to have to keep Monique away from Bonnie…She's starting to get bossy."

He chuckled at his friend as he slammed the cargo door closed, "Tell me about it."

Bonnie held out her hand for the keys to the wagon. She could tell that Ron was on the verge of collapse. She got behind the wheel and looked over and saw Ron sliding his Glock back into the glove compartment. She scrunched her nose up and whispered to him, "I didn't know you were carrying."

Ron smiled sheepishly and whispered back to her, "That's why it's called a concealed weapon."

She slapped his arm hard, "Smart ass"

The drive back to the hotel was uneventful. Ron tried to keep up with the conversation but dozed off and on and would just agree whenever Bonnie said, "Isn't that right Ron?"

Once back at the hotel Ron carried the eight bags of clothing to the elevator and then back to the room. His ears were buzzing and realized that Bonnie was scolding him. He put the bags down outside their door as Bonnie fished for the key.

"You could have at least told them goodnight."

"Sorry"

Bonnie slid the card in the door and waited for the light to turn green and the lock to click before trying to open the door. She opened the door and stood out of the way as Ron carried in the bags, "Straight to bed for you." She said as she pushed him onto the bed and helped him undress.

She spoke softly as she pulled his pants off, "Another big day tomorrow...Looks like swimming according to the schedule. Oh...leave your underwear on...Oh never mind." Bonnie waited for him to try groping her but his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell backwards into a deep slumber.

"_Shame your bodies so scarred up. You were such a good looking guy."_ She thought sadly as she poked and prodded him until his whole body was on the bed.

Bonnie looked at the time at the clock, _"Its 10:15, I know I placed a wakeup call for eight in the morning earlier."_ She stripped down to her underwear, took off her bra and crawled into bed next to Ron and curled up next to him.

Ron's eyes fluttered as he realized Bonnie was curling up next to him. He moved his arm so she could move closer. He became aware of the sensation of flesh on flesh and realized she was topless but it didn't matter as he began to drift off to sleep again. He nuzzled her forehead and mumbled, "Love my Bon Bon"

Bonnie giggled, closed her eyes and whispered to him, "Don't call me Bon Bon."

* * *

The phone rang and Bonnie ignored it. It rang again and Bonnie's head popped up and looked towards the windows that had the curtains drawn. She could barely see daylight leaking into the room from under the curtains. She rolled to the other side of the king bed and answered the phone. 

The click on the other end signaled that it was in fact the wakeup call. She rolled back over and looked at Ron. He had not moved an inch all night, a momentary fear ran thru her mind, _"Is he dead?"_

A sigh and a soft chuckle escaped her lips as she saw him take a breath. She rolled back over in the bed and shook him, "Ron, time to get up."

Ron's eyes fluttered, "Uhhhh..." and then closed again as he drifted back off to sleep.

Bonnie laughed, "OK, Ron...time to get up. Free breakfast...yum, yum, time to get up."

"I'm up...I'm up...I can't move." Ron said as he rolled his head over to face Bonnie.

"What do you mean you can't move?" Bonnie asked.

Ron struggled to sit up, "I...I'm so sore and stiff. I'm going to need help..."

Bonnie rolled off the bed and came around to where he was and helped him struggle to his feet, "Bathroom?"

He smiled wearily and nodded, "Morning pee"

"Ewwww, don't expect me to hold your weenie."

She helped him to his feet. He wobbled back and forth before getting his balance and then the two shuffled towards the bathroom. It was a large bathroom with a bathtub Jacuzzi and double sinks. Bonnie helped him over to the stool, "You take care of business and I'll get you a bath going."

Ron nodded and put his hand against the wall to balance himself. He felt the immediate relief of his bladder before turning his attention back to Bonnie who was kneeling down getting the water for the bath ready. He smiled as he noted the bunny rabbit panties she was wearing, "Bunnies are cute."

Bonnie shook her head, "Yes Ron I like Bunnies." She called out to him over her shoulder.

He chuckled and flushed the toilet, "I didn't say anything bad...I was just...noticing."

"Well notice something else. Now put the lid down and come on over here."

Ron kept one hand against the wall as he moved towards the tub. Bonnie helped steady him as he climbed into the water. Ron leaned against the back of the tub and closed his eyes, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh"

Bonnie turned on the water jets of the Jacuzzi and set the timer for 30 minutes. She leaned over him, "I'm going to go potty and then get some Advil out of my purse. I'll be right back." She said as she closed the shower curtain so he couldn't see her using the stool.

He sank into the water up to his neck, _"God what would I do without Bonnie?"_

Her voice called to him from the other side of the curtain, "We have a light day today...I was just looking over the schedule and you don't have to go back in till 1:30."

Ron laughed, "If at all."

The shower curtain was pulled back. He looked up to see Bonnie was nude and handing him three Advil's and a cup of water. He smiled up at her, "Bonnie...You're the best."

Bonnie slid into the water by his feet, "Don't I know it...Give me a leg."

Ron lifted his leg up out of the water and Bonnie took it and put it over her shoulder and started to message the muscles. Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh yea..."

"Don't think I'm rubbing that." She said as Ron's erection sprang from out of the water.

He shook his head, "Sorry...can't help it."

Bonnie continued to message the leg muscles in silence as she watched Ron continue to relax and enjoy the relaxing pulses of water that were coming from the Jacuzzi jets. Finally she put the leg down, "Other one."

He lifted his left leg out of the water and Bonnie took it and put it over her shoulder and began working the muscles. Ron shook his head again, "Bonnie where did you learn to do that?"

"Ballet...Working the muscles to make them more flexible...Never thought I'd use my ballet training like this."

"I bet" Ron said happily.

Ron looked on Bonnie in wonderment, _"I don't believe this...that hobag Kim never would have done this...I can hear it now, 'Call me when you get back from Boulder...K.' Oh man this is great."_

Bonnie was grinning at him, "What are you looking at?"

He was startled back to reality, "You...I never would have guessed you could do all this."

She took his leg and put it back in the water, "Have to take care of my boyfriend, don't I?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Oh yea"

Bonnie stood up after the timer went off and the jets quit pumping water. She pulled the lever to drain the tub, "Time to get out of the water."

His legs were still unsteady and Bonnie reached out and grabbed his arm, "Steady"

"My legs feel like Jello but I can walk again." Ron said happily.

Bonnie dried herself off and then dried off Ron. She made sure to pay special attention to his erection. She giggled when she heard him gasp, "You OK Ron?"

Ron was blushing and nodded that he was in fact OK. Bonnie took him by the hand and grinned at him, "Let's see how you walk now."

She watched him begin to walk. He was shaky at first but then began to get his rhythm backBonnie began to play with her hair as she watched him walk slowly out of the bathroom, _"Still even with the scars he's still cute."_

Back in the bedroom Ron sat down on the bed and smiled, "They're starting to feel better."

Bonnie threw on a bathrobe and walked towards the door. She peeled the magnetic 'Do Not Disturb' sign off the back of the door, opened the front door and put it out for the housekeepers to see.

She then walked back to the bed and took off her robe and straddled Ron's chest. His eyes popped open and Bonnie leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, "You've been such a good boy I think you deserve a treat."

Ron grinned and nodded, "I like treats."

Bonnie giggled and in a very sultry voice responded, "I thought you might."

He began to wrap his arms around her for a passionate embrace but Bonnie stopped him, "No...I don't want to wear you out before your next session. You just relax and let me do all the work."

Bonnie slid down Ron's body and teased him for a bit before allowing him to access to her body. Ron's eyes rolled up in his head as she began to move back and forth on top of him. Bonnie kissed his chest before rising up and allowing a moan to escape her lips.

Ron closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on endurance, "Oh yea...Love my Bon Bon...Uh huh..."

She threw herself down on his chest and began to kiss him passionately, "You love me Ron." She gasped as she came up for air.

"Uhhhhhhh huhhhhh" Ron grunted.

Bonnie moaned and began to kiss him again, "How much Ron? How much do you love me?"

Ron tried to answer but Bonnie had pushed him over the edge, "Ughhhhhh"

She felt him begin to spasm, so she ground her body as hard as she could into his crotch and began to moan before collapsing onto his chest, "Tell me how much you love me Ron."

"More than anything." he told her as he wrapped his arms around her and began to stroke her hair.

Bonnie moaned, "I love you too." She then kissed him gently before rolling off, "That was quick...Intense but quick." She said breathlessly.

Ron chuckled, "I...yea..."

She rolled over and cuddled with him. She ran a finger across his chest, "Your glistening."

"Yea..."

Bonnie smiled wistfully, "I like a man who glistens."

"Booyah" Ron said quietly.

"We need to do some serious talking Ron." Bonnie said absently as she continued to stroke his chest.

Ron looked up, "Uh oh"

Bonnie shook her head, "Not that kind of talk but a serious one...We've kind of backed into this relationship and we really don't know each other that well."

He looked at her strangely, "Bonnie, I've known you for about six years now."

"No Ron, I mean really know each other."

"Oh" Ron responded nervously.

Bonnie licked her lips, "Like how many girls have you been with before?"

"Ummmmm...errrr..hee, hee, hee...Yea...well...umm...You first." Ron said nervously.

"OK...I'll go first...Well you know about Brick right?" Bonnie asked quietly.

Ron nodded and Bonnie continued, "I've been with him and one other...I lost my virginity to a boy named Hirotaka that took your place when you went to Japan the first time."

"Ahhhhh, the secret Asian Man." Ron chuckled knowingly.

Bonnie didn't understand the reference, "I...I don't get it?"

Ron quickly filled her in, "I was in Japan the week before you arrived...I saw him. He works for the Japanese Secret Service now."

"You were in Japan? You saw him. How did he look?" Bonnie asked excitedly.

"Cool haircut is gone. He has a service haircut like mine. He packs a gun and a nice collection of ninja toys."

She rested her chin on his chest, "Huh...I...I always kind of wondered what happened to him."

"That's what happened to him."

Bonnie sat up in the bed and pointed at Ron, "OK, your turn...I figure you've been with Kim. Probably Monique...Right?"

Ron closed his eyes, _"Well here we go."_

"I've been with you know who, Monique...ummm." Ron bit his lower lip as he thought over just how much he should tell.

"How about Lacey?" Bonnie asked trying to get him talking.

He shook his head, "No, we never got that far before she became sick."

Bonnie nodded, "I know that hurt you a lot when she died...Mom works at the cancer hospital in Lowerton...She told me about it...Anyone else?"

"Ummm...well...yea...After Kim and I broke up I slept with a girl I worked with at Smarty Mart and her friend at their apartment...A woman I met in the parking lot of Smarty Mart..Tara..." Ron responded sheepishly.

"TARA, MY BEST FRIEND TARA." Bonnie screamed.

"NO...Ummm...Yes...I think so...yes." Ron replied fearfully.

Bonnie's eyes burned with rage, "No wonder she keeps ducking my phone calls. Figures she always wanted a crack at you. Some best friend...We get back to Middleton I am so kicking her little blonde ass."

"NO" Ron said firmly.

"WHAT?"

Ron stood his ground as he explained what happened, "I said no...It wasn't her fault. I could have stopped her but I was so intent on hurting Kim that I didn't...Remember the mind link? I wanted to hurt Kim as much as I could and used Tara to do that."

"Fine...anyone else?" Bonnie snorted and crossed her arms.

"Ummmm...well there was this girl nurse in Southern Lebanon..."

Bonnie threw up her hands, "God Damn Ron, you aren't shy about sticking that dick of yours anywhere are you?"

Ron looked at her sadly, "You said you wanted to know."

"Fine who else?" Bonnie replied sternly.

He swallowed hard and licked his lips, "I...I...lost my virginity to a girl named Yori in Japan when I vanished for a month...I found out from Hirotaka that she had a baby nine months after I left Japan."

Bonnie gasped, "You have a kid?"

Ron nodded, "A...a little girl named Mariko...That's why I was in Japan."

"Did you sleep with her then?" Bonnie asked as she began to breathe heavily thru her nose.

"No...no...I...I told her about you and that...I wanted to try and build something with you." Ron said quietly.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, "Anyone else?"

Ron began to think it over and shook his head, "No"

"So you had a threesome with two girls...No bullshit?"

Ron shrugged, "Yea"

Bonnie nodded her head and clenched her teeth, "Great if feels like I just screwed a porn star."

"That's all behind me now. I only want to be with you Bonnie."

"Oh that's really big of you now that you've screwed a third of the Middleton High School cheer squad." Bonnie said in disbelief.

"You asked…"

She shook her head and narrowed her eyes, "I know I asked….We get back to Middleton you are so getting an HIV test or does Mystical Monkey Power protect you from sexually transmitted diseases?"

He nodded his head, "I think it does actually."

Bonnie growled, her hand shot out and grabbed Ron by the tentacles which she twisted hard. Ron let out an ear piercing scream and tried to get away. Bonnie held firm and when he quit struggling she released a small amount of the pressure.

"Ron, this might just end this right here…I have to think about it. But if you ever and I mean EVER screw around on me…So help me God I'll pull off your balls and feed them to you….Got it?"

Ron was jerking around on the bed eyes wide with terror, 'Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, I get it, I get it."

Bonnie finally released his tentacles from her death grip, "Get up and get dressed. We have to go back to…to…that place." She said angrily.

"I...I'm sorry Bonnie…I didn't want to lie to you…" Ron began to get emotional.

"Oh don't you start crying on me…I'll tell you a little secret Ron. Want to know the little secret." Bonnie sneered.

Ron licked his lips and nodded not sure of where Bonnie was going, "OK…sure."

Bonnie folded her arms, "Women have no respect for men who cry. If we stay together I will break you of this tendency…That's probably why you keep having all these problems with Kim…She has no respect for you because you can't control your emotions."

"But…I thought women…"

"What…liked sensitive men? Any woman who tells you that is a liar. Women want strong men not pussies. Women who marry these sensitive men end up leaving or screwing them over for truck drivers and jocks…So suck it up and get dressed NOW."

His face turned red as he processed what Bonnie had just told him. He opened a small tote bag and pulled out a new shirt. He looked up at Bonnie as she was dressing, "I…I kind of wondered about that."

Bonnie didn't turn to face him, "About what?"

Ron sighed, "If that was why…damn."

"Kim's no different than any other woman Ron…A little strange maybe but just the same. I'm the only one that's upfront on what I want." Bonnie said harshly as she pulled a shirt over her head and began to brush her hair.

He could hear his mother's words echoing inside his head as he continued to dress, _"Honey if you love your mother you won't blow this."_

**

* * *

**

Very few words were exchanged as he loaded his bag into the car. They had missed the free breakfast and Ron was getting hungry, "Want to try your salad place?"

"Does Kim know?"

Ron shook his head, "About the salad place?"

"About you and your…child." Bonnie spat the word child like it was something dirty.

"NO…Kim must never know."

She chuckled bitterly, "Still worried what she's going to think…typical."

Ron narrowed his eyes as he was not enjoying the direction the conversation was beginning to take, "NO…Kim must never know."

"Why?"

He put the key in the ignition and started the motor, "Because if she'd flip out and chase you across the planet to beat you up…What do you think she'd do if a baby were involved?"

Bonnie's eyes widened as she realized what Ron was getting at, _"He's afraid she'd try to hurt the baby."_

"Oh…So she doesn't know about it from the chair thing?"

Ron shook his head as he backed out of the parking spot, "I…I don't think so. This is the kind of stuff she'd lord over you…She must never know."

"You really don't think she'd try to hurt the baby do you?"

Ron gave her a sideways glance as he pulled into traffic, "She wouldn't necessarily have to go over there…She could expose the school and Mariko might be taken away from Yori and I'd never see her again…or…I really don't put much past Kim anymore."

"Oh" Bonnie said quietly as she looked out the passenger window trying to absorb all that Ron had told her.

His eyes began to water as he thought about what could happen, the fear of not being able to see Mariko again. Then he shook his head, _"No tears…Bonnie wants a strong man."_

They pulled up to a stop light and Ron turned to her, "Left or right?"

"What?"

:"To get to your salad place." Ron clarified.

"Oh…ummm…left…I think."

Ron made the left and drove up the 95th street until he spotted the sign, "Yea, there it is."

Bonnie shook her head, "You had me so fooled. I thought you were…You're just…not what I expected."

He parked the car and turned off the engine, "Look…Bonnie…I can't change what I've done just like I can't get rid of these scars all over my body. I wish you can get past this because, I'd really like to have a relationship with you."

"Ron…I don't…"

"If you want to call it off…I'd understand…It'd break my heart but I'd understand. What ever you decide, I can live with." He said sadly.

Bonnie opened the car door, "I…I just need to think this through."

Ron got out of the car and tried to take her hand as they walked towards the door. Bonnie pulled it away. Ron let out a sigh, "I'll…let you think things through."

They walked into the restaurant and were greeted by the hostess. Ron held up two fingers, "Two"

"Would you like to be seated inside or in the garden?"

"Garden" Ron said quickly hoping a change of scenery would change Bonnie's mood.

They were escorted outside into a large garden area, there were a few other diners as it wasn't quite the lunch time rush. They were seated at a table that had an umbrella to provide them with shade from the summer sun.

"Your server will be with you in a moment." The hostess told them as she handed them two menus.

Bonnie flipped thru the menu and then threw it on the table, "Damn it Ron, I am so mad at you."

Before Ron could answer Bonnie got up and walked off for the back of the garden and stopped at the railing overlooking the street. Ron shook his head and began to get up to follow her.

"Baby talk"

He turned to see an elderly African American man cleaning up the table next to him. He shook his head not quite understanding what the man meant, "What?"

The man looked up at him again, "Baby talk, it soothes the women folk."

Ron's face remained expressionless, "Right"

The man grew impatient and he was obviously disturbed that Ron wasn't taking him seriously, "Oh I see how you are. You'll listen to a bald headed china man in an orange bathrobe but you won't listen to an old black man."

Ron did a double take as he looked at the man in disbelief, "What?"

The man nodded his head, "Baby talk, now go to her."

He turned from the man and went to Bonnie as she stood by the railings, _"Well I'll try it."_

Bonnie saw him coming and turned her back to him so he couldn't see her face. Ron leaned around to look her in the eye and cooed, "Where's my Bon Bon…Are you my Bon Bon….Ron loves his Bon Bon."

She cracked a smile a giggled, "Stop it Ron."

"Oh there she is, there's my Bon Bon…Bon Bon is so pretty when she smiles." He cooed as he wrapped his arms around her.

Bonnie struggled at first but then relaxed, "I'm still mad at you."

"Awwwww When Bon Bon's mad it makes Ron sad. Ron loves his Bon Bon." He cooed quietly as he kissed the nape of her neck, "Ron loves his Bon Bon very much."

"You better…You asshole." Bonnie giggled.

"Bon Bon loves her Ron?"

She sighed, "I..I guess so."

Ron turned Bonnie to face him and kissed her gently and then hugged her tightly. Bonnie pulled back just a bit, "We better go order or you'll be late to the rehab place."

He kissed her forehead and nodded, "What would Ron do without his Bon Bon?"

Bonnie punched Ron in the stomach and pushed past him, "Quit calling me Bon Bon…at least in public."

"Ow" Ron turned to look back at the table where the old man was cleaning but he was nowhere in sight, _"I wonder who that old guy was…and how he knew about Sun Chi?"_

**

* * *

**

Monique and Tirza were on the road back to Middleton. They were not scheduled to stay in Boulder for longer than a day and Monique had to return to work the next day. Tirza was enjoying the ride as he pointed out various road signs and scenic mountain views that caught his attention.

Monique slipped on her Bluetooth earpiece, "I'll just be a second baby, I'm going to give Kim a call."

Tirza nodded and pointed at a road sign for a road side eatery and tourist attraction, "Stuckey's...I want a pecan log roll."

Monique flipped thru her saved numbers to find Kim's, "Honey...I'm not driving to Kansas so you can have a pecan log roll."

"Is that far away?"

She found the number and hit the connect button, "Uh huh" The phone rang once, twice, three times before she heard Kim's voice, "Hey K, just heading home from Boulder did I catch you at a bad time?"

Kim laughed, "Lately that's all I seem to be having is bad times...What's up?"

"I went through Bonnie and got to apologize to Ron yesterday...Stressed me out big time."

"Yea I bet...Did he do much screaming?"

Monique shook her head, "No...no...He looked at Bonnie quite a bit...I learned not to bring your name up at all."

"Great...After Kenny's lying, I was afraid of this happening." She said with a sigh.

"Look girlfriend we can get you and Ron back together as friends..." Monique said trying to cheer Kim up before she cut her off.

"Friends, HOW? I mean Bonnie's with him."

Monique laughed, "Bonnie's not that bad. She's the one that got things going so I could talk to Ron...Otherwise I don't think he would have talked to me at all."

Kim shook her head, "Bonnie's only set up the meeting to draw me out...She's planning something?"

"Kim, what could she be planning Ron's already so angry with you it's not even funny."

Her shoulders drooped at Monique revelation, "Yea...I guess your right...If only I could get him away from Bonnie for a few hours."

"Don't Kim...Ron is a really angry guy and it's all Bonnie can do to keep him in line." Monique warned.

Kim's nose flared as she felt her own temper rising, "I have the feeling Bonnie's the one stirring up all the anger."

Monique sighed, "Kim...Don't approach this problem like that...There's really something there between them...I mean you can see it."

Kim stopped listening as she began to plot her next move, "Yea...whatever"

"Stop that Tirza."

Kim giggled, "OK what's he doing?"

"He's got two straws shoved up his nose and he's pretending to be a goat."

"_Walrus"_ Kim heard Tirza correct her over the phone.

"Whatever...We're going to be back in town in a few hours. Want to do something then?" Monique asked her.

Kim giggled, "I don't know...maybe...I see Tirza's bounced back from yesterday."

"Oh...He cheered up once I apologized to Ron and he wasn't angry with me anymore...Ow stop that...I'm trying to drive."

"Well I'm glad you and Ron are talking again...I don't think I'm going to be so lucky." Kim said sadly.

"Ow...If you don't stop grabbing my boob, I'm pulling over and grabbing something of yours." Monique scolded.

Kim smiled wanly and shook her head, "Hey call me when you get back into town."

"OK...I will do that." She told her before she ended the call.

Kim closed her phone up and sat on her bed and began to think, _"There must be a place I can catch Ron all by himself...There's no way Bonnie is going to let me talk to him alone."_

She got off the bed and began to pace the floor. Jealousy began to rule the day in her mind and then an idea hit her, _"Oh yea...I know a way to expose Bonnie Rockwaller for what she is and blow her completely out of the picture and it won't even look like my fault."_

Kim reached into the top drawer of her night stand and took out her pack of Marlboro Ultra Light 100's and lit one. She breathed in the smoke and exhaled it out thru her nose, _"Oh yea Bonnie...This is so not over."_


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N: Many thanks to Atomic Fire for proofreading. Once again thanks to all of you who voted for Aliyah and The Right One for the fannie awards.**

**Thanks to LycoX, Mooneasterbunny, Atomic Fire, Kingprawnsct, Momike, RI100014 for reviewing chapter 61.**

**Ron learns to play poker...Forgive me if I made any mistakes as I am trying to learn the game as well.**

**Brave heart, it's Kim and Bonnie showdown time and it is not for the faint of heart or those with sensitive dispositions.**

**Read and enjoy.**

**Bubba**

* * *

"Ron get on your side of the bed." 

Ron sighed and rolled over in the large bed. The physical therapy sessions for Tuesday and Wednesday had gone well. He was feeling much stronger in his legs but his relations with Bonnie had been random.

One minute she would be supportive and loving and then without warning she could become cold and distant. At the moment she was cold towards him and angry, and Ron had the sinking feeling that once they returned to Middleton the relationship would be over.

He lay awake until he could hear the rhythmic breathing that signaled Bonnie was asleep.

Ron reached out and stroked her hair as he came to accept that this would most likely be the last time they would be together. He let out a deep sigh and rolled over to face the front door and became aware that he and Bonnie were no longer alone inside the room.

In the darkened room he became aware of a shadow at the foot of the bed. He cursed himself silently for not have his Glock or the Lotus Blade close at hand. Then he heard the deep voice talk to him, "Man, get your ass up and dressed we have things to do."

A shiver ran down Ron's back, "Wh…what…Where are we going?" Ron whispered.

There was no immediate response, "Get dressed the game starts soon."

Ron slid carefully out of bed so as not to disturb Bonnie. Now he recognized the voice. It was the old black man from restaurant they ate at the day before, "Where we going?" Ron whispered again as he slid out of bed.

"Guardians want me to train you to focus and control your emotions. So bring your gun."

He quickly dressed, jeans, shirt, shoes, new jacket that Bonnie picked out for him and finally his Glock 9mm, "So…what exactly are we doing?"

"We're going down by the stock yards. I'm going to teach you how an old railroad man plays poker." Ron could barely make out the man's toothy grin in the dark

"I don't think this is a real good idea…I don't have real good luck playing cards."

"Worry about that later, let's go." The man told him.

Ron followed the man outside the door and found that he was now in a gravel parking lot nowhere near where his hotel was. He turned and looked behind him only to see cattle cars sitting empty in a rail yard.

"What the hell?"

"No time for a car ride. How much money you got?" The man asked.

Ron gave the man a sideways glance, "About $300, why?"

"You don't expect me to front you money do you. You'll pay more attention if it's your money at stake." The man said as he motioned for Ron to follow him and began shuffling towards a building that had a single light bulb illuminating a door.

"Who are you?" Ron asked finally.

The man stopped and looked at him and stuck out a hand, "The name's Frank Yarbourgh…I worked on the Union Pacific for 33 years before getting run over by a coal car."

Ron looked hard at the man, "So you're not a Guardian…You're a ghost?"

The man resumed his shuffling to the door, "Yep…but don't be callin' me no spook or I'll have to cut you." He said with a smile.

"Great" Ron said as he looked around what appeared to be a abandoned building.

"So you need to be mindin' how you act. Never let them see you're a scared, happy, excited, horney, angry. You need to develop a poker face. If no one can read you, it will give you the advantage in a showdown…Be it cards, guns, knives, magic swords…women" When he mentioned women he turned and winked at Ron.

Frank reached up and banged on the door three times turned to Ron and continued the lesson, "Tell the man Punk Dre' sent you. Remember no one can see me but you."

Before Ron could respond the door opened and a rather large African American man glared at him. He nodded at the man and in as steady a voice he could muster told him, "Punk Dre' sent me."

The man escorted Ron inside to a room that was fairly well lit with a round table where other African American men were seated on everything from crates to metal folding chairs. The man shuffling the cards looked up, "Pund Dre' sent you, huh…Got any money?"

Frank looked at Ron, "Don't tell him how much you got."

"I got money." Ron said trying his best to sound calm.

One of the other men at the table smiled, "Well what's stoppin' us from taking it now?"

Before Frank could respond Ron undid the button on his jacket and let them see the Glock that was shoved into the waist band of his pants. Frank nodded his approval, "Good, cool move, very cool move."

The man with the cards pointed to a seat on the back side of the table, "Take your white ass over there."

Ron moved to the other side of the room with Frank following him, "Good spot never sit with your back to a door ever...That's how Hickok got it."

"_Who?"_ He thought as he glanced towards Frank.

He became aware of the heat of the room and the smell of the men who had obviously just got off their shift at the railroad or slaughter houses that were in operation nearby. Ron could feel the sweat starting to bead up on his brow, _"Man this place really stinks."_

The men around the table took out their wallets and began getting their money together. Ron fished out his money clip that held his money. One of the men whistled and commented on the ornate money clip. He smiled and made up a story to entertain the man, "I won it from on old Indian, said he fought Custer."

"Ron, screw the dumb shit." Frank said quietly.

The money clip that was really the Lotus Blade in disguise disappeared back into his pocket. The men who were familiar with each started to talk about the workday as Frank began to instruct Ron on how he should play..

"Ante up"

Ron looked at Frank Strangely and then he saw the men throwing five dollar bills into the middle and he did as the others. The dealer began to deal the cards, there were six men playing including the dealer.

Frank told Ron not to look at the cards until he had five cards. Ron looked at the man as he saw others looking at their cards. Once he had five he lifted them up to see what he was dealt, _"Two of hearts, jack of clubs, eight of diamonds, six of hearts, four of spades."_

Frank looked at the hand, "Hand full of junk fold."

Ron watched the other players bet, one folded, one bet and took two cards, when it was Ron's turn he threw the cards into the center of the table face down as Frank had instructed, "Fold"

He watched as the game progressed occasionally laughing at the men's jokes. The man who insinuated that he was going to take Ron's money by force won the first hand, "I like playing with white boys, they always brings me luck." He said looking Ron's way.

Ron didn't respond as he threw another five dollar bill into the pot to ante up for the next hand. The man to the left of the first dealer became the dealer and dealt out the cards to his left. Ron picked them up and looked at them, _"Ace of spades, ace of clubs, eight of clubs, eight of spades, two of diamonds."_

Frank leaned over, "Play this hand cool. It's a strong hand, show no emotion, no facial ticks nothing….Focus."

"You in?"

Ron's expressionless face looked up from the cards and saw that it was his turn. There were three tens in the middle with starting ante. He pitched in another ten dollars to the pot, _"Three others plus me."_

The dealer asked the remaining players if they wanted any cards. Frank told Ron to get rid of the two and he was quickly rewarded with a eight of diamonds. Ron watched the other men and seen they were eyeing him over.

"Throwin' ten raisin' twenty" said the man who won the first pot.

"Don't get stupid just match the bet." Frank whispered to Ron as he looked down at his cards again and then threw in thirty dollars.

It was too expensive for the other two players and they folded. The man dressed in a Union Pacific railroad uniform smiled at Ron, "Time to see what whitey's got…call."

Ron lay down his cards, "Two aces and three eights"

"Shit" The man spat as he threw his cards down.

"Get your money. Leave five for the next hand." Frank told him.

He did as he was told and he heard a murmuring from the other players, "Dead man's hand."

Frank leaned in, "Aces and eights is what ol' Hickok had when he was shot in the back of the head."

Ron smirked as he looked at the small pile of money in front of him, "Swell"

The game wore on. The room seemed to get hotter and hotter as the night wore on. The stench from the other men could at times be overpowering and at one point during the evening Ron discovered he smelled pretty bad too.

The men he played with began to notice that Ron was playing very conservatively. If Ron didn't fold they did leaving Ron to win very small pots. Frank had Ron stay in with a bad hand. He did as was instructed and wore his poker face very effectively as he was able to bluff everyone into folding.

Frank patted him on the shoulder, "This will keep em' guessing."

Ron threw down his hand full of bad cards when he had won the pot. He heard half the men groan and the other half laugh as he took his money from the table. Ron let a slight grin cross his face, _"I think I'm getting the hang of this."_

The game continued for another few hours and then Frank tapped him on the shoulder, "Wad the money up shove it in your pocket...Count it later it's time to leave." The man said.

Ron nodded and looked up at the men, "Good game, I'll see you guys another time." He told them as he got up, pocked his money and began to walk for the door.

There was a little grumbling from the men that lost money. Another man took Ron's seat to join the game. The man who hinted at trying to take Ron's money at the beginning of the game stood up, "All my money's gone time to call it a night."

The internal alarm bells went off in Ron's head as he walked out the door followed by the man. When they walked out the door into the gravel parking lot Ron quickly pulled the Glock from his waistband and spun towards the man. The man was just about to try and hit Ron over the head with a brick but stopped instantly as he looked down the barrel of the 9mm.

"I have nothing you need." Ron said firmly.

"You ain't got nothin' I need." The man said.

"You forgot your hat inside." Ron told the man firmly.

"Damn, I forgot my hat inside." The man said disgustedly as he turned dropped the brick and went back inside the building.

Frank laughed, "Damn boy, I see you learned that mind trick…I thought you was going to have to shoot him."

Ron let out a deep breath as he shoved his gun back into the waist band of his pants, "I've been trying to stay low profile."

"That's why we left when we did. Never count the money at the table, always leave before the game is over…If people still have money in their pockets it makes em' less likely to fight.." Frank told him.

"So what happens now?" Ron asked.

The old ghost shuffled past Ron, "Well you go back to your woman and I'll be seein' you when it's time." Frank told him.

He turned to respond to the man and found himself back in his hotel room looking into the eyes of a very upset Bonnie Rockwaller, "Where have you been?"

Ron stammered, "Ahh…I went out…for…"

"You've been gone most of the night, its 5:30 in the morning Ron." Bonnie scolded.

He pulled his Glock out and sat it on the table and began to undress in silence trying to think of something to tell Bonnie. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large wad of money, _"Oh good it wasn't a dream."_

Bonnie gasped as she saw the large wad of money, "What did you do rob a liquor store?"

Ron decided telling Bonnie the truth was the only way to get through this, "No…no…I won it playing poker."

"Poker?" Bonnie repeated as she quickly took the wad of money from Ron.

Ron took a deep breath and quickly explained what had happened, "Just after you feel asleep a man that works for the Guardians came and took me to this place and showed me how to keep my emotions under control by playing poker."

Bonnie quickly counted the money, "If it was anyone but you…There's nearly $2,500 dollars here Ron."

He shrugged, "It was a good night."

She threw her arms around him happily, "You know how much I love you, and how much I love your money." Bonnie said excitedly as she released him from the hug and shoved the money into her purse.

Ron chuckled, "Well if it keeps you from yelling at me, I guess its money well spent."

Bonnie hugged him tightly again and patted him on the chest, "Your still taking an HIV test when we get back to Middleton."

He sighed, "Yes officer"

**

* * *

**

Bonnie made Ron take a shower and then let him sleep until 9:00 AM. She knew he was going to be riding and not driving back to Middleton so she dozed for a few more hours before slipping out of bed to take a shower.

As she showered she began to think of what would be waiting for them back in Middleton. Connie was moved out over the previous weekend. This did nothing but delight Bonnie as Connie put on a screaming fest that would not soon be forgotten. It marked the first time Bonnie had ever seen one of her older siblings not get their way.

Connie was moving out and Ron was moving in. _"Good" _She smiled at the memory of her pompous all knowing older sister clawing at the living room furniture as her mother and Lonnie helped her out the door.

She rinsed her hair as she thought about how red her sister's face was when Bonnie waived goodbye to her. "Bye Connie, hope you have fun at your new place." She called out to her.

Connie still struggled against her mother and sister trying to get at her younger sibling, "You think you have it made with loser...I can have any man I want...and I'll be on top again. Just you wait!"

She felt her father's hand on her shoulder and she turned to see him beaming down at her, "Well she took it pretty well don't you think?"

Bonnie stepped out of the shower and chuckled softly at the memory, "Yea daddy I think she took it well." She said softly to herself.

"Ron get up, we have to get ready to leave." She called to Ron in the next room.

She pulled a red top over her head and a pair of khaki shorts, _"Ankle socks and a pair of shoes and I'll be ready to drive back to Middleton."_

Bonnie walked out of the bathroom and saw that Ron hadn't moved. She smiled at him before taking a rolled up coupon magazine and slapped him hard on the chest, "WAKE UP!"

Ron sat upright, "Wha...what?"

"Go shower, you stink." She told him pointing towards the bathroom.

"OK" Ron said softly as he crawled out of bed.

"I'm going drive back...OK?"

Ron stared at his face in the mirror and noted he needed a shave, "Yea, sounds great Bonnie."

It wasn't long before they had loaded up the station wagon, checked out of the room and on the road. Bonnie pulled into an Cracker Barrel just outside of Boulder. Ron was dozing in the passenger's seat, "Wake up Ron, breakfast time…Your buying." Bonnie said cheerily.

Ron rolled his head over on his shoulders and looked at Bonnie, "Love you"

"Love you too, now let's go eat." She told him as she got out of the car.

Ron got out of the car and looked at the restaurant, _"Ummmmm Cracker Barrel…pecan pancakes…Now this is more like it."_

"Times like this I miss eating pork." He whispered to Bonnie as they walked in the door.

They hostess seated them at a table and Bonnie leaned over, "I know it feels so weird not to be eating bacon or ham with breakfast."

Ron nodded as he gazed over the menu, "You're sure it's OK for me to move in today?"

Bonnie grinned at him, "Are you kidding mom's practically doing cartwheels."

"I just have to run by the house and get my stuff." Ron told her as he tried to stifle a yawn.

"Still pretty tired from last night?"

He nodded, "Yea I'm afraid I won't be much company on the way back."

They continued to make small talk through breakfast before making the two hour trip back to Middleton. As Ron had warned he wasn't much company as he slept almost the entire way back. Waking up just before they reached his parents house, "Middleton great…"

Bonnie looked over and saw him pulling his Glock from the glove compartment, "Do you really need that here?"

"In this town…yea"

Once Bonnie parked in the driveway Ron ran inside the house. Tirza was sitting on the couch watching TV, "Hey what are you doing here?"

Ron smiled at his friend as he made his way to the basement, "Picking up my stuff. I'm moving in with Bonnie's family for a while. What are you doing here?"

Tirza followed Ron into the basement, "I am waiting for her to get off work. We are going to a music club tonight."

Ron stopped packing his duffle bag and thought about it, "Thursday…Thursday night ritual. Sounds like fun. I'll see if I can talk Bonnie into going…Depends how tired I am."

"I got news from my mother today. She said my brother has a friend who's going to train me to be a plumber." Tirza said excitedly.

"Man plumbers over here make some serious cash." Ron told him.

Tirza nodded and laughingly told him, "Once I am a good plumber and making the serious cash, Monique will not have to work anymore. She can stay home and raise all the babies."

Ron chuckled, "Well you might want to talk that over with Monique first…I think she kind of likes her job."

Tirza frowned, "Well who will watch the babies?"

Ron finished packing his bag and punched Tirza in the arm, "Got to make them babies first."

He nodded as Ron pushed past him to go back upstairs, "True this"

"True that" Ron corrected.

"Huh"

"Exactly…well, we might see you tonight. Then again we might not depending on Bonnie's mood." Ron said with a grin.

Tirza nodded as they got to the door, "I will tell your mother you are back in town."

Ron nodded, "Thanks…Oh if you get on the wrong side of mom and she gets after you. Just say 'OK' and hide works for me all the time."

They said their goodbyes and Ron threw his bag in the backseat of the wagon and got ready for his new home with the Rockwaller's. Bonnie drove to her parent's subdivision. She was upbeat and happy, "Are you as excited as I am?"

Ron scratched his chin, "I think the word is nervous."

Bonnie parked on the street out in front of the house, "You'll be fine…With all the cars I don't think they'll be room in the driveway for your beast."

He got out of the car and pulled his bags out of the car. Bonnie cleared her throat and Ron looked up, "What?"

"Leave the G-U-N in the C-A-R." Bonnie said sternly.

Ron chuckled, "Oh Y-E-A"

Bonnie opened the door and her mother stepped out to meet them, "Bon Bon and Ron are here." She said excitedly as she hugged both of them.

"Mom" Bonnie began to protest.

"Ron your room is already for you and I even left the lid of the toilet up for you." Joni Rockwaller said excitedly.

"_Aughhhhhhhhh who left the toilet seat up."_ Came a cry from upstairs.

"Sorry Lonnie" Mrs. Rockwaller yelled upstairs.

Bonnie shook her head, "MOM"

Ron tried hard not to laugh, "Thanks for letting me stay here. Just show me where I can put my things."

"Follow me." Bonnie said glumly as she walked into the house.

"_My butts all wet."_

"It'll be fine Lonnie just dry it off." Bonnie said loudly as she and Ron walked past the door.

"_Oh…OK"_

They entered Ron's room and he looked around and nodded, "This is nice."

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "Yea you can hardly tell there was a hole in the wall. Get unpacked and then you can carry in my luggage."

Ron shook his head and smiled, _"Her and that damn luggage."_

"OK"

The day went by quickly as Ron made the room more comfortable for him. Then he carried Bonnie's entire collection of luggage to her room and then he went back into his room and fell into bed for a quick nap.

He lightly dozed for twenty minutes before he was awoke by a soft knock on the door, "You awake?"

"Yea" Ron said groggily.

Bonnie stepped inside the room, "Mom's made supper and daddies just got home."

Ron sat up on the bed, "Oh…OK…Oh I got pictures."

"Pictures?"

He nodded, "Yea…Mariko"

"Oh" Bonnie said quietly.

Ron dug around inside his duffle bag and pulled out the envelope with the pictures and handed them to Bonnie. She took the envelope and opened it slowly. Ron could tell she wasn't sure if she wanted to look at them or not.

She finally looked at the first picture and chuckled, "She takes after you." She said as she turned the picture for Ron to see.

It was a picture of Mariko with her cheeks puffed out and her tongue sticking out. Ron was holding her trying to imitate the same facial expression. Ron smiled and nodded, "That's my favorite picture."

Bonnie flipped through the rest of the photos, "She is adorable…Yori?" Bonnie asked as she turned the picture for Ron to see.

"Yea, yea that's Yori." Ron said of the photo of the three of them together.

"I think I remember her." Bonnie said quietly as she studied the photograph carefully.

"She came to Middleton High School to have me help her in her search for...her Grandfather." Ron said slyly as he didn't want to give Bonnie too much information about Yamanouchi.

"She looks awful happy don't you think." Bonnie said with a note of jealousy in her voice.

Ron shook his head and told her quietly, "Well that was before I told her about you…She never quite smiled like that at me again."

Bonnie smiled, "Oh…Well I have that effect on people."

"You're telling me." Ron said just under his breath.

"What?"

Ron fell back onto the bed laughing. Bonnie put the pictures down on the dresser and pounced on him and began tickling him. Ron squirmed, "No…not that."

Bonnie stopped tickling him and looked him in the eye, "Love me?"

"Love my Bon Bon."

Bonnie grinned, "I love you too…Now let's go down for dinner."

They went downstairs and Ron said hello to Elliott Rockwaller who returned his greeting in a very frosty tone. Ron swallowed hard, _"This doesn't bode well."_

Dinner was served and Bonnie made small talk about their trip to Boulder and all the clothes she bought. She told them about Ron's visit to the doctors and how hard she had worked him during his physical therapy.

Lonnie kept staring at Ron and then finally asked him, "Ron are you passionate about goats?"

Ron shook his head, "I...I don't understand?"

Bonnie growled, "LONNIE"

"Well I'm just asking after all Connie says that Ron is nothing more than a stupid goat f..."

"LONNIE" All the remaining Rockwaller's screamed at once.

"I...I was just curious." Lonnie said defensively.

Ron shook his head and looked Lonnie directly in the eyes, "No...not like that Lonnie."

"Oh"

Joanie Rockwaller cleared her throat, "Well Bonnie have you and Ron set a date for the wedding yet?"

Bonnie began choaking on a piece of food and started to cough, "Umm...No...not exactly."

Elliott Rockwaller narrowed his eyes at Ron, "They'll probably set a date when Bonnie has a ring...Right?"

Ron began stammering, "We...well...Yea...I guess, depending on what Bonnie thinks."

Now the attention was deflected back to Bonnie, "Well Bonnie what's the hold up?" her mother asked.

"Uh...well, we're not...Officially engaged yet?" Bonnie said carefully.

Elliott Rockwaller wiped his hands on a napkin an turned to totally face his daughter, "What do you mean officially?"

"Uh" Bonnie tried to think of something to say but couldn't.

Ron saw that Bonnie was drawing a blank, "I haven't officially asked you for permission to marry your daughter yet."

Mr. Rockwaller leaned back in his chair, "That's right you haven't."

Now all attention was focused on Ron and he knew it, _"Oh man, I am so screwed."_

"Mr. Rockwaller...I would like to...official...err...formally ask you for...B..Bonnie's hand in marriage."

Elliott Rockwaller turned and looked at his daughter, "Do you love him?"

Bonnie nodded her head, "Yes daddy."

Mr. Rockwaller turned towards his attention to his soon to be son in law, "Ronald, I know you were not the most promising student while you were in my school dustrict."

Ron squirmed, _"Oh boy"_

"However from all the news reports I've read about your service for Israel you have shown that you have the qualities necessary for marrying my daughter, namely loyalty and bravery. If I may say entering into this family you will need all the bravery you can muster. So yes Ronald Stoppable you may have my daughter's hand in marriage." Mr. Rockwaller smiled and stuck out his hand.

Ron took the hand and shook it. Joanie Rockwaller began to cry and raced around the table to embrace Ron and Bonnie, "We have to break a plate."

Bonnie and Lonnie both stared at their mother, "What?"

"The tena'im, it symbolizes our sadness at the destruction of our temples in Jerusalem. So even in celebration we can still remember the sadness of the loss of the temple." Her mother explained.

"Now hang on Joanie...Bonnie still doesn't have a ring." He told her looking at Ron.

"Oh...hang on...I'll be right back." Ron said as he quickly left the table.

Ron raced up the stairs two at a time his knee creaked and gave him a bit of a twinge but he ignored it as he ran into his room and dug thru his duffle bag till he found the ring. He opened the box to make sure it was still there and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was.

He looked at the ring for a long moment, _"Man I hope I'm doing the right thing."_ He continued to look at the ring and then nodded his head, _"Yes, I am doing the right thing."_

He decided as he quickly turned and headed back downstairs.

Bonnie watched as Ron reappeared in the dinning room. He walked up to her and moved his chair out of the way, _"Oh now he's not going to do what I think he's going to do?"_

She began to blush as she realized that 'yes' Ron was getting down on one knee, _"He is going to do it."_

"Wait, wait let me get my digital camera." Joanie cried as she raced into the living room.

Both Ron and Bonnie were now blushing and giggling softly. Bonnie leaned forward and whispered in Ron's ear, "You sure about this?"

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yea" he said softly.

"OK, I'm ready."

"Bonnie...I'm not all that good with words...So I'll just speak from the heart. We've known each other a few years now and we haven't always seen eye to eye on things, but I always believed you to be a good person...Once I moved to Israel and found out that you were going to school there as well...I was happy to find a familiar face in an unfamiliar land." Ron stopped to take a breath and wipe his brow.

"We began to see one another and became close. When we were mobilized and sent to Gaza you were my light in the darkness, you helped my parents during my absence and you were my rock that I clung to in my darkest hours."

Bonnie wiped a tear from her eye and Ron held his back as he continued, "You were the first face I saw when I woke up in the hospital. You stayed by me and helped me recover to come home to my parents."

Ron searched Bonnie's face for inspiration, "I...I haven't got a lot of money or stuff to give you. All I have is my heart and that you already have...What I really am trying to say is that you were the first face I saw in Gaza and I want you to be the last face I see at night before bed...Bonnie Rockwaller...will you marry me?" Ron said quietly as he opened the box and presented Bonnie with the engagement ring.

Bonnie began crying and nodding her head, "Yes"

Ron took her left hand and placed the ring on her finger. Once it was there Bonnie hugged him tightly and began kissing his face. Ron was only slightly aware of the flash from the camera going off as he hugged Bonnie.

"We have to call your mother." Mrs. Rockwaller called out happily as she ran to get the cordless phone.

Lonnie shook her head looking at her sister and Ron, "I don't get it?"

Bonnie and Ron began laughing. Bonnie turned to look at her sister, "Chances are you never will."

"Muri, it's Joanie...Ron just proposed and we're going to perform the tena'im...Uh huh...OK...Yes he's right here." Mrs. Rockwaller handed Ron the telephone.

"Hey mom."

"Don't you break any plates until I get there I want to see this." His mother shouted into the phone.

Ron smiled, "OK, see you and dad in a bit then I guess?"

He looked at the phone and handed it back to Mrs. Rockwaller, "I think they're on their way over...She told me not to break anything until she gets here."

The Rockwaller's laughed and the women huddled up to discuss wedding plans. Ron walked shakily back into the living room to watch for his parents. Mr. Rockwaller followed him in and put a hand on his shoulder, "Do you know how much money this is going to cost me?" he asked quietly.

Ron shook his head and answered nervously, "N...no"

Mr. Rockwaller nodded, "It will be a lot...Still out of the three daughters, one's too good for men, the other has no idea where babies come from...So Bonnie was our only daughter that we thought could have the potential to get married."

They stood together looking out the window each thinking their own thoughts until the Stoppable's mini van pulled up. Ron watched his mother and father get out of the vehicle. Mr. Rockwaller went into the backseat to get the baby and his mother came rushing to the door with two bottles of Manischewitz wine, _"Oh man, it's going to be one of those nights."_ Ron thought to himself sadly.

His mother burst thru the door and hugged Ron tightly, "Here put these in the kitchen for your mother."

Ron smiled and nodded as he took the bottles, _"I can hide for a long time in a kitchen."_

"I'll take those Ron." Mr. Rockwaller said with a wink.

"_Damn you old man you stole my idea."_ Ron thought sadly.

"Ron we're ready for you over here." Mrs. Rockwaller called after she finished hugging his mother.

Bonnie waived a plate at him, "Time for the tena'im."

Ron stood next to Bonnie and wrapped his left hand around her waist. He then gripped half the plate with his right hand and Bonnie gripped the other. They held the plate up for Mrs. Rockwaller to take a picture and then they slammed the plate onto the table breaking it into four big pieces.

Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov, Their parents called out to them. Ron leaned down and kissed Bonnie on the lips as the cheering continued.

Bonnie whispered into Ron's ear, "They'll be kicking it up all night. Want to get out of here?"

Ron nodded his head, "Monique and Tirza are going to the Odyssey tonight, want to join them?"

"Yes anyway to get out of seeing both our parents staggering around drunk." Bonnie said desperately.

**

* * *

**

Lightening flashed across the sky as Monique pulled into Possible's driveway. She had not heard from Kim since she and Tirza had returned from Boulder. Monique was determined to get her friend out of the house and back into the real world.

It was Thursday night and she had planned on taking Tirza to Thursday night ritual at the Odyssey night club downtown. Now it had become a rescue Kim Possible from becoming a recluse mission.

She dropped by the park to see Kim, and found out that no one there had saw Kim since her Saturday night date with Kenny. She was worried for her friend. She was taking the breakup between her and Ron pretty hard. She knew she had to get her out of the house for a while.

She got out of her car and quickly ran to the door to reach it before the rain came. She rang the door bell and Jim and Tim answered the door, "Hey guys, is your sister around?"

Tim nodded his head, "She's upstairs."

"She's working on some plan to get Ron back." Jim added.

Monique rolled her eyes, "Oh no, is she acting kind of weird?"

"Shaa" Tim began.

"When isn't she weird?" Jim finished.

Monique nodded and began to walk up the stairs. Jim and Tim looked at each other and nodded, "Monique" Tim began.

"How big are your breasts?" Jim finished.

"What?"

Tim looked at Jim nervously, "We have this theory…"

"That African American girl's have bigger breasts than white girls." Jim Finished.

Monique's mouth fell open as Tim filled her in on their idea, "So if we want girl friends with big boobs…"

"We have to date African American girls." Jim finished.

Monique's eyes bugged out of their sockets as she tried to think of something to say. There was nothing to say that didn't involve obscenities so she just turned and ran up the stairs

Jim looked at his brother, "Girls just…"

"…don't get scientific theory." Tim finished.

Monique stomped up to the Kim's bedroom and door and knocked, "Kim?"

"Come in Monique Celeste Jones"

She rolled her eyes as she entered the bedroom, "The middle name is Kindra actually."

Monique entered the room and gasped at Kim's silhouette framed in the window in the darkened bedroom as the lightening outside highlighted her friend's twisted features. Her green eyes glowed with insane passion. Monique began stammering, "K…Kim?"

"So Monique I see you've wised up and decided to join the winning side." Kim said happily as she wrung her hands in glee.

"Ummm Kim?"

"Your assistance will of course be rewarded…For you see Monique Celeste Jones. I have developed a plan to deal with Bonnie Rockwaller. Boyahahahahaha!" Monique gasped again as the lightening flashed and highlighted Kim as she laughed maniacally.

"My middle name is Kindra."

"What?"

Monique sighed and corrected her friend, "My middle name is Kindra not Celeste."

"Oh…Well…Whatever….You see I thought to myself on Tuesday after you called. Why should I just sit around and do nothing to get Ron back. Then an idea took shape in my mind…Dispose of Bonnie and get Ron back." Kim said eagerly as she grasped Monique by the arm and took her to the window.

"N…no…no Kim, this isn't a good idea." Monique tried to reason with her.

She tightened her grip on Monique, "Why, what do you know about my idea?" Kim asked suspiciously.

Monique pulled her arm away from her, "Kim stop it your scaring me."

Kim paid no attention to her friend as she began to fill her in on her plan, "The plan is simplicity it's self…Bonnie can't resist the Oh Boyz…This is where you come in. You will take a fishing rod and attach an Oh Boyz CD to the end of the line and then you will lure the mesmerized Bonnie Rockwaller to the Space Center."

"Sp…space center?"

"Once there I will kick her butt and shove her into a deep space probe and launch it on a one way trip into the sun…Bonnie will then confess her evil plan over the radio as she hurtles screaming to her DOOM…BOOYAHAHAHAHA." Kim laughed manically as lightening flashed highlighting the insanity in her eyes.

"Kim it won't work." She implored her friend

Kim's shoulders slumped, "Your right Monique…After all there's no guarantee she'll know how to operate the subspace radio…Tin cans and string…YES, that's simple enough for her."

Monique rolled her eyes, "KIM!"

"Monique the sun is what, 93 million miles from the earth? We need 93 million miles of string…But that will make the rocket too heavy." Kim began to rub the back of neck as she paced her bedroom

"This is not…"

"I know a big ball of string on the ground attached to the rocket as it gets shot into space…So simple…No wait, 93 million miles of string all balled up would be huge…Having a huge ball of string rolling around loose could be dangerous."

Monique waved her arms, "Kim stop"

"I'll have to build a giant spool…"

"Kim stop it. It's not going to work." Monique tried once again to reason with her.

"Your right Monique…There's not enough time to build a giant spool before Ron goes back to Israel." Kim sat down on her bed dejectedly.

Monique chuckled and shook her head, _"I swear the whole family is nuts."_

"Kim if you do anything to Bonnie…"

"Cell phones" Kim brightened before ruling the idea out of the question, "Oh yea no cell towers in space."

Monique groaned, "KIM, what do you think Ron is going to do if you do try and do anything to Bonnie?"

She blinked and thought it over as lightening filled the room highlighting a very depressed Kim Possible, "R…Ron would hate me even more than he does now." She said sadly.

"Yea" Monique said quietly.

"I…I just can't sit around and do nothing" Kim said as her mania began to pass and she started to become more herself again.

Monique hugged her friend, "You need to get out. I'm taking Tirza to the Odyssey tonight you want to come along?"

Kim shook her head, "No…no…I'll just stay here…and…"

"Come on Kim, you might meet a nice good looking guy."

"I don't want to meet a nice good looking guy, I want Ron." Kim said firmly.

Monique began giggling and then Kim started to giggle, "That didn't come out right did it?"

"No" Monique laughed, "I'll go pickup Tirza, you get ready."

Kim smiled and nodded, "I'll be ready, I could use a night out….Thanks Monique"

Monique smiled at her friend, "No more plans while I'm gone…OK?"

"No more plans." Kim agreed with a smile.

**

* * *

**

Bonnie had never been to the Odyssey before. She had heard stories about the place, mostly horror stories about drugs and debauchery. Only reinforced when she heard Ron was going to the club and he began to act strangely un-Ron like. Now that she was out of high school and wearing an engagement ring from Ron the place didn't seem so threatening anymore.

The couple raced towards the entrance as it began to rain again. Bonnie began to feel excited at the prospect of doing something she always considered too dangerous before. She knew with Ron if things became dangerous he could handle it, "What's the name of the band tonight?"

Ron grinned, "Faces Of Death…An Oh Boyz tribute band."

Bonnie slapped his arm, "Stop it."

"You'll have to pay the cover…You kind of have all my money." Ron said sounding a more somber note.

"Get used to it." Bonnie said as she brought out her pocketbook from her purse.

She paid the $10 for the cover. Bonnie took the armband to show she was a minor and wouldn't be served any alcohol. Ron quickly held up his fake ID and was waived on in. She whispered in his ear, "See if you can get Wade to make me one of those."

Ron nodded half listening as he took her towards his favorite table, "Good still open." He told her as they made their way over to the spot.

Bonnie looked over at the stage, "This looks like a good spot."

"Yep, watch the table and I'll get us something to drink." Ron said as he turned to head to the bar.

It was a relief to be out of the Rockwaller's house for a bit. He felt as though he tripped some unknown mystical machine that lay dormant just waiting for a sucker to come along and propose to a Rockwaller daughter.

Ron approached the bar, "Hey Jill, I'll take a coke and a gin and juice."

He watched Jill make the drinks. She didn't recognize him but he didn't really care. It was just great being here again. He remembered all the happy memories the club held for him. It was more than just a venue it was a way of life that Ron really enjoyed once he gained new friends from Smarty Mart after his first break up with Kim.

Now here he was back after a year away, battle scared and engaged. He never realized how out of control things could get at just the mention the word and a ring. He breathed a sigh of relief as he was tired of fielding questions about dates, venues, relatives and anything else that Ron could only shrug and refer the marriage obsessed women to his mother.

"Hey Ron-Man" A voice called out behind him.

Ron turned and faced the familiar voice, "KONG!"

The big man was well dressed and his beard was nicely trimmed. Evidence of the money he was earning as a NFL football player. Brian Konigy gave Ron a bear hug, "Good to see you buddy."

"Man, I haven't seen you in like forever." Ron told the man happily.

Jill came back with the drinks, "That'll be $6.00."

"Uh oh, Bonnie has all my money." Ron said slightly panicked.

"Four double shots of Jack." He told the woman, "Don't sweat it, I got it." Kong told Ron as he paid the woman.

"Thanks, you got a table yet?" Ron asked.

Kong shook his head, "No I just got here."

Ron decided to invite Kong back to meet Bonnie, "Me and my fiancée' are back in the usual spot if you want to sit with us?"

"You're engaged?" Kong asked cautiously.

He nodded sheepishly, "Yea"

Kong eyed Ron, "Let's see the last I heard of you was on TV something about being killed overseas?"

"Got blown up but I'm better now." Ron said sadly as he pulled up his shirt sleeve just a bit to let Kong see his arm.

"Ow, looks worse than my knee." Kong told him as they made their way towards Ron's table.

"So how have you been?" Ron asked trying to change the subject to get away from scars and wounds.

"Tore up my knee was out all season. Went back to Penn State and finished my degree. Have to report to the Steeler's training camp in a few weeks. I think they'll cut me...Be looking for a job then." Kong said sounding more than a little bitter.

"You're getting out of football?"

"Naw just have to find a new team." Kong told him as they approached the table.

Ron quickly introduced Brian to his fiancée, "Bonnie this is Brian Konigy, I used to work with him at Smarty Mart...Brian this is my fiancée Bonnie Rockwaller."

Bonnie eyed the large man nervously, "Oh...One of Ron's...friends."

Kong pointed at Bonnie, "PRETTY GIRL!"

Bonnie retreated behind Ron who was familiar with Kong's antics, "It's alright Bonnie, he won't hurt you...much."

Kong sat down next and put his drinks down on the table and began staring at Bonnie, "PRETTY GIRL...CAN KONG TOUCH HAIR?"

"Ewww NO" Bonnie said as she practically climbed into Ron's lap.

The large man looked as though his feelings had been hurt, "Well OK then...You still have Rumpus?"

Ron laughed, "Rufus...Oh he's still around...I'm thinking about taking him back to Israel with me when I leave in a few weeks." Bonnie visibly relaxed but still kept an eye on the big man,

Kong looked at Ron strangely, "You almost get killed over there and you want to go back?"

"Ron hasn't had a good trip back." Bonnie explained.

"HEY RON-MAN"

"SUPER DAVE" Ron called out as turned to see his best friend from Smarty Mart.

The two hugged one another and then Dave nodded to Kong, "Hey Kong, good seeing ya again. Ron-Man you must have made quite an impact on Angry Bob. He took one look at you and he and Evil Ray went to another club."

Ron remembered Angry Bob well. He had dated Kim Possible for a brief period while he was seeing Monique. Angry Bob was a Berkley radical dedicated to the down fall of 'The Man.'

Unfortunately for Bob, Kim had decided the best way to deal with Angry Bob's mythological 'The Man' was to break Drakken and Shego out of prison. Ron fought Kim on the outskirts of the Tri-County Correctional Facility.

He remembered punching Angry Bob in the mouth and hearing him beg Ron to stop hitting him. Ron smiled at the memory, "Well damn it Bob stay on the ground." He had told him.

After that night Ron and Kim were an item again. Right up until a few short weeks ago when it had all ended in a vicious argument at Quarry Lake. Ron stopped his memories there as he didn't want to ruin his evening out with his new fiancée'.

"Naw not me, I don't think he'd even remember me." Ron said with a self assured grin on his face.

Super Dave looked at Bonnie, "Hey who's the hottie?"

Ron looked over at Bonnie, "Bonnie Rockwaller meet Super Dave Willis. He used to live by my parents and I worked with him at Smarty Mart."

Bonnie shook his hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Damn Ron, you get all the hotties. Last time I remember seeing you, you were nailing some black chick in the back seat of your car." Super Dave exclaimed with a wide grin that spread across his face.

Bonnie turned towards Ron and spat, "Monique I assume."

Ron turned bright red, "Dave..."

"Yea Ron's a player alright, but if you're looking for a stable one..."

"DAVE, Bonnie's my Fiancée'." He told him urgently.

The man's grin froze on his face, "Oh...umm...oh...Sorry Ron-Man...didn't mean to..."

Kong began laughing and Ron forced a grin, "You were coming real close to being confused for Angry Bob there buddy."

Bonnie was becoming upset but then she looked towards the entrance and saw three people walk into the club. One of the people just happened to be an old Middleton High School adversary named Kim Possible.

She nodded her head and smiled wickedly, _"I knew this day would come sooner or later. I'm sure Kim's going to corner me and oh I am so ready for her."_

Bonnie leaned over and whispered into Ron's ear, "Ronnie, do you mind if I sit in your lap?"

A large grin spread across Ron's face, _"She never calls me Ronnie."_

"Oh yea"

Bonnie straddled Ron and kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered in his ear, "Kim just came in with Tirza and Monique."

She saw the dark storm clouds begin to spread across his eyes. She then whispered as she felt him begin to tense up, "Don't you worry about it baby, Bonnie's got everything under control."

Kong lifted an eyebrow and pointed towards the couple. Super Dave nodded in agreement, "The Ron-Man has got it goin' on."

**

* * *

**

Monique parked outside the club in one of the empty parking lots in the downtown business district and slapped Tirza's hand once again, "Baby not in front of company."

Kim Possible sat in the backseat of Monique's car trying hard not to laugh. It was the first time she had ventured out of the house in days and was enjoying the atmosphere of going clubbing.

She had quickly cleaned up when Monique had left and dressed in a leather mini skirt with a black shirt that only reached her belly button and a pair of black stiletto heels. Kim was dressed to kill.

Monique turned to Kim in the back seat, "You ready to go meet your next boyfriend?"

"Sure" Kim said with a slight smile that betrayed her nervousness.

They got out of Monique's car and ran for the entrance as the rain continued to fall. They paid the cover charge and entered the club. They all approached the bar and ordered drinks.

Tirza looked at the poster for the band that was playing tonight, "Faces Of Death? Are they any good?"

Monique who was also dressed in a black leather mini skirt with a white top shook her head, "Honey if they play here they probably suck."

Kim smiled, "It doesn't really matter. I just want to get my mind off things for a night."

Tirza leaned over and whispered in Monique's ear, "I am going to find the rest-room."

She nodded and watched her fiancée' wonder off in the right direction. Then she began to eye the crowd for any potential new boyfriends for Kim. She saw a tall slender man in a leather biker jacket standing with his back to her at the end of the bar. Monique elbowed Kim and whispered, "How about him?"

Kim twisted her face in thought and then the man turned around to reveal a face that was pock marked with acne scars. Kim shook her head, "No"

"You stay here and drink your soda and I'll do some exploring." Monique told her

Kim and teased her friend, "Lean and athletic please."

"No promises girl." Monique said as she began to wonder around the club.

As she walked she sized various men up that she spotted, _"Too old, too fat, too ewwwww."_

Monique smiled as she entered into the room where the band would soon be playing. Old memories of her and Ron attending concerts here flowed thru her mind. She looked around the room and froze in her tracks. There was Ron Stoppable with Bonnie Rockwaller straddling his lap kissing him for all she was worth, _"Damn, I've got to get Kim out of here before she freaks."_

She turned around and quickly headed back to where she left her red headed friend, "Girl we have to leave now this place sucks." She told her breathlessly.

Kim tilted her head, "Why what's wrong?"

Tirza came bounding up the bar happily, "Monique, Ronnie and Bonnie are here in the next room."

"_Damn"_ Monique closed her eyes and silently cursed her luck.

Kim narrowed her eyes at Tirza, "Oh are they really in the next room?"

Monique stepped in front of Kim as she started to make her way towards the music room, "Kim, this is not a good idea."

"Ha...Monique, I am so over Ron...I just want to see what Bonnie is wearing that's all." Kim narrowed her green eyes to tiny slits as she pushed past Monique.

Tirza used Monique's interference to get in front of Kim, "Hey Ronnie, any room up there for us."

Kim stopped and blinked as she took in the sight. There in Ron's lap was Bonnie Rockwaller. She was straddling his lap and wiggling her crotch into his and kissing and playing with his ears. The fuse was lit and Kim balled up her fists and began to march towards the couple.

A hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm. Kim spun around angrily only to see Monique's equally determined eyes, "NO KIM, this isn't going to help. Don't do this." She frantically whispered.

Kim began to snarl and then wound down, "You're right...I'll go back to the bar."

"I'll just go say hello and then we'll get out of here." Monique said softly.

Monique breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Kim head back to the bar. She heard her name being called by Tirza. She forced a quick smile onto her face and walked over to where Ron and Bonnie were seated.

"Brian Konigy, Dave Willis this is an army buddy of mine named Tirza Cohen and his fiancée' Monique Jones." Ron said between Bonnie's affectionate kisses.

Bonnie slid off of Ron's lap, "Monique, Ron proposed and I said yes." Bonnie squealed loudly enough for the red headed woman hiding by the entrance of the room could hear.

Monique squealed too and gave Bonnie a half hearted hug and tried to sound happy, "Girl that is so exciting."

"Look at the engagement ring Ron gave me." Bonnie said loudly holding out her hand to reveal the six carat diamond ring.

Her jaw fell open at the size of the diamond, "It's gorgeous, Ron always did do things first class."

Bonnie nodded and clasped her hands and put them over her heart, "It was such a surprise. Ron just swept me off my feet."

Ron blushed and lowered his eyes as he listened in on the conversation. Tirza elbowed his friend and teased him, "Now you did it Monique's going to want a ring now."

She made a point to sigh once again happily and then she touched Monique on the arm, "I've had too much soda. I'm going to use the little girl's room."

Bonnie trotted away from Monique and smiled as she stole a quick glimpse into the mirror at the bar to see she that Kim was now following her to the rest-room, _"Time for the show down with little Ms. Perfect."_

Kim followed Bonnie into the restroom, she was nowhere in sight so she assumed that she was in one of the stalls, _"It's alright Bonnie. You'll just have to wait a little while longer before getting your ass kicked." _She thought as she turned the dead bolt lock to ensure their little chat would be uninterrupted.

Bonnie sat in one of the stalls biding her time, _"Let Kim wait."_ She thought happily. Ever since Ron had told her about the chair and about how Kim came to find out that Bonnie was in the hospital she had planned for this moment.

The unavoidable question of just why she was in the hospital was about to come up and she had crafted a totally believable answer that would blow Kim's little mind into thousand pieces.

Kim heard the sound of a toilet flush and watched Bonnie appear from one of the stalls and approach the sink. She quickly washed her hands and dried them before checking over her appearance in the mirror.

Satisfied at the way she looked she turned to leave and there stood Kim by the exit. Bonnie gasped in mock surprise, "Oh...Kim...Hey g...good to see you...I...I didn't know you were here."

Kim's face wore no expression, "I see you've been getting pretty friendly with Ron these days."

"Well...I am his fiancée'." Bonnie told her as she held out her hand to let Kim look at the ring. The ring Ron had purchased for her that was now on Bonnie's finger.

Her mouth opened and closed a several times before Kim found her voice, "When...when did this happen?"

"He proposed this afternoon after we got back from Boulder." Bonnie said dreamily.

Kim smirked, "Isn't he a little low on the food chain for you Bonnie?"

Now it was Bonnie's turn to smirk, "In Israel Ron is top of the food chain. Medal of Valor, Hero of Israel and all."

There was no immediate response from Kim, "You know you've really wrecked the friendship Ron and I had together?"

"Whoa, wait a minute...I was in Israel when you and Ron broke up. Whatever happened was all on you." Bonnie said defensively.

Kim grimaced and tried hard not to lunge at the woman, "It all started with that I was engaged crap you told him last year."

Bonnie nodded, "I have to admit...I was playing games and I'm sorry for that, but..."

"Playing games...Is that what you call wrecking someone's friendship?" Kim spat at the brown haired woman.

"What is it called when you tell anyone that will listen that your so called friend is a rapist?" Bonnie countered.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Oh that was so much just a misunderstanding."

Now it was Bonnie's turn to roll her eyes, "Misunderstanding...Kenny Hubler looked me right in the eyes and said to me 'Kim Possible told me Ron raped you'...Where's the misunderstanding?"

Kim stammered and brought her hand to her mouth and then quickly lowered it, "He was lying. I never said anything like that to him."

Bonnie put her hands on her hips, "Well Ron believes him and so do I."

"I don't care what you believe and deep down I know if I had a chance to explain this little misunderstanding..."

"That little misunderstanding got Ron's nose broke...Kim face it, you and Ron broke up and I had nothing to do with it." Bonnie said as she was starting to become exasperated.

"Oh Bonnie it was so your fault, I just don't know how to prove it." Kim said bitterly.

Bonnie shook her head, "You...You're crazy."

Kim's green eyes were shinning as she narrowed her eyes, "I am not crazy...What really happened over there in Israel? I know that had to have something to do with the way Ron was acting when he came home."

"You've flipped...What happened in Israel was Ron was wounded to the point he'll never be the same physically...I know I took care of him." Bonnie was beginning to tear up.

"Why were you in the hospital then?" Kim asked confidently.

The moment Bonnie had been waiting for. If this were a baseball game and Bonnie was batting and Kim were pitching. Kim would have just thrown her a hanging curve ball and Bonnie was getting ready to knock the ball out of the park.

Bonnie stepped back away from Kim and licked her lips, "Who...Did...did Ron tell you that?"

Now Kim was uneasy, "Well...not exactly..."

"WHO TOLD YOU THAT?" Bonnie screamed.

Kim stepped backwards realizing she had just made a major mistake, "I...no one...I just...heard about it."

"No one was supposed to know...it...it was just me and Ron's little secret." Bonnie began to cry.

"I...I think I don't want to know anymore." Kim said as she continued to back up.

"Do you know how much work it took to get Ron walking again?" Bonnie asked in quivering voice.

"No" Kim responded quietly.

"All that work...All that work to get him to walk and all he could talk about was how much he loved you and...and how he needed to get better to come home..." Bonnie reached out and put her hand on a sink for support.

"I...I don't really..."

"I...I was pregnant Kim. Do you know how hard it was not telling Ron? Do you know how hard it was to listen to him profess his love for you when I was the one who was pregnant?" Bonnie turned on the water works and began crying.

"No...It's OK Bonnie, I don't want to..." Kim said quickly trying hard now to get out of the conversation.

Bonnie wiped her eyes, "I...I was cleaning up the living room one day while Ron was out...I...started bleeding down there...I..I didn't know I was having a miscarriage..." Bonnie said motioning towards her pelvis.

Kim was beginning to panic. She had trapped Bonnie in the restroom and seized the advantage only to have the tables turned on her and she wanted nothing but out of that room.

"I fell unconscious on the floor...If Ron wouldn't have came home from the post when he did I would have bled to death...I made Ron promise never to tell anyone." Bonnie said sadly.

"I...I'm sorry Bonnie...I...I didn't know."

Bonnie began to walk slowly toward the door, "He came back here to you and I tried to go on normally...I was so happy when he told me you guys broke up...I love him so much. I don't understand it. He was such a loser in high school."

Kim looked sick, "That...that's what everyone thought." She said quietly.

Bonnie walked past Kim and turned the deadbolt and unlocked the door, "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you guys."

"Yea" Kim said quietly.

Once outside the door she breathed a sigh of relief as she passed the line waiting to get into the restroom, _"I should get a freakin' Oscar for this."_ She thought happily as she made her way back to Ron's table.

Women walked past Kim complaining about the door being locked, but Kim couldn't hear them. She was numb from her talk with Bonnie and was beginning to feel sick to her stomach.

Her hands shook as she turned on the water and washed her hands in the sink, _"I really have lost touch...No wonder Ron keeps going back to Bonnie."_

She stuck her lower lip out. She was starting to lose her temper again. This time not at Bonnie but at Ron, _"He should have talked to me...He shouldn't of lied and led me on with his thoughts the way he did."_

Kim violently threw the paper towel into the trash can and gritted her teeth, _"I bet he knew all about the mental focusing device and was just trying to make a fool of me."_

She turned and stormed out the door, _"That phony Ron Stoppable...I believed in him and he does this to me. That dirty bastard set me up and I think it's high time he have to answer for this."_

**

* * *

**

Monique looked around the club for Kim as it was rapidly filling up, _"She must be back at the bar?"_ She patted Tirza on the shoulder, "I'll be right back sweetie."

Ron looked around the club for his fiancée'; "I hope Bonnie gets back soon. She has all my money."

Dave watched the last girl at the table leave and then turned his attention to Ron, "Are you crazy...Why are you getting married?"

Ron shrugged and answered quietly, "I love Bonnie and...You get wounded like I did and you start thinking about the future and kids...stuff like that."

Kong nodded his head, "Can't argue with that."

Dave shrugged and decided to change the subject, "Man I love women too, matter of fact I'd love to hook up with Shelly but she moved in with some militant lesbian...Damn, I could always count on her for a quick screw."

"I don't think Tina's all that militant." Ron said out of hand.

Dave looked at Ron quizzically, "You know Tina Lieberman."

"Well...yea"

"You know she was shacked up with Shelly?"

Ron smiled, "Oh yea"

Dave put his hands over his eyes, "Oh no, no, no, you're not going to tell me you've been with them?"

A smiling and blushing Ron Stoppable shrugged, "No, I'm not going to tell you that I nailed both of them a few weeks ago."

Tirza smiled, "Ronnie was very sexually active that week."

Everyone at the table turned their attention to Tirza and then back to Ron. Dave leaned back in his chair and placed his hands over his head, "Aughhhhhhhh Dude, you have just become my personal hero."

Kong laughed, "Man he got one up on you."

Dave was getting ready to respond when Bonnie reappeared, "Hey miss me?"

Ron gave Bonnie a look of concern, "I was getting worried something happened to you."

The rest of the men at the table looked at each other and tried to suppress their grins. Tirza finally spoke up, "Ronnie was most concerned...Now I am concerned what happened to Monique?"

Bonnie shook her head, "Haven't seen her."

"Kim was a little put out over our engagement." Bonnie whispered into Ron's ear.

He looked at her and smiled, "Too bad"

"NO KIM, Don't..." Monique called out as she tried to restrain her friend from heading to Ron and Bonnie's table.

Kim's green eyes shone brightly powered by a jealous rage that dwarfed anything she had known in the past. Monique realized there was no reasoning with her while she was in this mood and gave up.

Kim stomped up to the table and pointed at Ron, "YOU LIED TO ME..."

Ron shook his head and started to get to his feet but Bonnie pulled him grabbed on to his arm, "Ron..."

He didn't pay any attention at all to Bonnie as he pointed back at Kim, "WELL YOU OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT LIARS."

"I USED TO THINK YOU WERE SOMETHING SPECIAL...YOUR NOTHING BUT A PHONY." Kim screamed at him.

Ron laughed bitterly, "Oh, that's real good coming from you...Little Miss I know 16 different forms of martial arts...How many years did you study...Where was your Dojo? Oh that's right. YOU ONLY HAD THREE TAEKWONDO CLASSES."

Kim looked stunned and took a step backwards, "I...You...We're not talking about me. You're the phony."

Ron shook his head in disbelief, "Kim take your sick ass back home and leave me the hell alone. It's over now deal with it."

The lights began to dim as the bad were getting ready to play. The crowd around the argument quickly lost interest in Kim and Ron and turned towards the stage. Kim turned and walked away with her shoulders slumped.

Bonnie watched her high school rival slink away into the crowd, _"Damn when she has a mental melt down, she has a mental meltdown."_ She thought as she turned and kissed a very sad looking Ron Stoppable on the cheek.

Ron turned to her, "Why can't she just leave me alone."

She kissed him again and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry babe, I'm here for you now."

Even in the dimly lit club Monique could see that Kim looked pale as she walked away from the table. She took her by the arm, "Want me to drive you home?"

Kim shook her head, "No...I'll be alright I just need to step outside for some fresh air."

The band began to play and the crowd noise was deafening. Kim was glad to be out of the club. She walked up the street heading nowhere in particular. She was walking to get away from Bonnie, to get away from Ron.

Kim looked up at the street lights and noticed it had quit raining. She sat on a bench close to Monique's car and began to think. It had been so long ago since she took those Tae kwon do classes, _"How long had it been now?"_

She smiled sadly at the memory, _"Oh yea, about six months after the six gymnastic classes." _Kim sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye,_ "The old guy wasn't teaching fast enough, same with the lady in the gymnastic classes...I just wanted to learn the good stuff not the same boring exercises."_

Kim looked in the blackened window of the store front and saw her reflection. She shook her head, _"I remember being so excited watching those martial arts films...I knew I could do that stuff. Poor goofy Ron...I used to practice and practice throwing him around in the backyard till I had the moves down pat."_

She glanced up at the window again and failed to notice the black SUV that had just driven by her for the third time. Kim sighed and continued feeling sorry for herself, _"Mom made me stop when Ron came down to the house to play one day covered head to toe in bruises...Oh where did all of this go so horribly wrong?"_

Kim glanced up again and now noticed not one black SUV but three and what looked like a fourth. She sprang to her feet and took up a quick defensive position, but it was too late as the metal prongs from the Taser weapon impacted into her chest. Kim jerked as an electrical current passed thru her body. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Ron screamed as his body began to jerk before landing on the floor of the night club.

Bonnie let out a small scream and quickly knelt down by him, "Ron, are you OK?"

Ron looked quickly around and then up at the dim lights in the ceiling, "Wha...What the hell?"

"Is it your knee?" Tirza asked leaning over him.

"I...I don't think so." Ron said as he tried to sit up.

Kong was on his knees next to him, "Take it easy Ron-Man, don't rush getting back up."

"What did the pain feel like?" Tirza asked him as he took his hand and began to take his pulse.

"It...it felt like an electric shock all thru my body."

Ron looked around at his friends who were kneeling by him, _"Kim?"_ he thought before quickly dismissing it from his mind, _"No...It must have been the knee."_

With her hands and legs bound the unconscious body of Kim Possible was unceremoniously slung into the back of one of the black SUV's. A grinning Adrena Lynn addressed her officers, "Now tell me what was so hard about that?"

She received no answer from the other bandaged officers. With a laugh Adrena Lynn shook her head and taunted her men, "It just goes to show. Never send a man to do a woman's job."


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N: Many thanks to Atomic Fire for proofreading. Once again thanks to all of you who voted for Aliyah and The Right One for the fannie awards.**

**Thanks to LycoX, Mooneasterbunny, Atomic Fire, Kingprawnsct, Whitem, lippy Norwegian,Momike, RI100014 and my two email reviews for reviewing chapter 62.**

**Ron's had enough of the Hamilton Boys.**

**Things are starting to come down to an exciting conclusion. **

**Read and enjoy. Write a review get a reply.**

**Bubba**

* * *

Early Saturday morning Joanie Rockwaller was awake early getting the families Sabbath day activities ready. She was heading back upstairs to wake up her husband when she spotted a drowsy Bonnie Rockwaller heading into Ron's bedroom wearing her nightgown and bathrobe. 

Joanie shook her head, _"Oh no were not having any hanky panky under this roof." _She thought as she crept closer to Ron's bedroom door.

She stood outside for a few minutes but didn't hear any kind of tell tale signs of love making. She swallowed hard and carefully opened the door and peeked inside. There was Bonnie curled up beside Ron still wearing her bathrobe. Ron had his arm around her as he lay on his back fast asleep, _"Aw isn't that sweet." _She thought as she slowly crept back out of the room.

Bonnie looked up and smiled as she heard the door shut. She shook Ron awake, "You awake?"

"Uh…I am now." Ron said looking around the room trying to figure out where he was.

Bonnie chuckled as Ron tried to grin with his eyes half closed. Bonnie hugged him tightly again, "Recover from yesterday?"

"I guess…I didn't think they'd need so much blood for an HIV test." Ron said drowsily.

Bonnie tugged on Ron's shirt gently, "You thought I was kidding about that test didn't you."

Ron didn't answer right away, "I was kind of hoping you would forget about it."

"No chance…So if your test comes back clean, when do you want to get married?"

He rolled his eyes, "I don't know. I would like to get married Israel."

"You really don't want to come back here do you?"

"Nothing to hold me here anymore." Ron told her as he began to play with her hair.

Bonnie nodded, "We'll talk about it with mom and dad when we go to the Temple for services."

Ron hugged her tightly, "Can we sleep in? I'm getting a little frazzled with everything."

She kissed his cheek and smiled, "Our mothers beginning to get on your nerves?"

He smiled, "Oh…just a little."

"So what are we going to do today?"

"I think our mom's have another dinner planned." Ron said wearily.

They lay in bed for a while longer. Ron continued to play with Bonnie's hair and stare at the ceiling. Bonnie rubbed his chest. It was a moment she wished could last forever Ever since Boulder with maybe the exception of finding out about Ron's promiscuity had been like a dream.

It wasn't like when she was with Brick who only wanted to talk about himself, sports, what college he was being recruited by. She'd occasionally get upset and have to remind him that she was on the same planet too.

No Ron was all about Bonnie. He would listen to her, carry her bags, and take her shopping even when he didn't really feel like it. Ron might not have been perfect. He had his wounds and his new found tendency to want to kill people. Still he always put her and her needs up to the front of the list.

Yes indeed in Bonnie's mind Ron had figured it all out. Bonnie came first whenever possible and thanks to Ron her parents were now beginning to figure it out too. No more being the baby sibling, now she was top of the food chain and she was going to use this new found attention to its fullest.

Bonnie was going to ensure her wedding was so extravagant that none of her sisters could ever top it. A Marcello custom made wedding gown, as many invitations to anyone and everyone she could think of and if Ron wanted to get married in Israel, then so be it she thought. That would make it all the better.

She could hear the alarm going off in her bedroom next door. She patted Ron on the chest a couple of times, "Might want to get up and hit that shower before everyone gets up."

Ron lifted his head and kissed her forehead again, "I hear ya, had to take a cold shower yesterday…I swear I thought Lonnie had drowned."

Bonnie giggled as she slid out of bed, "I think Lonnie gets disoriented from the water."

After the house was up and alive with activity they ate breakfast before heading to temple. Ron was once again peppered with questions about the wedding and dates. He would always give the same answer, "Ask Bonnie."

Bonnie was reveling in all the attention, "I wonder if you can rent those Galante Italian tuxedos?"

Ron shrugged, "I was kind of hoping to just wear my uniform."

"Oh no…No uniforms, no guns…I want our wedding to look like a wedding not a military firing squad."

"Same thing aren't they?" Ron teased before being punched in the arm.

"Stop that, I'm serious…No uniforms…How many groomsman you want to have?" Bonnie asked as she was the wheels were beginning to turn for her wedding once again.

He shrugged as he ate his eggs, "I don't know, how many brides maids are you planning on having?"

"Three…Lonnie, Connie and well…I was going to ask Tara." She looked over towards her mother and then back at Ron, "But there were problems."

Ron rolled his eyes as he remembered the previous day when Bonnie had finally reached Tara on the phone. The conversation was in a word singularly cold. They chit chatted about many things but both of them never once approached the topic of Ron.

No one was happier about that then Ron as he didn't want to see the conversation degenerate into a screaming match. Mrs. Rockwaller said something to him but he was lost in his own thoughts, "Sorry…I didn't hear you."

"I was wondering if you knew who you were going to have as groomsman."

"Oh…Umm…I guess Sergei would be my best man…Tirza…I would ask Ned…but I think there would be problems. Felix Renton…Yea, maybe Felix if he can make it" Ron told them as he looked to Bonnie.

"Well you each have two people to stand with you for sure, so we'll just say two each for now."

Ron and Bonnie both nodded at their mother's assessment.

"So when's the date?" Her mother continued to push for more information.

Bonnie bit her lip and began to think about it, "How about during Chanukah?"

Ron tilted his head, "December?"

"I…I was thinking about how special it was when we spent our first Chanukah together." Bonnie explained.

He smiled, "Yea that was pretty badical…First time I ever celebrated it away from my family."

"That's so romantic." Joanie Rockwaller wailed as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "I can't wait till our engagement picture is printed in Suburban Jorunal on Wednesday...Ehlman is the most prestigious photographer in the area...I just wish the picture would be in color."

Joanie Rockwaller quickly recovered from her emotional out burst to fill her daughter in on the details, "It will be Bon Bon. Rockwaller women have been featured in the Colorado Standard's engagement section since the publication started and as you know, they went to full color about two years ago."

"I know mom will want some pictures." Ron told his future mother in-law.

"Oh don't worry darling, I made sure to order some wallet sized photos for your family."

"WHAT"

"Only kidding darling." Mrs. Rockwaller teased.

He smiled wearily and shook his head, "You got me big time there Mrs. R."

"Call me mom" Joanie reminded him.

Mr. Rockwaller cleared his throat, "We better be heading out."

Ron stood up quickly and adjusted the blue and silver striped tie that complimented his new blue suit that Bonnie had bought him the day before. Bonnie was looking radiant wearing a very conservative red and black dress, with a matching head scarf, "Good idea, How do I look?" he asked Bonnie.

She smiled, "You look great…We look great."

"Booyah, just what I want to hear." Ron said happily.

"Well we should look great. I spent enough of your money on that suit." She reminded him.

**

* * *

**

In Geneva Switzerland the offices of Global Justice were alive with activity. For the first time in nearly a month there were indications of activity from one of their most wanted fugitives.

Candell Mann had finally turned up on the radar screen long enough for them to pinpoint his location as the western United States. Betty Director was at this late hour in an urgent conference call on a secured phone line with her top field agent William Du.

"So you're sure the American authorities haven't been alerted to his presence yet?"

The voice of crack Global Justice Agent William Du crackled over the offices loud speaker, _"I can say with no amount of exaggeration that the American authorities are in fact clueless." _

Betty Director scratched an itch on her check just below her eye patch, "This is truly good news. Catch the U.S. intelligence apparatus napping and we will be able to pull off a complete coup. Once again the call will be made for G.J. to assume overall law enforcement duties within the continental United States."

_"Dr. Director I have seen the listing of the chemical components being delivered to the __Denver__ airport and I fail to see how they can be used for any form of explosive?"_

Betty Director smiled. She knew how hard it was for Will Du to admit to any sort of weakness of intelligence. Still he wasn't trained in the nuances of chemical warfare, "Mistaken conclusion Will. Our top scientific minds believe that the chemicals will be used to poison the water supply from its source."

_"So he's going to poison the water supply. Has there been any word on the whereabouts of Team Possible?" _

Now it was Betty Director's turn to show a weakness of her intelligence gathering capabilities, "It appears they've fell off the planet. Kim hasn't been active since she burned down the strip club and Ron Stoppable and Rufus have just disappeared. Wade Load their resident computer specialist can't be located either…They've just vanished."

_"So I shouldn't be looking for them to interfere with our operations?"_

"I shouldn't think so, but just incase of that eventuality I think you should take in three teams of G.J. elites with you." Betty Advised.

There was a period of silence on the teleconference lines before Will Du responded, "_Understood, we will be leaving __New York__ for __Denver__ later this afternoon."_

"You will of course keep me informed of your activities." Betty Director reminded him. Will Du had the tendency to leave her out of the communications loop. It was a bad habit that she wished to break him of.

_"Understood, Du out."_

Betty disconnected the secure phone line and sat in her large chair at the head of a long table in an empty conference room. She leaned back in the chair and began to think, _"I wonder just what did happen to Team Possible?"_

**

* * *

**

The Rockwaller family went to Temple and met with the Stoppable's. Ron received a big hug from his mother before Mrs. Rockwaller filled her in on the details about what had been discussed that morning around the breakfast table.

Monique waived at Bonnie and the two girls began to make small talk. Ron's mother pulled him aside, "No more wedding plans till I can be there to hear them first hand."

Ron nodded and was going to answer before his mother cut him off, "Bonnie, that's such a lovely head scarf."

Bonnie smiled, "Thank you, I figured since I was making Ron wear his suit and his Golani kippah that I would wear a head scarf that I picked up while I was in Israel."

The call was made to assemble for services. Ron and Bonnie held hands throughout the services. At the end of prayers the congregation was dismissed. Rabbi Katz quickly found Ron and pointed him towards a very stern looking man, "That man needs to see you. He says it's urgent."

Ron turned and walked over the man, "I'm Ron Stoppable."

The man nodded, "I'm Uri Silverman with the American Friends of the IDF. I have a message forwarded to you from the Northern Command." The man told him as he handed him an envelope.

Ron opened the letter. It was from General Tova. He stepped away from the man and read the message.

_"When are you scheduled to return to __Israel_

_Your career could benefit strongly from participating with the army in occupational duties in __Southern Lebanon_

_Immediate response required. _

_Major General Moshe Ben Tova _

_Northern Command/Southern __Lebanon__ Occupational Authority" _

Ron swallowed hard, _"I was going back this week but I wasn't expecting to return to active duty till at least October."_

Uri Silverman stepped closer to Ron, "The General demands an immediate response."

"Tell General Tova…ummm…My compliments to the General. I should be back in Israel during the week. Expect to be available for duty after next weeks Shabbat." Ron wiped his mouth nervously.

He had heard that the IDF controlled Southern Lebanon from the Litani River south effectively cutting off the southern part of the country, but he knew little else. One thing the American news media were loath to report on was any sort of world news.

"I'm sure the General will be happy to hear that." Mr. Silverman said as he spun on his heels and walked out of the Temple.

"Ron who was that man?" Bonnie asked.

Ron shook his head, "Bonnie…I have to go back to Israel this week…General Tova has activated me for occupation duties."

Bonnie's eyes turned sad and she hugged him, "I'll go back with you then…I still have the apartment in Netanya for another few months before the lease runs out."

"Bonnie you just got home not that long ago…"

"Ron…I go where you go…" Bonnie told him firmly.

"Excuse me are you Ronald Stoppable?"

Ron turned to face a short heavyset man with thinning hair, "I've heard all about you when you were missing…I know it's not much but I have these Neil Diamond tickets for when he comes to Go City next month and I'd like you to have them."

"Thanks, Mr…" Ron said as he took the envelop from the man..

"Oh, yes I'm Benjamin Spitz…My sister does the catering for the Go City Opera House…they're very good seats." The man motioned towards the envelope.

Ron opened the envelope and looked at the tickets, "Wow, third row…and backstage passes…Thank you…Thank you very much Mr…Spitz."

Bonnie pulled on his suit coat, "I'll go tell mom."

He nodded to Bonnie and said goodbye to the man before searching the room for Tirza. He walked up to his friend and handed him the envelope, "Happy Birthday Tirza."

Tirza shook his head and looked at the envelope, "My birthday is not until next month."

"I have to return to Israel next week…Open the envelope." Ron told him.

Monique by this time had become curious and walked up beside Tirza, "What's in the envelope?"

Tirza opened it and his mouth fell open, "Its…I'm….it's…I'm going to see Neal Diamond on August 23 at the…Go City Opera House…Backstage passes…How did you get these Ronnie?"

Ron shrugged, "Perks of being a hero of Israel."

Tirza was giddy with excitement, "Just think Monique…We get to spend an evening with Neil!"

Monique forced a smile on her face and nodded to Ron, _"Damn you Ron Stoppable_._"_

"Great…that's just…great…You shouldn't have Ron…Really...Great."

A broad grin crossed Ron's face, "Always happy to help Monique."

Monique continued to nod and smile at him, _"I think I liked it better when you hated me."_

"Great"

**

* * *

**

"So what do you think you'll be doing once you get back?"

Ron scratched his chin as they drove past Smarty Mart on the way back to Bonnie's house, "I'm not sure, probably running messages or something."

"Well I'm going to need to start packing again. I wonder if I have enough luggage for the trip back?"

Ron was getting ready to deliver a smart remark when he noticed a black SUV coming up from behind them. He picked up speed and saw another black SUV turn onto the same street as they were on and quickly catch up with the first SUV. Out of Ron's peripheral vision he saw a third black SUV coming towards them at an intersection.

The street light turned yellow and Ron gunned the wagon thru the intersection forcing the third SUV to lock up its brakes to keep from colliding with the other two pursuing vehicles. Now there were three pursuing vehicles chasing them.

"RON"

Ron looked over to Bonnie and pointed to the glove compartment, "Bonnie hand me the G-U-N."

"What's going on?"

Bonnie opened the glove compartment and took hold of the pistol by two fingers and dangled the offending object in front of Ron who quickly grabbed it and put it between his legs.

Ron next made a hard left onto Midland Blvd. against the traffic lights. The screeching cars that were trying to stop before they collided with the brown wagon soon stopped as the three chasing SUV's drove thru the intersection in pursuit.

"I…think…" Ron made a hard right and saw a hubcap fly off the station wagon, "Dad is so going to kill me….Ummm...Oh….Hamilton guys again."

"WHAT?"

"Yea...Looks like they finally found me again. Wish I had more guns or a good rifle...I'd take them out to the middle of nowhere and..." Ron turned right into a subdivision, "Briarwood what do you know about Briarwood?"

Bonnie stuttered nervously, "B..b...Briarwood...nothing"

Sergeant Tim Dace pulled his SUV over to the side of the road, "Bill hand me the radio."

The Hamilton Security Officer handed the sergeant the vehicles radio. The sergeant smiled, "We got him now...All units pull over to the side of the street and wait for subject to double back to us."

_"What makes you think he's coming back this way?"_

Sgt. Dace smiled and keyed the radio, "Because this is Briarwood all the houses are built on cul de sacs...Only way in or out is past us."

Ron looked up in the rearview mirror and saw that his pursuers had stopped chasing him, _"I wonder why they stopped?" _

He made a left and discovered it was a dead end. He looked to his right and saw all of the streets were dead ends, "Damn"

Briarwood subdivision was fairly new, the developers trying to take advantage of everyone's desire to own a home from low $300,000's on their own private street. So there was one road leading into the subdivision with side streets that ended in circular drives at the end of the side streets.

"We're trapped aren't we?" Bonnie said fearfully.

Ron stopped the wagon and examined all of the yards that made up the cul de sac. Almost all of the houses had 8ft. privacy fences so there would never be a need to associate with a neighbor. Except for one and Ron spotted an opening between two, two story houses to the next street. "Not yet." He said smiling as he pulled into the yard of a nice two story home and proceeded to drive very slowly up the sloping grade to the neighboring street.

There was a toddler playing in a small plastic wadding pool and Ron waived to him as he drove past him, "Hi"

The small boy smiled and waived as Ron noted the child had rather long hair before a voice interrupted his thoughts. "What in the hell do you think your doing?" A rather upset looking woman yelled as Ron drove slowly thru her front yard.

Ron waived his hand as he drove by the woman, "Your son needs a haircut."

The woman's expression changed immediately as she ran towards the back yard, "Jeremy come inside honey it's time for a haircut."

Bonnie shook her head, "That was mean."

He gave her an astonished look, "Are you kidding did you see how long that boy's hair was?"

Ron drove to the end of the street as Bonnie looked at the circle drives on the way to the stop sign, "These are some nice houses."

He didn't respond right away as he was still looking to see the street he just left, _"They're still down there...good." _

"Ummm hmmm, nice houses." He agreed as he pulled up to the stop sign.

"What now?" Bonnie asked quietly.

"Now we turn onto the main street, cut the engine and coast right behind these guys." Ron whispered as he did what he said he was going to do.

Sgt. Dace looked over towards the officer beside him, "Surely he didn't abandon his vehicle?" Dace grabbed the radio again, "Long drive in there and see if you can flush him out."

Everyone was so intent on waiting for their prey to come back up the street they failed to notice the brown Crown Victoria station wagon that was coasting silently down the street behind them.

When he was sure they he was out of earshot Ron fired up the engine of the old wagon and made a left back on to Midland Avenue. Ron finally turned to look at his fiancée', "Now see that wasn't so bad was it?"

Bonnie shook her head, "At least I can breathe again, so where we going now?"

"To my mom and dad's house, I think that I am seriously under gunned for these Hamilton guys...Time to even the odds."

"Even the odds?" Bonnie said as she raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes I'm out numbered but never out gunned...With these guys I'm both out numbered and out gunned...I need a little more firepower at my disposal." Ron explained.

Bonnie chuckled, "I swear Ron you have more enemies around here..."

Ron interrupted her and then proceeded to explain his out look on the way things were going, "Hey now...You can always tell the quality of the man by his enemies...In my case I have a lot of enemies and I think it's time I began thinning the herd."

**

* * *

**

"What the hell do you mean he got away?" Captain Adrena Lynn screamed at the sergeant.

Sergeant Dace knew this was coming and was dreading making his report, "We had him pinned down in the Briarwood subdivision in Middleton. One way in and one way out."

"Then how did he escape?" Adrena Lynn asked calmly.

Sgt. Dace cleared his throat, "We...uh...we believe he drove thru people's yards in order to reach a different street than what were we watching."

Captain Lynn chuckled, "Obviously, your fired get out."

Sgt. Dace shrugged his shoulders and left, _"Maybe I can still get my old job back at Wells __Fargo__?"_

Adrena Lynn watched the man leave her office and then picked up the phone, "Joe you have our package still secure in one of those SUV's down there?"

_"Oh you betcha, she's still all restrained. Quit struggling about three hours ago." _

"I'll be right down. I'll be taking a little trip should any need me I'll be on my cell phone."

Adrena Lynn hung up the phone and walked out to the parking lot. She looked into the backseat and saw that Kim Possible was still in her restraints lying in the floor board of the SUV, "Awwww Kimmie isn't so tough after all is she? We failed to get your boyfriend but at least we got you...You going to make me a very rich woman Kim."

Kim thrashed around as much as she could. Adrena could see a fire blazing in her green eyes

She threw the tarp back over the top of her captive and prepared to leave, _"Drive to meeting place and pickup my two million dollars from Mr. Mann." _

Adrena Lynn drove to the intercept point that Candy Mann had given her. She drove into the wooded area carefully. There was only one vehicle in the clearing a white Ford Econoline van, "Kimmie are you ready to get freaky?" Lynn asked the red headed teenager in the back seat.

Three men in white jumpsuits jumped from the cargo door of the van. Adrena Lynn was not counting on the extra company and felt comforted by the weight of her S & W pistol in her handbag.

"Is there anything wrong Ms. Lynn?"

Adrena Lynn was startled and quickly turned to see who had spoken to her, "Oh it's you Mr. Heath."

"Yes ma'am sorry for startling you." The middle aged man said apologetically.

"Think nothing of it Mr. Heath. I have Ms. Possible, do you have the two million dollars?" Adrena asked as she tried to contain her excitement.

Mr. Heath looked perplexed. The short man balding man was clearly not expecting Kim Possible, "I'm sorry Ms. Lynn but there is some confusion on our end...We thought you had apprehended the lackey...Mr. Stophner?"

"Ronald Stoppable...He's eluded us so far but not for long, I can assure you." Adrena Lynn said happily.

Mr. Heath frowned, "I'm sorry for the confusion but I only brought the promised half million dollars for the lackey."

"What? I was sure I told Candy Mann I had Kim Possible."

"We will take Ms. Possible with us and give you the $500,000 as an advance. Present the buffoon to us tomorrow and we will give you the agreed upon two million dollars." Mr. Heath politely told Capt. Lynn.

Adrena Lynn turned and looked at the three rather large men that accompanied Mr. Heath to the rendezvous, "Do I have a choice?"

"Not really" Mr. Heath told her as he handed her a brief case with the half a million dollars in it.

Adrena sighed and pointed behind her, "She's in the back seat."

Mr. Heath motioned to the three men and the backdoor opened on the SUV and a struggling Kim Possible was extricated and transferred to the white panel van. Mr. Heath approached Adrena Lynn once more, "I hope our little misunderstanding hasn't dampened your enthusiasm for the quest. Mr. Mann is most anxious to reunite these two in one of his prison cells."

"I am not finished yet not by a long shot. Expect a call from me soon."

Mr. Heath smiled and nodded at Adrena's last statement and turned and left the woman in the black SUV. He walked over to the white van and grasped Kim Possible by the face as he examined her coolly, "Relax Ms. Possible. Once Mr. Mann's plan has been carried out he has a nice retirement planned for you...You see we intend to bleach your hair blonde and sell you as a concubine to a rich Saudi Prince."

Kim's green eyes glimmered with rage as she fought the bonds that restrained her, _"I get half a chance you guys are all toast."_ She thought as she continued to struggle.

"There, there soon you will learn to enjoy your captivity. The Prince we have promised to sell you to will provide you with comfortable quarters and lots of pretty clothes to wear...Now won't that be nice." Mr. Heath grinned as he stroked Kim's chin lovingly.

**

* * *

**

Mr. and Mrs. Dr. P. were beside themselves with worry. Kim hadn't been home in nearly two days. This was not like her to just leave and not tell them anything about where she may be.

Mrs. Dr. P. had contacted: Penny at the snow cone stand and came up empty. Next she contacted Monique and was rewarded with a little information, _"Apparently Kim left the night club after an argument with Ron and hasn't been seen since."_

Now the only person she had left to turn to was Ron and he wasn't living at home anymore. She hadn't gone to the police yet. They always want you to wait for at least 24 hours before you file a missing persons report. Even if she did file a report she held out little hope that the police could do anything due to the usual clientele of bad guys Kim was used to dealing with.

The Saturday afternoon sun was high in the air as she once again looked up the street hoping for any sign at all that Ron would be around. If he was she knew she would have to very careful about how she broached the subject. Since from what Kim had told her Ron had a mighty big chip on his shoulders these days.

Mrs. Dr. P.'s hopes were soon answered as a brown Crown Victoria streaked by the house and turned up the street with its tires squalling as it powered it's way towards the Stoppable's house. She smiled as she walked out the front door to head up the street, _"Thank God Ron's back."_

Ron hurriedly backed the station wagon into the driveway. Tirza and Monique came outside to meet him. Ron pointed at Tirza, "Help me load up the wagon. I need guns, lots of guns."

Tirza looked at him quizzically, "What has happened."

" Hamilton guys chased me around again. Time to send those boys a message...The Ron-Man has come to play." Ron said coldly as he pushed past his friends and ran to the basement.

Tirza followed him downstairs to his weapons stash, "Why are they after you."

"Not sure but I figure if I kill enough of them, they'll leave me alone." Ron explained as he grabbed his Fabrique National FN FAL battle rifle.

"I'll take the Ak-47." Tirza said happily as he relished the chance to see action again.

Ron shoved three Glocks into his pants, "I think you better talk to Monique about this first."

"Talk to me about what?" Monique asked warily.

"I want to go help Ronnie kill bad guys." Tirza explained happily as he looked over the assault rifle.

Monique stomped her foot on the ground, "Oh no, not with your heart. You're staying with me."

Tirza narrowed his eyes, "Be quiet woman I feel fine."

Monique was about to go ballistic on Tirza before Bonnie interrupted them, "Ron...Mrs. Possible is upstairs and wants to talk to you."

"No one's seen Kim since Thursday night." She quickly explained to him.

Ron grabbed another Glock pistol and ran for the stairs, _"I wonder if that is why I went down the other night?"_

He took the stairs two at a time. His knee protested but he ignored the small stab of pain. He heard Mrs. Dr. P. gasp as he burst out of the house carrying the large supply of weapons.

He quickly stowed the weapons in the back of the station wagon and turned his attention to Mrs. Dr. P., "Hey...ummm...Did Kim tell you that I got engaged?"

"No...uhhh...We haven't seen Kim since Thursday night." Mrs. Stoppable said quietly as she turned to look at Bonnie Rockwaller.

Bonnie blushed and nodded her head, "I told Kim on Thursday that I was sorry things didn't work out for them."

Mrs. Dr. P. said coldly, "I bet you did."

Ron flared a little as he didn't like the tone Mrs. Dr. P. had used towards Bonnie, "Look we don't know where Kim is...We stayed at the club and watched the show ...So if you're thinking we..."

"Kim was right you really have turned mean." Mrs. Dr. P. said bitterly.

"Wh...what?"

"Kim said she wants to talk to you but is so afraid she'll say the wrong thing because you've got such a nasty temper." Mrs. Dr. P. said flatly.

"Oh...So it's my fault...I come home wanting to see friends and enjoy myself and I walk straight into a Kim Possible inspired quagmire...Hell the reason I'm loading up this wagon full of guns is because of Kim." Ron said in exasperation.

Mrs. Dr. P. shook her head, "I don't understand."

"I never had any problems with anyone around here until all that shit happened in Hamilton...I never had any car chases, I still had a nose that wasn't mashed in, and I didn't have people walking up to me telling me Kim says you're a rapist." Ron put his hands on his hips and looked around. No one said anything directly.

"Damn right I'm mean." He finally said bitterly.

"R...Ron...maybe the Hamilton guys got Kim?" Monique said trying to help Mrs. Dr. P. get the conversation back on track.

"What?" Ron said clearly distracted by the comment.

"W...well when Kim dated Kenny Hubler...These guys from Hamilton attacked her and she beat them up…Maybe they came back and were able to catch her off guard on Thursday night?" Monique explained.

"...and that is my problem...how?" Ron said firmly.

"RONALD STOPPABLE...OF ALL THE UNMITIGATED GALL...How many times has Kim saved you? Dropped everything and just flat out saved you?"

Ron's demeanor changed as he tried to continue being tough and in control, "What she did wasn't right...I didn't do anything..."

"ANSWER THE QUESTION RON!" Mrs. Dr. P. screamed at him.

"A lot" Ron answered quietly.

"So the one time Kim needs your help, your going to turn your back on her...Your best friend for life means nothing to you? Me and my family mean nothing to you?" Mrs. Dr. P. turned up the guilt as she was convinced she now had Ron's full attention.

Ron looked over at Bonnie fearing what her reaction would be if he said OK. She nodded her head slowly. Ron let out a deep breath, "I...I'll go find Kim...I'll probably regret it but I'll go find Kim."

Mrs. Dr. P. wiped her eyes grateful she was able to get through to him, "Thank you Ron."

He then pointed a finger at her, "I'm not doing it for her though...I'm doing it for you. Anyone else on the planet and I would have had no problems with telling them to piss off...I'm doing this for you."

Mrs. Dr. P. swallowed hard. She now realized that there would be no quick resolution between Ron and Kim, "Well maybe...you two can talk about it or something when you find her."

Ron ran his fingers thru his hair, "Yea maybe...Well who wants to help me go find Kim?"

Tirza smiled, "I'm going."

Monique shook her head, "I'll go too...Only to keep you out of trouble." She told her fiancée.

Bonnie walked up and hugged Ron tightly, "You know you couldn't say no."

Ron shook his head sadly, "God help me I'm an idiot...a complete and total idiot."

Mrs. Dr. P. decided she had done all she could do and began to walk back home. Ron's voice stopped her. She turned back around to face him, "What? I didn't hear you."

"I want Rufus...I have the feeling...I want Rufus back." Ron said firmly.

Mrs. Dr.P. nodded her head, "Whatever you need Ron."

They watched Mrs. Dr. P. walk back to her house. Bonnie turned and looked at Ron, "I'm going to stay home and pack...If you're going to do what I think you're going to do. We'll need to flee the country in a hurry."

**

* * *

**

Ron drove up in front of the Rockwaller's house to change his clothes and drop Bonnie off. He ran inside and said hello to Mr. and Mrs. Rockwaller as he quickly ran upstairs to change with Bonnie right on his heels.

"I'll get your things together. How many bags do you think you'll need?"

He pulled off his shirt and tried to think it over, "I think three...Should I wear a uniform shirt...No it would make me stand out."

Bonnie stopped packing an quickly turned towards Ron, "Hey…are you going to be able to travel on your passport?"

"What?"

"If you do what I think your going to do…Won't people be looking for you?" Bonnie asked cautiously.

Ron didn't answer right away. He threw his duffel bag onto the bed and took out a pair of his boots. He dug continued to dig through the bag and pulled out the Ronnunicator, "Have to give Wade a call…Good catch."

Bonnie gave him a hug, "You see you need me."

He looked away from her and chuckled softly, "Ahhh…I think you're right about that."

"Don't get killed." Bonnie told him softly.

Ron smiled, "Awwww They can't touch me." Ron answered confidently.

Bonnie nodded, "Worse yet don't get hurt or I'll have to kill you."

"Right"

"I knew you couldn't say no. You still have feelings for Kim don't you?" Bonnie asked quietly as she pulled away from him.

"What feelings I have for Kim aren't real good right now." Ron answered firmly.

"You're still going though."

Ron pulled a shirt over his head and turned to her and quietly explained his feelings for Kim's mother, "When I was little my parents fought a lot. I used to sit on the front steps to get away from the fighting. Mrs. Possible used to come get me and we'd go to her house and I'd play with Kim and eat supper...After a time I would just leave the house and head down and wait for her to get home."

"I didn't know...I'm sorry Ron."

He shrugged, "After Kim and I broke up the first time is when I had to be around my parents again. They don't fight like they used to...They're not that bad to be around now. So when I said if it were anyone else I wouldn't do it...I meant it."

Bonnie put her hands on her hips, "Ron you know damn good and well you'd still help. You're just wired that way."

Ron finished tucking his shirt into his jeans, "Yea maybe...I don't know."

"I'll get the laundry together and get things ready to go…Go save Kim…Have fun storming the castle and all that." She said as she pushed away from him.

He laughed and nodded his head as he sat down to put on his boots, _"I think being with Bonnie is a good thing."_

He finished dressing and ran outside with Mrs. Rockwaller following him all the way to the station wagon, "Sabbath dinner is at five Ronnie."

"I'm just headed to the store…If I'm not back start without me." He called over his shoulder as he ran for the station wagon.

Ron slid in behind the wheel and looked into the rearview mirror only to discover Monique had company with her. It was the ghost of Frank Yarbourgh, "About damn time you made it out…Not that I minded sittin' next to this fine young sister."

"Ron what's wrong?" Monique asked clearly not knowing she was sitting next to a ghost.

He quickly started up the car, "Nothing, just thinking about what we need from the gun store."

"Yea if I was still livin' I'd be tryin' to squeeze those boobies." The old ghost said.

"I've never been to a gun store…You think they sell clothes?" Monique asked.

Ron was trying hard not to laugh as he began to drive to the outskirts of town, "Oh…I think they might."

"You ever squeeze those boobies?" Frank asked. Ron was fighting back a grin and slowly nodded his head, "Damn I knew you tapped that ass…All you white boys get jungle fever."

"Ahhhhhh Let's change the subject." Ron said out of the blue.

Monique shook her head, "You don't want to talk about the gun store?"

He smiled and shook his head, "You just want to go shopping…Any ideas on where their holding Kim at?"

"Fine don't want talk about screwin' when there's killin' to be done…I can appreciate a man who knows how to keep business and pleasure separate." Frank said happily.

"Where's Rufus?" Monique asked.

"What? I think he's…Rufus." Ron called out.

The glove compartment door opened slightly and Rufus stuck his head out. He saw Frank in the back seat and screamed, "Ghost" and slammed the door shut.

"What do you think happened to Kim?" Tirza asked.

"I think the Hamilton guys got her." Monique said quickly.

Ron turned into the parking lot of Shooter's Supply, turned the engine off and turned to face Monique and Frank, "So that's what you think happened?" Ron asked as he looked at the empty seat next to Monique.

Monique gave Ron a puzzled look as he was talking to the empty seat, "Yea"

"What do you think I am, a fortune teller…Damn fool Guardians only sent me here to keep your punk ass from getting sliced and diced." Frank answered bitterly.

He turned around in the driver's seat and stared out at the store, _"I think the __Hamilton__ guys got her for sure…Payback for the club?...Yea, probably. Well since everyone is after me I think I might as well let the world know where I am."_

"Let's go shopping."

The three walked into the store. Frank opted to stay in the car and continue to terrorize Rufus. Ron looked at all the guns hanging on the wall and the handguns behind the counter. He pointed at the Smith & Wesson semi-auto he took off the security guard in Hamilton the week before, "I got one of those."

The man behind the counter walked over to him, "S & W Military and Police in .40 caliber Smith and Wesson…It's a nice piece, what can I do for you today?"

Ron looked up from the gun case, "I need bullets, 500 rounds of 9mm, 500 rounds of 7.62 x 39 and 7.62 x 51."

"Buy a thousand get a free key chain." The man offered dangling a shiny chrome Shooter's Supply key chain before his eyes.

"Ohhhhhhhh yea, got to get the freebies. Make it a thousand rounds each." Ron said gregariously as he waived a hand towards the man.

Monique walked up and shook her head all they have is camo." She said sadly.

"Tirza get three of those…hunting fatigues." Ron said cautiously looking for the man who was running the shop.

"I'm not wearing those." Monique said firmly.

Ron shrugged, "Suit your self...I'm going to wear mine over my clothes...I have the feeling finding Kim is going to be bloody."

Monique blinked as the she began to understand what Ron was getting at, "Here baby let me pick out my own size."

Ron walked back to the counter, "I'm going to need another Safariland shoulder holster for a left handed draw and another Safariland belt holster for a left handed draw to fit a Glock model 19."

"How many Glocks you got?" The man asked incredulously.

"Enough" Ron said absently as he grabbed a pair of suspenders and threw them on the counter.

Tirza and Monique came to the counter with their camouflage gear. Ron grabbed three Slim Jims and three 20 oz bottles coke and handed them to the man to ring up. Monique grabbed a pack of bubble gum and smiled at Ron. He nodded and pointed at the register, "Why not I'm buying."

Monique spotted the suspenders, "Don't want to lose your pants I see."

Ron looked away and said nothing as Monique began laughing. Tirza shook his head, "What are you laughing at?"

"Every time Kim and Ron go out on a mission he always looses his pants."

"Oh" Tirza said with a shrug.

"What's a matter Ron, ashamed at what your legs..." Monique quickly broke off the sentence as Ron turned and glared at her.

"S...sorry I forgot." She said sheepishly.

"With the bubble gum the total comes up to $658.29."

Ron blinked, _"Damn that's a lot of money._

"Oh...make sure those key chains are in the bag." He told the man as he handed him his Bank of Jerusalem Visa card.

The three left the store quickly and loaded the gear into the back of the wagon. Monique looked at Tirza and then back to Ron, "Where to now?"

"Bueno Nacho for some snackage, Smarty Mart to change in the employee's locker room and then it's time to go hunting."

**

* * *

**

"You know whoever invented the naco was a pretty smart fellow." Frank said from the backseat as Ron and the rest of his team ate their food. Rufus who at the slightest scent of food lost all interest in the ghost in backseat began to laugh.

"What does he think is so funny Ronnie?" Tirza asked between bits of his chicken burrito.

Ron looked into the rearview mirror at Frank Yarbourgh who was still trying to feel Monique up from beyond the grave, "Naked mole rats can be a bit...strange."

"Yea I bet that guy is just rollin' in dough...Nice big house, couple of cars...wife, few girlfriends...few whores on the side of the girlfriends...Yea that's the life." Frank speculated from the backseat.

_"I should have killed Drakken_." Ron thought sadly.

"I'll have to say one thing for you Ron. When you invented the naco you really knew what you were doing." Monique told him as she took another mouthful.

"You invented the naco and you're driving this piece of shit...You a fool." Frank said in disbelief.

Ron sighed, _"Yep, I should have killed Drakken." _

"Booyah, I think we've been spotted."

Four black SUV's pulled into line behind the brown Crown Victoria station wagon. Ron Stoppable smiled as he figured after today's little car chase they would be lingering around where they found him earlier in the day.

Tirza looked into the passenger's side mirror and nodded, "Are those the black SUV's?"

He nodded as he made the turn on Highway 203 to take his pursuers out of town, "Looks like it...Time for a little drive…Find a nice convenient spot out of town where we won't be disturbed and then get down to business."

Ron drove past the entrance to Quarry Lake and headed further south towards Lowerton. The old black man in the backseat sitting next to Monique motioned towards a gravel road off to Ron's left, "Turn here, it's a dead end. Good place for an ambush."

He made the turn that Frank Yarbourgh had suggested looked up in the rearview mirror to see the four SUV's laden with men make the turn as well. Ron drove on the road as far as he could till he came to a large circular clearing and stopped the station wagon.

Tirza and Monique got out and headed to the back of the wagon. Ron hastily grabbed Rufus and put him in his pocket as he got out of the wagon. He worked his head from side to side to relieve the tension in his neck, _"Showtime"_

Frank stood next to him and gave him some advice, "These boys are just thugs…They ain't hard like you. They used to just struttin' their stuff in front of those women in the tittie bars."

Ron nodded as he checked over his four Glocks and checked his extra clips in his pockets. He glanced behind him and saw Tirza quickly trying to load the AK-47. Frank pointed up the road, "They gonna get out of those trucks all tough and shit. Kill the leader and move close in…This will make them hesitate…given you an edge."

He listened and nodded as the four SUV's pulled into the clearing, making sure to park in such a way as to cut off Ron's escape. Little did the Hamilton Security force know Ron wasn't looking for a way to escape.

The ghost of Frank Yarbourgh dissolved leaving Ron to his own devices, Rufus popped out of Ron's pocket, "Bang, bang, bang?"

Ron looked at his little pink friend and whispered quietly, "Yes Rufus, bang, bang, bang"

Rufus laughed and quickly disappeared back into his pants pocket.

The men in the SUV's started to get out and assemble facing him. Ron decided it was time to close the distance between them. He took a quick glance up at the sunny sky and then back to the men, "Pretty day ain't it?"

"Be a much prettier day if you give me those guns." A man said as he stepped towards Ron.

"Nope, can't do that…You see I'm looking for Kim Possible and I just lured you into my trap because I think you boys had something to do with her disappearance." Ron said letting both his hands come to rest on the Glocks he was carrying on his hips.

"Well you give me those pistols and we'll take you to her." The man offered.

Ron shook his head, "No, no bad plan…Here's my plan…I'm going to kill you and the rest of your men, keeping one of you alive to question and then I'm going to rescue Kim Possible."

The man laughed and shook his head, "Now come on Ron, Captain Adrena Lynn's told us that you're nothing but a clown…Looking at those suspenders I can see she was right."

Ron shook his head, _"Damn it, I forgot to put on the top."_

"I'm a clown with four Glocks, who's itchin' to use them…Where did you say Kim Possible was again." Ron asked as he started to walk towards one of the SUV's forcing the man he was talking with to turn to keep him in sight.

The man smiled unaware that Ron was using him as a screen to hide his actions from his men, "I didn't but if you have to know Captain Lynn sold her to Candy Mann, he got some lair or something up in the McKinney Mountain range…You'll see her as soon as you give me those guns."

Ron took a small step backwards before continuing stalking his prey, _"Candy Mann...New factor...Wasn't expecting to hear that name."_

"Well, now I don't have to keep any of you alive now." Ron said as he now had the man turned to where he was effectively screened from the other men.

"Come on Ron give us the guns and we'll let your friends go."

"No virgins for you." Ron said softly as he drew the Glocks on his hips and shot the man between the eyes. He then ran towards the next group of men who were struggling to get their guns from their holsters. He heard the occasional bullet whiz past him as he maneuvered.

Tirza shoved Monique to the ground behind the wagon and took up a defensive position and waited for a target as Ron darted in and out of the mass of men. They were now beginning to panic as they shot wildly in all directions, "Come on Ronnie, let me at least get off one round at these guys."

Monique held her hands over her ears. She was definitely frightened. She looked up at her fiancée who now looked much different in his camouflage fatigues wielding the assault rifle, "Tirza honey why don't you take cover too."

He smiled down at her, "And miss all this?"

Ron continued to duck and dodge as close to the Hamilton Security Squad as he could. The screams of panic were now sounding as man after man fell before him. The Glocks locked with their slides open as he had ran out of ammunition.

The twin Glocks were thrown smoking to the ground as he now pulled his other two Glock model 19's from his shoulder holsters. He began to fire at the men with his left hand Glock while twirling a Glock in his right. Only stopping the gun from twirling to shoot a round or to at a few men on his extreme right.

Then there was silence. In less than 23 seconds Ron had just killed 16 of the finest men the Hamilton Security Force could muster. Ron walked amongst the fallen making sure he didn't miss anyone who might need a quick headshot to send them to their greater reward.

Tirza stood up behind the station wagon, "You did not save one for me."

Ron smiled, "No time."

Monique stared at all the bodies with her mouth hanging open. She turned to Tirza and began to shake her head. Tirza shrugged, "Oh this is nothing. You should see him with a rifle."

Ron pointed at Tirza, "You and Monique strip these guys of weapons and anything that looks like it could be used to kill people with."

He then jumped into one of the SUV's blocking the road and pulled it out of the way. Monique gasped as she saw Ron run over one of the dead bodies, "Ron you didn't have to run him over."

He smiled and rolled down the window, "It's alright Monique. If he wasn't dead, he is now."

Then he turned his attention to looting the SUV. One of the SUV's had a Benelli Super 90 combat shotgun. The other SUV's had M4 assault rifles and a few concussion grenades. He piled his new found loot into the back of his wagon, _"Sweet"_

Tirza handed him a pile of S&W M&P semi auto pistols chambered for .40 caliber S&W. Ron briefly toyed with the idea of using these guns and retiring his Glocks but decided against the idea, _"Better stick with what I know."_ He thought as he threw the guns in the back of the wagon.

"Tirza take some body armor off those guys for you and Monique." Ron told his friend as he took out a box of ammunition and began reloading his Glocks.

Tirza looked at the men on the ground, "Hey Ronnie you missed this guy."

The slide on the pistol slammed home chambering a fresh round, "What?"

"All these guys were head shots but this one took a round in his body armor…You missed one time." Tirza teased him.

Ron released the slide chambering a round in another Glock. He shoved both pistols into the Safari holsters he wore on his hip, "No way, I shot all of them in the head."

"Well what is this then?" Tirza asked as he pointed to a hole in the body armor.

He bent over the corpse and examined it, "No, no, no, look one round between the eyes, one thru the eye socket….Those are mine. The one in the body armor is from a larger round. He was shot by one of his buddies."

Tirza looked at the round in the man's head and the round in the body armor, "Oh yes, I see."

Ron continued to look over the man, "Hey pepper spray…That could come in handy." He told Tirza as he pocketed the spray.

Tirza handed a body armor vest to a very queasy looking Monique, "Put this on."

Monique held the offending piece of clothing away from her and made a face, "Ewwww it's got blood on it."

Ron walked over to her and examined the vest, "No…I think that's scalp and a few pieces of brain." He took the vest from her and wiped it off on one of the bodies, "Here you go all better now."

Monique still wasn't convinced so Tirza helped put the vest on her, "I...I think I'm going to be sick." She said sadly as Tirza adjusted on the straps.

"Woman go sit in the car." Tirza told her as he pulled the last strap tight.

Monique pursed her lips and her eyes bugged out as she looked at her fiancée', "When this is over we are so going to talk about your new found male chauvinism."

Tirza turned and winked at her as he tightened up his body armor. Then he turned his attention back to Ron who was busy dragging bodies, "What are you doing."

Ron grunted as he dropped a third body into line, "Well…Since everyone from Global Justice to the FBI is looking for me after our little shopping spree…I figure I should leave them a sign to where I'm going."

Tirza nodded, "…and where are we going."

"That way… Mt. McKinney Mountain range." Ron pointed towards the west.

Monique walked up slowly, "Ron shouldn't we be leaving…I mean the police might come anytime."

Ron pointed to the one remaining SUV blocking their path, "Go move that one out of the way."

Tirza and Ron finished forming the corpses into a giant arrow as Monique moved the last SUV. Once Monique got out of the vehicle Ron motioned for her to get into the station wagon, "Let's go. Time to get out of here."

"Where to now?" Monique asked as Tirza slid in the backseat.

Ron started the car and drove away, " Mt. McKinney National Park."

"That's a pretty big place, are you sure you know where they are keeping Kim?" Monique asked as the brown Crown Victoria station wagon pulled out onto the highway.

Ron shook his head, "Not exactly, that's where Wade comes in."

"You know there was something missing from that gun fight." Monique told him with a grin.

"What?"

"Heavy metal music."

Ron laughed, "Oh yea, a little AC/DC would have really got me pumped up."

Tirza smiled, "Big Gun?"

"Awwwwwww Yeaaaaaaaa Big Gun" Ron exclaimed happily as they started to make their way west to rescue Kim.

**

* * *

**

Rosalyn Cortez received the word. Assemble in the situation room deep under the CIA fortress in Langley, VA. Something was up and it was big. She had not been briefed ahead of time.

"Hey I hear your boy Stoppable reappeared in a big way." Joe Drescher from TRASS told her.

"Oh really?" Rosalyn said to the man as she began to run the situation through her mind, _"Treasury Relations...Stoppable went shopping?"_ She thought as she sifted the information. She knew TRASS function was to keep an eye on commerce around the world for potential purchases that could be threats to national security. Rosalyn herself had added Ron Stoppable's name to the list of keywords to watch out for so they could learn his location and hopefully detain him.

CIA Director Wellington Sinclair stood in front of the large monitors inside the war room that displayed satellite surveillance around the clock and waited for his people to assemble. The images changed from minute to minute as spy satellites circled the globe.

When his people were in place he called for their attention, "At 1:30 PM yesterday afternoon the FBI offices in Denver Colorado received a tip from a woman named Marjorie Allen a temporary contract employee with Strauss Technical Services."

The director stopped to look at his notes, "It appears her company had employed her to do some work for CM Properties LLC in the field of water treatment. The reason she contacted the FBI was she was transported each day by bus from a parking lot in Ellington, Colorado to a location deep inside the Mt. McKinney Mountain Range. Once there they were then ordered to prepare chemicals in large vats for an experimental water treatment program."

Wellington Sinclair took a sip of his coffee and looked up from his notes to see if he still had everyone's attention and was pleased to see that he did. He cleared his throat and continued, "Ms. Allen holds a masters degree in biogenetic engineering and believes that the chemicals could pose certain catastrophic events if entered into water supply of the Western United States."

The monitors on the wall began to form a satellite photo of the Mt. McKinney Mountain Range behind the director, "Our sources within Global Justice have just informed us that their top field agent William Du is leading one, two perhaps as many as three teams of Global Justice Elite Officers and they are currently in route or may have already arrived in Denver Colorado."

The staff in the room began to mummer as it appeared that Global Justice once again had beaten them to the punch of ferreting out a threat to homeland security. Wellington Sinclair cleared his throat again to regain their attention, "Our contacts tell us that Global Justice believes that one Candell Mann is currently operating out of a base deep within the Mt. McKinney Mountain Range."

The monitors began to change to a circular drive that featured an arrow formed from what appeared to be dead men. Wellington Sinclair pointed at the screen, "Now we have a new situation. An American expatriate and current Israeli soldier by the name of Ronald Stoppable went on a shopping spree at a Shooting Systems gun store in Middleton, Colorado...Ms. Cortez would you are our resident expert in all things Ronald Stoppable related. Would you care to guess at just what he purchased?"

Rosalyn Cortez had just been called out in front of the group and she knew she had to come up with something in order to save face and not show that she was at all blindsided by the director. She looked at the image on the monitors, "Bullets...Supplies...That sort of thing."

"Correct Ms. Cortez. Ronald Stoppable bought one Safariland shoulder holster, one Safariland belt holster, 3 camouflage fatigue military style outfits, 1 pair of ruby red suspenders, 1,000 rounds of Winchester Super X 9mm parabellum rounds 115 grain full metal jacket, 1,000 rounds of Black Hills Shooters Supply 7.62 x 39mm Soviet 154 grain full metal jacket, 1,000 rounds of Black Hills Shooters Supply .308 caliber 150 grain full metal jacket, 3 sticks of Slim Jims, 3 bottles of Coke and a pack of Bubblelicious Bubble Gum." Director Sinclair stopped to catch his breath and wipe his brow.

Rosalyn Cortez's mind was working and working quickly, _"What did Stoppable know? How did he find out before us? Is he already working for the Mossad?"_

Wellington Sinclair's voice regained her attention as he pointed toward a large screen, "After Mr. Stoppable's little shopping spree...We come to this image not more than a half an hour later...16 dead men formed into the shape of an arrow. All killed with a 9mm handgun at close range. Ms. Cortez care to venture a guess in what direction that arrow is pointing?"

Without having to think twice she answered the director's question, "The Mt. McKinney Mountain Range."

"Correct! Now anyone care to guess at what the next question will be?" The director asked looking over the room.

One gentleman raised his hand, "Uh...Who the dead guys are?"

Wellington Sinclair grimaced as if he were in pain, "NO, we know who those bums were. They were the Hamilton Security Force for some reason they had a hard on for Ronald Stoppable and he castrated them...Anyone else?"

Joe Drescher held up his hand, "Did Ronald Stoppable actually shoot all these men or did he have help?"

"Wrong, intercepted cell phone communications around Hamilton are buzzing, seems their new Captain Lynn launched a private vendetta against him and a Ms. Kim Possible…Most of the phone traffic is from non-deceased Hamilton Security men calling off sick….We believe it was definitely Ronald Stoppable and he was definitely working alone." Director Sinclair finished rebuffing the man and looked towards Rosalyn.

Rosalyn raised her hand, "We need to know how he found out about Candell Mann and if he is working for, or if he's just launched his own private war for his own amusement."

Director Sinclair smiled, "Good, very good...I was going to say why the ruby red suspenders but that's a good answer too."

The group laughed cautiously at the director's attempt at humor. Director Sinclair pointed towards Rosalyn Cortez, "Get on a plane to Denver, contact the local FBI field agent in charge and head up there yourself...Find out what you can about what is actually going on and report back to me."

Rosalyn Cortez nodded and then asked one final question before leaving for Denver, "If we should happen to apprehend Mr. Stoppable what should we do with him?"

Director Sinclair put a hand to his mouth as he thought the question over, "Handle Mr. Stoppable gingerly. If he's half as deadly as he's shown us in Gaza City and with the Hamilton boys we may be pulling bodies out of there by the truckload and we don't want one of those bodies to be yours." 


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N: Thanks once again to AtomicFire for a few story suggestions as well as proofreading. Nothing like a 14,000 word action packed climax to wind down a story. One chapter to go but I don't feel another 10,000 worder in me Many thanks to those that reviewed the last chapter and all of the chapters. Remember write a review get a reply.**

** Vote for the fannie awards. I'm not up for any but vote anyway. Vote early, vote often...lol**

**Bubba**

* * *

They had been on the road for over an hour heading towards the Mt. McKinney National Park before Ron could get a hold of Wade on his Ronnuicator. Now as they sat at a truck stop Ron had finally managed to reach him. Unfortunately Wade was at the beach and easily distracted as he was 15 years old on an Israeli beach where the definition of clothing was rather vague.

"Focus Wade"

Wade turned his attention back to the Ronnunicator, "I'm trying but it's so hard all these gals on the beach wearing so little."

Ron winced, _"I should have stayed in Israel."_

"So how are you and Sima getting along?"

Wade's mind began to wonder as Ron could see him looking around the beach, "OK I guess…Sam kind of made it known she was off limits. I've been hanging out with Sima's friend Shari...Shari's fun, we've having a pretty good time together."

"_I'll have to have another talk with Sam."_ Ron thought as he rubbed his chin.

"OH MY GOD" Wade suddenly exclaimed.

"WHAT? WHAT?"

Wade suddenly began to whisper, "There's this chick with big boobs headed this way wearing nothing but electrical tape over her nipples."

Ron rubbed the back of his neck as he looked around to see if anyone was coming, "Wade old buddy turn that Ronnunicator around and introduce me."

"OK hang on"

The picture on the device became fuzzy as Wade ran towards the woman, _"A friend of mine from the United States would like to say hello."_

The device quit shaking and Ron was treated to the sight of the largest breasts he had ever seen. They were much larger than Monique's and he was left speechless. The woman on the other end waived, "Hallo"

"Shabbat Shalom" Ron finally croaked out.

The woman giggled, "How is things in United States?"

Ron could tell she was trying to show off her English skills so he kept his side of the conversation in Hebrew, "Things are very hard…I mean to say good…here…not hard…unless you would like them to be that way."

The attractive woman's sun bleached hair cascaded over her shoulders only serving to highlight her bronze skin and angular features. She giggled once again and began to bite her thumbnail, "What is your name."

He looked away from the screen to once again check to see if he was alone, "Stoppable, Ron Stoppable, but most people just call me The Ron. But what is more important is what your name is?"

Before she could answer Ron could hear a commotion and then the view screen began to jump erratically. He got the distinct impression that Wade was running for his life, "Wade what's happening?"

After a few moments the screen started shaking and Wade reappeared sweating and out of breath, "Sorry…Ron…boyfriend…going to beat…my ass…had to run…He's big….big guy."

Ron began laughing, "I bet this never happens in your basement."

"No…no…but then again…you don't get to see…hooters like that…either." Wade said grinning.

"Got that right, OK back to business…I need topographical maps of the Mt. McKinney National Park." Ron told him in a more serious tone.

"Let me get my laptop and head over to the café' across the street. They have wifi over there." Wade explained.

"_No, I'm on the phone with Ron not another girl...See."_

Ron saw a very tweaked Shari staring back at him, "Hi Shari...I have to borrow Wade for a bit. I hope you do not mind?"

"Yes I do mind, Wade is going to download the new unreleased Brittina album for me." The girl replied angrily.

"_I already did that here is the disc."_ Wade told her in near perfect Hebrew.

He could barely tell what was going on until he spotted the string to Shari's bikini. Ron made a face, "Wade are you guys smackin' lips?"

"_I will be right back...Ten minutes at the most." _Wade's face reappeared looking flushed, "Sorry Ron...Had to keep the girlfriend happy."

Ron laughed, "Impossible to keep em' happy, take it from the Ron-Man...Good job on your Hebrew there buddy."

"Not a hard language once you get the rhythm...Let me get setup here." Wade said grinning as he assembled his laptop.

"Mt. McKinney National Park...Topographical maps if possible." Ron reminded him.

"OK, how's this?"

Ron looked at the array of maps as they were displayed across the Ronnunicator, "Man that's a big park...Any way to narrow it down, thermo imaging or something?"

He heard typing on Wade's end, _"How about this?"_

Three different areas showed up as having a great deal of heat around them. Ron looked at the areas and the various shades of red and yellow marking thermo activity. He followed the main road into the park and found one of the mountains that were closest to the road, "Wade highlight grid G6 on the map."

A much closer image filled the screen and Ron began tracing the roads. There was one road that you could barely make out that ran towards the top and disappeared inside the mountain. Then a second two lane paved road that wound out of site of the main road that also disappeared into the other side of the mountain.

"I think we'll start here. Can you get a GPS fix for us?"

The map changed again this time showing Ron where they were in relation to the grid point _"Looks like you guys are about an hour away."_ Wade observed.

"Yea, hey can you keep this image up...We're headed after Candy Mann he's got Kim inside there I think."

"_Sure"_

Ron licked his lips as he thought about things he would need, "Wade I'm going to need some passports and driver's licenses. I may have to leave the country in a hurry and I just as soon stay low profile from the authorities. If you know what I mean?"

"_Plan on going on a bit of a killing spree?" _

He bobbed his head back and forth as he gave the question some serious thought, "Oh...I wouldn't rule it out."

"_Right...I'll make you some fake Master Cards too."_

Ron smiled, "Thanks Wade, you really rock."

"_No big, good luck on finding Kim."_

Monique opened the door to the station wagon and handed Ron a Styrofoam container with some food in it. Ron looked at the white container suspiciously. Monique laughed and shook her head, "its chicken not pork."

"Ah good, we'll make a Jew out of you yet." Ron teased.

She rolled her eyes as Tirza slid into the passenger's seat, "Where to Ron?"

He looked up from his food and pointed down the two lane highway, "That way to infinite and beyond." He told her in the deepest voice that he could muster.

"Eat your food Space Ranger." Monique told him as they left the truck stop.

Tirza held up two condoms and showed them off to Ron, "Look what I found in the men's room. I found things to tickle Monique and make her happy."

Ron started to choke on his sandwich as he tried not to laugh. Monique gasped and quickly seized the offending objects and put them in her purse, "Tirza, we are so going to talk later."

* * *

"Turn in here at the scenic overlook."

Monique nodded, "You going to take over the wheel?"

Ron nodded his head, "Yea…We're close…I don't know how but I can just feel it."

They got out and quickly changed seats as they didn't want to arouse suspicion in their hunting clothes. Ron quickly put the car in gear and headed back out onto state road 110A. He drove for about three miles steadily ascending up in elevation towards the higher reaches of the mountains.

He quickly stole a glance in the rearview mirror and there sat Frank Yarbourgh whistling a catchy tune he couldn't quite pick up, "Yea I'm back."

Ron slowed as they approached a dirt road, "Nope, not this one, keep on up this big hill."

Frank turned to look over Monique once again and then shook his head, "I bet she gets to talkin' she never shuts up."

He rolled his eyes. Ron did not like being part of a captive audience where he couldn't respond. He spotted another dirt road and slowed down, "Nope not this one either. The road you want they is tryin' to hide about two miles up."

"Invented the Naco and you're driving this piece of shit, you're going to have to explain this me later." Frank told him as he continued to eye Monique.

Ron could barely see a road behind what at first appeared to be an overgrowth of vegetation. He made a hard right and was rewarded with a dirt road. Frank nodded, "Now you got it. The road forks just ahead, take the one to the right and find a place to stash the car. They got those fancy cameras and motion detectors up ahead."

He did as he was instructed. A small clearing came into view where Ron could stash the wagon and camouflage the station wagon from the road with old growth vegetation that was lying around every where you turned. Ron looked over the situation, _"All this junk must have been left from when they cleared this road…Path is a better word for it."_

Tirza and Monique began camouflaging the station wagon while Ron opened the window on the tailgate and began selecting his weapons of choice. He once again placed the Glocks on each hip as well as each shoulder holster. He only had two extra magazines for the guns so he knew he was going to have to pay close attention to how many rounds he fired.

Tirza crept up next to him and whispered, "Night discipline?"

Ron placed the two concussion grenades one in each pocket as he nodded, "Definitely night discipline."

"What's night discipline?" Monique asked in her normal speaking voice.

"It means be quiet woman." Tirza scolded her in a harsh whisper.

Monique shook her head and glared at her boyfriend and whispered menacingly, "When this is over we are so going to talk."

Ron handed Tirza the AK47 and a Smith & Wesson pistol before he froze. He had never actually fired any of the rifles in the back of the wagon. He turned to Tirza, "I'm taking the M4, I've never shot any of these rifles but I used the M4 in Lebanon."

Tirza nodded as Ron took the magazines out of the other two rifles and stuffed them in his pockets. He closed his eyes and did a mental count, _"Four Glocks, 16 rounds each, 64 rounds loaded two spare magazines 15 rounds each, that's 94 pistol rounds. One M4 three thirty round magazines, 90 rounds altogether for the rifle...Pepper spray."_ He thought and quickly grabbed the spray can and put it in his pocket, _"Let's see two concussion grenades, one in each pocket...Rufus"_ "Rufus" Ron called out to his secret weapon.

"Coming" The pink naked mole rat quickly scrambled out of the glove compartment and climbed into one of Ron's pants pockets.

He looked over the rear of the station wagon once again, _"I may be a little light on ammunition but I do have a magic sword."_

"You think you're carrying enough shit?"

Ron ignored the ghost and looked at the map on the Ronnunicator. He showed Tirza and Monique the image, _"We're here...I believe this to be an emergency escape road for Candy Mann. A back door if you will. I intend to come with about two hundred meters of the entrance and then swing to the east for about 2,500 to 3,000 meters to the main entrance where we will open our assault."_

Monique shook her head and whispered, "Why not just go in the back door?"

A look of total disgust came across Ron's face as he bluntly answered her question, "Because then I wouldn't get to shoot my guns as much...I'm dragging all this hardware around by God I'm going to use it."

Monique rolled her eyes as Ron gave the order to move out. The quietly ascended the path to where Ron could see the heavily armed entrance to the lair. Four men milling about under a mercury vapor light talking to one another in a language Ron believed to be Spanish.

One of the guards lit up a cigarette from the distance away Ron was he could clearly see the man's face, _"Hispanic, moustache, pistol on right hip radio with a detachable hand mic attached to his uniform, rifle appears to be an M16...At least I'll have plenty of ammo inside."_ He thought as he motioned for Monique and Tirza to move out slowly.

"Man you should have wasted those guys." A voice from nowhere called out.

It was all Ron could do not to jump, _"Damn it Frank stop that."_ He thought angrily.

They moved slowly for another hour as the main entrance into the facility came into view. He motioned for Tirza to move closer, "You and Monique move around to the right about 2,000 meters and see what's out there. I'll watch your backs."

Tirza nodded and tapped Monique on the shoulder and motioned for her to follow him. Once they were out of earshot Ron laid on the ground and took aim with his rifle on the main door, "OK Frank, what's going this time?"

"Aw man I just want to watch the show." The ghost said apologetically.

Ron shook his head and whispered, "So are you like here to help me or what?"

"I'm only supposed to observe. The Guardians are big on observin' keeps their hands clean in case someone screws up." Frank said bitterly.

Ron nodded, "So tell me about these Guardians."

"What's to tell all powerful creatures that can bend space and time but haven't got the sense God gave a cockroach."

"Really" Ron said patiently.

"Oh yea, they want you to worship them. Their big on the whole God thing, mostly on the punishment end...They ain't done me no favors. I don't follow the game plan." Frank said angrily.

"Then why are you here helping me?" Ron inquired as he watched Tirza and Monique begin to work their way back to his position.

"Well they figure you'll listen to me more than Sun Chi. Me bein' an American and all."

"So what do you do when you're not helping me?"

Frank shrugged, "Nothin' been doin' nothin' for close to twenty years now...They's afraid of you, you know?"

Ron spun around, "What? Why?"

"The only thing I can figure is you don't follow their path...You want to do your own thing...You ain't no Catholic so you don't worship no Pope if you get my drift." Frank said knowingly.

He blinked and nodded his head as Monique and Tirza lay down on the ground next to him, _"Have to think on this later."_

"There is only an access road, no other men as far as we could see." Tirza reported.

Ron nodded his head, "Let's work our way to the left try to stay in the shadows until we hit the entrance. If we are discovered we will chain fight our way inside. Any questions?"

Monique raised her hand, "What happens once we're inside?"

"Everyone in front of me dies, everyone behind me lives." Ron quickly explained as he brought his M4 up to his shoulder and began to move out towards the main entrance.

They moved quickly towards the clearing, Ron, Tirza and bringing up the rear Monique. The mercury vapor lighting gave off a blue green color that spilled out of the entrance. Two guards were walking up the road and spotted the three intruders.

The guards yelled for them to halt in Spanish as Ron swung his rifle towards them, _"So much for surprise."_ He thought as he squeezed off the first shots of the coming battle.

* * *

Will Du looked out the window of the Global Justice hover plane was almost to target. He turned his attention to his men, "Red team what is your mission?"

"TO HIT THE GROUND AND SECURE THE DOORS!" Red team shouted in unison.

The number one Global Justice agent grinned wryly, "Blue team what is your mission."

"TO FOLLOW YOU IN AND CAPTURE THE STORES!" Blue team responded.

Will Du had rehearsed the men over and over again in the Denver Adam's Mark Hotel before setting out on their late night raid. He had taken all the factors into consideration for his full proof plan, "Green team what is your mission?"

"TO AID YOU IN CAPTURING CANDY MANN AND LOOK MEAN FOR TV!" The green team shouted.

Will looked up as the ready light went from red to green, "LINES OUT, LET'S GO!" He shouted as he fast roped to the ground at the opening of the entrance.

The teams were beginning to assemble as Will's attention was captured by the sound of automatic weapons fire coming from inside the facility. He walked forward and spotted a neat line of dead men for as long as he could see inside the underground lair.

He turned back to his men, "Change of plan, Red team mission remains the same, Blue and Green teams follow me. We need to take down this shooter before anyone else dies needlessly."

They teams ran to the end of the corridor before Will Du spotted a microphone hanging on the wall next to a closed door, _"I bet I can put out a message facility wide with this and convince the shooter of the futility of his actions."_ He reasoned as he reached out and picked up the microphone.

* * *

Ron quickly changed magazines on the M4 as he took a break at the end of a corridor to gauge what his reception would be on the other side, _"Four men 200 meters coming this way."_

He looked the other way towards Tirza and Monique as they had finally caught up to him. He held up four fingers and pointed down corridor. Tirza held up a hand and nodded. Ron spun around the corner and fired four quick shots.

Tirza followed closely behind him found he had no one to shoot at, "Ronnie I want point, you are killing them faster than I can shoot at them."

"No you don't you need to stay back here with me...I'm unarmed." Monique reminded him.

"Here hold this then." Tirza ordered her as he shoved the Smith and Wesson pistol in her hands.

Monique gripped the alien object with both hands, "Oh...I...I..." Her protests were lost as both Ron and Tirza were moving away from her.

Four more men appeared in a doorway and Ron shot all four of them before they could enter the corridor. Tirza fired one round after all four of the men were down. They heard it ricochet off the door way and then they heard a groan. Ron glanced at Tirza, "I think you got one."

Ron peered inside the door into a darkened corridor that had no exit, _"If I was going to keep someone a prisoner this is where it would be."_

He ventured into the corridor slowly thru the open door. He found the man Tirza had shot trying reach for his rifle, "Oh no you don't" Ron said quickly as he took the gun away.

Tirza saw the man as he came into the corridor, "Gut shot, he won't last long."

The guard let loose with a string of obscenities in Spanish before Ron finished him off. Tirza looked at Ron with his big round sad eyes. Ron shook his head, "What?"

"I wanted to finish the job."

Ron shook his head, "Guard the door while I see what's down here."

Monique left Tirza standing by the door way as she followed Ron down the darkened corridor. He tried the first room and the door was open. Ron looked in and it was empty. He went to the room across the corridor it was empty as well. They both looked at the only door that was left. Monique watched as he reached for the knob to find it locked.

He pointed at the door, "This is the one, signal Tirza." He told her as he slung the rifle over his shoulder.

Monique turned and quickly signaled to Tirza as a flash of white light briefly lit up the corridor. She turned to Ron quickly as he stuffed something back into his pocket before he kicked in the door. Monique and Ron both gasped at the sight that greeted them.

"NO" Ron said instinctively before his brain could register what he was seeing. Kim was laying on the floor with her back to them bound and gagged. It appeared to the two of them that they were too late and that Kim was in fact dead.

As angry as Ron was at her, he never wished her dead. Now here she was lying on a cold concrete floor bound and gagged dead. He was becoming hardened and callous to death but not death like this, not Kim. Ron took two steps into the room, _"Oh God, Oh God, What am I going to tell her mother...Oh No."_

Images of their childhood flashed into his mind. Warm summer days that they thought would never end as they would play together. He remembered following her around on pretend missions to find diamond thieves and puppy smugglers around their neighborhood when Kim wanted to be a private eye.

He remembered eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk that her mother would make and how Kim would lecture him on the importance of eating the crust even though he didn't like it. Long forgotten memories began to flood his mind as he stared at the body of Kim Possible.

Ron felt a lump in his throat and tried hard not to tear up when he saw her begin to struggle to turn over. He let out a relieved chuckle. They had made it in time. Ron reached into his pocket and produced the Lotus Blade. He mentally imaged a folding knife and the magic sword assumed the role he imagined.

"Here you go." He said quietly as he cut the gag from Kim's mouth.

She struggled at first before working up enough saliva to croak out a greeting, "Hey"

"Hey yourself." Ron said happily as he cut the bonds from her hands and then her feet.

Kim tried to stand but couldn't as she collapsed into a heap, "Have been tied up...long time."

"You alright?" Ron asked quietly.

She nodded her head, "Going to need help...getting around."

Ron turned to Monique who was still holding Tirza's pistol in both hands and shaking like a leaf. He quickly snatched the firearm away from her, "Give me that before you shoot both of us...Help her up we have to move."

Almost as an afterthought he turned back to face Kim, "This changes nothing I'm still mad at you." He then quickly turned away so she couldn't see him smiling relieved that she was still alive.

He heard gunfire from the end of the corridor and quickly ran there to see what was happening. Tirza was pointing to another corridor, "Two maybe more stuck their heads out down that way."

"Go back help Monique with Kim." Ron ordered as he began to slowly make his way towards where Tirza was shooting.

A loud booming voice came over the loudspeakers throughout the facility causing him to jump as it startled him. He closed his eyes and shook his head as he instantly recognized who it was, _"Will Du...Damn, Global Justice is here."_

"ATTENTION CANDELL MANN THIS IS GLOBAL JUSTICE AGENT WILLIAM DU. WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PLANS AND HAVE COME TO STOP YOU SURRENDER AT ONCE."

"Oh Christ on a stick Du, how big of an idiot are you? Next you'll be wanting me to throw down my weapons and come out with my hands up." Ron exclaimed.

"TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS DOING THE SHOOTING, THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP."

Ron shook his head in disgust, "I don't believe it...Rufus your on."

A bleary eyed pink naked mole rat popped up from Ron's leg pocket, "Huh"

"How can you sleep with all this shooting going on?" Ron shook his head and didn't wait for an answer, "Global Justice down that way." He pointed down the corridor they had just come from, "I need a diversion, tie them up for as long as you can and then find me...Got it?"

Rufus snapped a parade ground salute and leaped from his pocket, "Geronimo"

Monique, Tirza and Kim finally reached Ron's location. He turned to them, "Stay tight with me. We need to move quickly."

Ron shouldered his M4 and pulled out two Glocks, _"No time for finesse now...Straight hard core killing is needed."_

* * *

The alarm buzzers began to sound in the main control room of Candy Mann's lair. He was in a meeting to discuss the details of Kim Possible's transport to Saudi Arabia with his colleague Mr. Heath when the alarm claxons sounded.

"Come Mr. Heath let us find out what is going on."

The two emerged from his office and walked to the security console, "Mr. Valdez what is the disturbance?"

"Your Excellency three people have forced their way in the main entrance and they appear to be armed."

Candy Mann looked at the monitor, "The buffoon and two others turn off the alarms and have them killed." He said quickly before turning around and heading back into his office followed by Mr. Heath.

"I...yes sir" Mr. Valdez responded weakly as he began to place calls for support.

"So tell me Sebastian you have not commented on my new wardrobe. What do you think old friend." Candell Mann asked as he donned his top hat and cane to compliment his immaculate new suit.

Mr. Heath smiled and bowed, "You are truly a vision in Lavender sir."

"I'm going for the Willy Wonka effect." Mann added slyly.

"Oh and sir you have nailed it to perfection."

Mann smiled a toothy grin at the compliment, "You just can't beat a top hat and tails...So what are your plans for Ms. Possible?"

Mr. Heath smiled, "Well first the young lady will be secreted out of the country by way of Long Beach where she will be loaded onto a tanker for Dubai. There she will be tended to and hair bleached blond and prepared for resale...I don't like to get into specifics...Some of the details can be quite...disturbing."

"As you wish Mr. Heath all that is important is that she is out of my way." Mann exclaimed happily.

A red light flashed on his telephone, "Can these people do nothing properly." Mann said in disgust as he picked up the phone, "YES"

"Ah your Excellency...I know you would want to be notified about this immediately but..."

"What spit it out man?" He growled into the telephone receiver.

"Well sir...The buffoon has killed everyone I have sent to kill him."

"How many have you sent so far?" Mann asked.

"Umm...37 if I remember right."

Mann's face broke out into a grin, "The buffoon has machismo I'll say that for him. Now I will have to send my ladies of the evening after him."

Mann quickly walked back into his office and pressed a red button on top of the desk, a door slid open and four female robots entered the room. The robots were of a cybertronic design, and they also appeared to constructed entirely of candy.

"My beautiful ladies of the evening my greatest creations perfect in every respect. I have need of your services." The 6ft. tall robots very shapely, designed to appear pleasurable to the mind of a tormented soul.

The robots sported a white chocolate coating for a body, black licorice hair, red candy lips, blue gum drop nose, soulless glowing yellow eyes and matching black sequined evening gowns. On the hip they sported a large bull whip, the dreaded licorice whip.

"There are intruders in my facility. Go and kill them my beauties." Mann ordered as he began to roar with maniacal laughter as the robots quickly left the room on their deadly mission.

An amused Candell Mann walked out of his office and spoke to Mr. Valdez, "The robots are tied into the security network. They should kill our enemies very quickly."

"Your Excellency we have...I am very sorry to report a new problem. Global Justice has just passed thru the entrance." Valdez shook from fear at the information he had just imparted to his less than sane employer.

"WHAT?"

The voice of Will Du suddenly called out over the loudspeaker to him, "ATTENTION CANDELL MANN THIS IS GLOBAL JUSTICE AGENT WILLIAM DU. WE ARE AWARE OF YOUR PLANS AND HAVE COME TO STOP YOU SURRENDER AT ONCE."

Candell Mann rolled his eyes, "On the eve of my greatest triumph and they insist on interfering. Who does this Betty Director think she is anyway?"

"TO THE INDIVIDUAL WHO IS DOING THE SHOOTING, THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP."

"Where are the Global Justice agents Mr. Valdez?" Mann asked calmly.

"Your Excellency they are still in the entrance shipping and receiving area sir."

Mann nodded his head, "Seal the entrance turn on the knockout gas."

Valdez did as he was ordered and on the video screen he watched as the knockout gas overcame the agents before they could make it thru the doorway. Only Will Du was quick enough to make to the other side before he was overcome by the gas.

Du quickly closed the door behind him and then fell to his knees gasping for breath. Once his head began to clear he stood up and looked out the small window of the door to the prone shapes of his men lying unconscious throughout the receiving area.

Du tilted his head to one side and stroked his chin, _"Well this certainly complicates things."_

* * *

With Global Justice behind them and who knew what in front of them Ron Stoppable decided it was time to step up the attack. At a slow jog he made his way up the corridor shooting anyone that got in his way.

The idea was simple enough. Everyone behind him lives. Everyone in front of him dies. So far this evening he was carrying out his intentions to the letter. He was carrying them out so well that he had somehow lost Monique, Tirza and Kim in the process.

The three reached a intersection of three tunnels. Monique looked around, "OK where did he go?"

Sporadic gun fire from straight ahead answered their question. Tirza pointed down the tunnel, "That way."

They once again ran into intersecting tunnels, and had to stop. Kim looked down the hall and saw a leg sticking out from around a corner a hundred meters away. She pointed towards the leg, "Follow the bodies." She said in a horse whisper.

Ron turned a corner to enter what he believed to be a lab. He quickly entered much to the shock and dismay of the scientists who were busy perfecting their super bug. There were eight in the room in and Ron shot each of them one by one as they tried to dive for cover.

A woman with mousy brown hair cowered in a corner looking on at her dead colleagues as the blond man with glowing blue eyes raised his pistol to shoot her. Marjorie Allen began to whimper, "P...P...Please don't kill me."

Ron pointed the Glock at the woman before a voice in the back of his head proclaimed the woman to be an innocent. Once the call was made he turned and strode out of the room as the woman broke down into a hysterical crying fit.

William Du held his electronic stun baton at the ready as he slowly made his way along the path of dead bodies. Along the way about every fourth body or so he would stop and examine a corpse, _"Head shots, all of these people suffered head shots...Most never even fired a single round."_

A noise to his left captured his attention as he stood defensive weapon at the ready. Suddenly from out of nowhere a big pink squishy object slammed into the side of his head with such a force as to knock him to the ground.

Will scrambled up to take a defensive position and found that he was alone. Alone except for a tiny hairless creature with large formidable teeth that was smiling and waiving at him, "Hello"

The top Global Justice agent shook his head in disbelief and then it came to him as he watched the little pink rodent disappear down a tunnel, _"The Rufus Factor...So Ron Stoppable is near and is also probably my shooter."_

He took off after the naked mole rat in a blind run, _"Candy Mann and Stoppable in one go. I will become a legend in the espionage community."_ He thought as he blindly chased after Rufus.

"Booyahahahaha" He heard the mole rat mocking him from up a head in the tunnel

He ran towards the sound of the laughter before he realized it was a trap. Will stumbled over a rope that was hidden from him in the darkness. The trap was devised in advance by a clever naked mole rat. It consisted of a rope strung between two large stainless steel racks that held machine parts causing both shelves to collapse on top of him knocking him momentarily unconscious.

Rufus quickly ran up beside the unconscious form of Will Du and patted him on the side of the head, "Awww Poor boy, so sad, so dumb." He chattered as he fell on his back laughing before jumping back up to his feet to go and find his master.

Ron Stoppable believed he was coming close to finding the end of the facility as he left the laboratory. Then suddenly the lights in his corridor went out. Only the emergency lights remained on giving the dirt walls an eerie luminescence.

He quickly holstered his pistol and brought his rifle up to his shoulder. He felt something breeze past his ear to crack against the wall beside him. Ron dropped quickly to a crouch as a pair of yellow eyes came into view.

"_Robots"_ he thought quickly remembering the last time that he and Kim ran across Candy Mann in the South American jungles of Brazil.

Ron squeezed a round off aiming between the glowing eyes down the tunnel to his right and was rewarded as the head of the female robot exploded in a shower of sparks. His success was short lived as he felt something coil around his rifle and yank it from his hands with a loud crack as he felt a jolt of electricity course thru his body. He fell backwards from the jolt trying to pull his Glock from a holster on his hip. The gun broke free of its restraint and Ron fired two quick follow up shots towards another set of glowing yellow eyes on his left.

He knew he hit the robot but he couldn't gauge how badly as he was jolted once again from his right side as the sparking end of whip lashed his arm causing him to drop the pistol, "Aughhhhhhhhhh" Ron screamed in pain as he rolled away from his new attacker.

Kim screamed and jerked in pain at what felt like a thousand bees stinging her arm at once, "Ron...Ron's in trouble...that way." She pointed towards another intersecting tunnel.

Ron spotted the flaming wreckage of the second robot before extending his hand, "Blade" he hissed angrily as the crack of the licorice whip just missed his head. A ball of yellow light sprang from his pocket and Ron could feel the power of the finely woven rope handle that was now in his grasp.

Ron charged the two remaining robots as they began to try and lash him with the whip. He swung the Lotus Blade in a wide arc deflecting the licorice whips and sending a shower of sparks in all directions. With a quick reverse stroke he severed the head of the third robot before it could bring to lash him again.

With one robot remaining he rolled to the left to avoid the tip of the licorice whip. Quickly scrambling to his feet he slashed downward severing the arm holding the whip before bringing the blade back up to sever the final robots head clear of the body.

He wiped the sweat that was running down his forehead with his arm before examining it closer, _"God please no more damage to the arm."_ He thought as his breathing returned to normal.

The damage to the camouflage fatigues was minimal. He took a quick peak inside the damaged sleeve and was relieved to see only a red blister, _"Not bad, not bad at all."_

He imagined the Lotus Blade as a Gerber Silver Trident combat knife before tucking the weapon back into his waist band. He walked wearily back towards his fallen weapons and picked them up. He was becoming tired, _"We have to wrap this up soon I don't know how much longer I can go."_

Candy Mann sat in his office watching the status light go out of his last female robot. Clearly everyone from Adrena Lynn to his own memory of what happened in Brazil two years ago had been mistaken. The buffoon was no longer a buffoon.

He turned to his red phone and picked it up, "Valdez begin processing the chemical into the water supply."

"_I am sorry you're Excellency but we no longer control the pumping rooms or the laboratory."_

Mann nodded his head as he began to weigh his options, "Valdez is Heath and Marcos still there with you?"

"_Yes your Excellency."_

"Assemble them at your station I am on my way." Mann said irritably as he hung up the phone. He was becoming keenly aware that his plan was in the process of collapsing entirely.

Mann quickly walked out of his office and down the steel grate stairs to Valdez's security station. He looked at the computer technician Marcos, "How long will it take to reroute control of the pump room to our location here?"

Lopez lowered his head and ran the numbers, "Ten minutes at the most."

"Do it." He ordered firmly before motioning Sebastian Heath to follow him, "Sebastian we have known and done business with each other for the last 27 years. I want you to take the case with Lynn's two million dollars for your self. I will be in touch down the road...Good luck to you Mr. Heath." Mann said with a slight smile as he extended a white gloved hand to his friend.

"It has been good working with you again sir...How may I go about exiting your facility?"

Mann pointed towards a set of stairs that lead upwards to a steel door, "That way old friend."

Sebastian Heath bowed courteously, turned picked up the aluminum case containing two million dollars and began climbing the stairs to the top. He turned to glance back at his old friend one more time as he picked up his cane and twirled it before setting it down on the ground. He tipped his lavender top hat to his friend amiably. Then Heath turned and left the operations center.

Mann watched his friend leave and then turned to Valdez, _"Go Mr. Heath and delay my attacker for a few precious moments before you die so that I may live."_

"Ready my helicopter for a fast departure."

"Your pilots are dead your Excellency."

Mann nodded at the latest bit of unpleasant news, "Very well then."

Sebastian Heath had just made it down the corridor when he ran into a blonde man pointing a hand gun at him, "Who are you?"

"Uh...I...I'm Sebastian Heath...I...I'm an accountant...an actuary actually...I...I was employed by Mr. Mann to do a risk cost analysis."

The blonde man continued to stare at him making him feel uneasy. When he spoke the voice was hollow and otherworldly and it was terrifying to the man, "What's in the pretty silver case?"

"Two...two...two million dollars...Would you like it?" The man stuttered nervously.

"Sha of course I would like it."

"You...you...you can open it if you like...or not." Heath shook when there was no immediate answer.

"You open it." The blonde man ordered.

"Yes...fine." Heath opened the case and showed the blonde man the money before closing the case, "I can go free now...correct?"

The blonde man shook his head, "No, you sell women into slavery." The gaping black hole of the Glock was the last thing on this planet he would ever see as the blonde man pulled the trigger ending his life.

Sebastian Heath's body slumped to the ground as Ron plucked the aluminum case from his hands, _"Not a bad payday for this mess...lackeys are starting to flee I must be getting close."_

Ron entered the door the man had just came out of and spotted his quarry. He began walking down the steps quietly as the men below him worked. Juan Valdez looked up the metal stairs to see Ron's oncoming approach.

Valdez quickly stood up before a pink squishy thing slammed into the side of his head knocking him to the ground. Valdez hurriedly crawled to a storage locker to escape the claws and teeth of the wild animal attacking him. He closed him self inside for protection as Rufus closed the lid and locked it tight trapping the man.

Marcos quickly ran into the room, "Sir its ready, its ready." Before he was shot by Ron as he reached the bottom of the stairs leading from Canell Mann's office. His body hit the ground with a dull thud.

Candy Mann applauded as he stepped over the body of the computer technician, "Bravo, bravo Mr. Stoppable. My you have become quite a murderous young man since we last met."

Rufus ran up onto the security console and looked at the various arrays of security cameras as Ron paused to scratch the naked mole rat's head. Before turning his attention to the Candy Mann, "High School guidance counselor said I would be good used car salesman or a psychotic killing machine. I have a certain moral flexibility concerning such matters if you know what I mean."

Candy Mann smirked as he saw Ron holding the aluminum case full of money, "I see you ran into Mr. Heath on his way out. If you agree to leave in peace with your friends I will let you keep it and not kill you."

The door at the top of the stairs opened up and Monique, Kim and Tirza entered the facility, "Hey Ronnie, who's the guy with the funny hat." Tirza called out to him.

Ron ignored his friends as he continued to stare down Candy Mann, "That's big talk from a guy wearing a funny hat."

Mann chuckled and began to close the distance towards Ron twirling his cane innocently as he approached, "I suppose you would like to know what my evil scheme is?"

He shot Candy Mann in the head, knocking his body backwards to lay sprawled on the ground. Ron smiled and shook his head, "So don't care."

Ron turned and looked down at Rufus who was pointing towards a door past the body of Candell Mann, "Exit there."

"Good boy" He told him as he patted him on the head.

"Uh Ron..." Kim's voice caught his attention.

He looked up to see Kim pointing behind him. He turned in time to see Candy Mann's body stand upright with glowing red eyes and a evil twisted grin covering his face, "You disappoint Mr. Stoppable shooting a man before he has had his say."

Ron blinked twice as he watched the bullet hole between Mann's eyes seal up and vanish from view. Hirotaka's words rang in his ears from when they last met in Japan, _"Beware of Candy Mann because he is evil...Now I know what he meant."_

"Uh oh" He said quietly as he let his rifle slid off of his shoulder and fall to the ground.

"You see Mr. Stoppable there is more to me than meets the eye. You had done so well today it is a shame that I shall have to kill you now." Mann said as he drew his sword from his cane.

Ron's face contorted to an equally evil grin as his eyes glowed a pale blue, "CANDY MANN...I THINK IT'S TIME I INTRODUCED YOU TO MY LITTLE FRIEND." Ron screamed as he pulled the combat knife from his pants.

Once the weapon was free it changed into the ancient weapon of the Gods, the Lotus Blade. Ron held the sword in front of him as it gave off a pale blue light. The rope handle dug into the flesh of his hands ensuring a good grip and filling Ron with a feeling of invincible power.

Mann stepped back, "You wield the blade?" he said in awe of his opponent.

"BOOYAHAHAHAHA" The bone chilling cry echoed throughout the control room. Forcing his three friends to step back towards the stairs unsure of what they were witnessing.

The raw omnipotent power coursing thru Ron's body awakened ancient impulses. Firing synapses in his brain he didn't know existed as it sent one overpowering message to every fiber of his being, _"ATTACK"_

Will Du regained consciousness in the tunnel and quickly dug him self out of Rufus's trap. He was alone and he knew it as he quickly sprinted in a mad dash to find anyone at this point to arrest. He was not going to turn in a failed second failed mission report to Dr. Director.

He would have Mann or Stoppable if it was the last thing he would ever do on this earth.

Du slowly made his way back to where he ran into 'The Rufus Factor' and turned left heading deeper into the facility. His keen penetrating mind analyzing clues as he began to follow the bodies, _"I bet if I just follow the bodies it will lead me straight to Stoppable. Or Mann, maybe Stoppable is working for Mann? I'll have a big office in Geneva when this mission is done. The agent who single handedly captured both Ronald Stoppable and Candell Mann."_

Candell Mann continued to back peddle trying to tire his younger opponent out as he slashed and maneuvered with the Lotus Blade. Mann quickly ducked and rolled away from two large industrial sized fuse boxes and watched in stunned amazement as the Lotus Blade sliced cleanly thru conduit sending a shower of sparks and plunging the lair into momentary darkness.

Kim, Monique and Tirza gasped because now the only illumination they could see was the red and blue glowing eyes of the combatants and the sparks emanating from the swords as they clashed and clanged together

Emergency lighting came on revealing that Ron and Candy Mann were both struggling for the upper hand on top of a stainless steel work table. Mann fell off to one side and quickly sprang to his feet sweeping his sword just over the top of the table forcing Ron to do a back flip landing on the floor. He now had Mann lined up and brought the sword down savagely as Mann stumbled backward to narrowly avoid the blow that had just sliced the table in half.

Both combatants were now sweating and breathing heavily. Ron had an abundance of saliva in his mouth that he quickly spat onto the ground making sure to never take his eyes off of his target.

Mann was trying to move ever closer to door to try and escape. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer against the younger man, "What do you say we call this a draw."

Ron wiped his sweat soaked hair before shaking his head, "No"

Before Mann could react Ron was on him again this time forcing him away from the exit. Mann retreated behind a bank of servers to gain distance from Ron. The Lotus Blade held tightly in his hands made quick work of the computer server racks.

As sparks rained down on him Candy Mann quickly ran out from behind the destroyed units to take up another position. Ron quickly countered his move, _"His trying to get closer to Kim and the others to use them as shields."_

Mann backed away as Ron took away his angle of attack. Ron glanced at Kim, "EXIT, GET OUT NOW!" He screamed as he tried to dodge a lunge from Mann.

Mann had successfully taken advantage in Ron's lapse of concentration as he was able to knock the Lotus Blade free of his hands. Ron grabbed a hold of Mann's sword hand and dug desperately in his shirt pocket looking for an edge.

Candell Mann grinned lewdly as he believed that he now possessed the upper hand in the battle until he saw what Ron took from his pocket, a can of pepper spray. Mann's eyes grew large as he tried to free Ron's hand to deliver the killing stroke.

Ron popped off the cap and sprayed the obnoxious liquid into Mann's eyes. Candy Mann let out what sounded between a cry of pain and one of anger as he shut his eyes tightly. Ron pushed Mann away narrowly avoiding the desperate slashes of Candy Mann as he moved out of range.

Mann tried to wipe his eyes on the sleeve of his topcoat but this only succeeded in spreading the pepper spray and making his skin burn as well. Candell Mann was blinded and tried to escape in a direction that he believed the exit to be in.

He did not see Ron hold out his hand and a flash of yellow light fly towards it to assume the shape of the Lotus Blade once again. He did not see the pale blue light given off by the sword as it sliced thru the air and finally thru his neck severing his head, killing him instantly.

The head fell to the ground the eyes were now wide open and devoid of pupils. Ron stared at the head momentarily before suavely kicking it across the room, "No virgins for you."

The head bounced across the room before coming to rest. Ron was getting ready to turn and leave when he saw the head begin to glow yellow and then red, _"Oh no, what now?"_

A squeal sounded that made Ron cover his ears as an energy ball shot forth from Candy Mann's open mouth. The ball bounced around the room before finally going passing thru the exit door and out of sight.

"_Well that was weird….No weirder than killing a man in a top hat and tails I suppose."_ He thought as he stumbled over to where Rufus was standing ever vigilant. He was too tired to talk he patted his leg and Rufus jumped in his pocket. He visualized the Lotus Blade as a money clip and shoved it into his pocket. He reached down on the floor and retrieved his rifle and picked up his case full of money and made his way to the exit door.

He had his hand on the door when suddenly the door to the upper control room burst open and Will Du stormed into view at the top of the metal stairs, "STOP STOPPABLE."

Ron looked at the Global Justice agent and shook his head in disgust, _"Did he really just say that?"_ He thought as he continued to open the exit door.

"NO CAN DO...DU." He gave a small chuckle as he disappeared behind the door.

He looked down the tunnel to the exit and saw that it wasn't quite finished yet as tools and materials lined the walkway, _"Hmmmm just enough time to set up an ambush."_ He thought evilly as he made his way to a steel ladder that led to the outside.

Du saw the headless body of Candell Mann lying on the floor and the killer leaving the lair. He knew if he was to salvage anything from this night that Stoppable would have to be captured alive.

He quickly ran down the steel steps not caring about the loud noise he was making. He ran to the exit door just as Ron Stoppable's leg disappeared from sight at the top of a metal ladder, "I GOT YOU NOW STOPPABLE." He shouted as he ran down the tunnel.

Debris lined the corridor everywhere. Du paid little attention to it as he stepped on a fallen piece of diamond plate flooring at the bottom of the ladder. An object squirted out and a sickening feeling came over him all at once, 'Trap"

He tried to scramble away from the concussion grenade just as another one fell from the sky. The explosion of the two grenades picked Will Du up and mashed him against the side of the earthen tunnel rendering him unconscious and causing him multiple internal injuries.

"Bombs away." Rufus chuckled as Ron patted his head and turned to walk outside into the night air and find his friends.

The three were waiting for him just outside a sliding door. Ron handed Tirza his rifle and aluminum case so he could take off his sweat soaked camouflage hunting shirt. Ron reached down and picked up the case, "Let's go find the car."

They walked down the path to where the car was hidden before Kim had Monique stop, "Is that it?"

Ron turned and looked at the red headed woman in the moon light, "What do you mean is that it?"

Kim turned and looked back up the hill, "Well when we used to knock over a liar there was always an explosion. Where's the explosion Ron?"

Ron shook his head in disbelief, "She doesn't even say thank you for saving me Ron. No its where's the explosion Ron."

Kim giggled, "Thanks for saving me Ron."

It was too late however as Ron was still juiced up from adrenaline and began to mock her, "WHERE'S THE EXPLOSION RON? WHERE'S THE EXPLOSION RON? Not even going to ask me how I am?"

"How are you?"

"Not bad, got into a dispute with a female robot with a whip…Took a blow to the arm…hurt too." Ron told her as he rubbed his arm.

"Tell me about it."

"Where's the explosion Ron?"

"Well?"

"Well we're in a National Park you just can't go around blowing things up. You want me to go to jail or something?" He explained as they walked to the car.

Tirza and Monique looked at one another and smiled. Tirza finally spoke up, "Ronnie what's with the glowing blue eyes and the sword thingie?"

Ron turned and looked at the couple, "What, ain't you ever seen a guy take someone down with a magic sword before?"

Tirza shook his head, "No"

"Well now you have. It happens all the time here in the United States."

Monique chuckled and shook her head as she smiled at Kim, "He's smellin' himself."

"Oh yea" she said quietly.

Ron turned and started walking backwards poking fun at Kim, "Where's the explosion Ron? No, gee Ron I hope you didn't have to buy $700 worth of gear to come find me. Or, wow great job beheading the Super Freak."

They found the station wagon and dug it out of the debris that they had piled up in front of it earlier to hide it in the daylight. Ron loaded the back of the wagon up with his guns and newly found wealth.

"Now when it was me getting saved all the time it was always, Thanks KP. Now it's me doing the saving and all I get is a 'Where's the explosion Ron?' There is no justice in the world."

* * *

The peaceful tranquility of Mount Yamanouchi was broken as the large Shintoist bell that had stood for close to six centuries had begun to toll. The large cypress log that served as the striker moved back and forth on its own accord striking the ancient bell.

Yori ran as fast as she could while holding onto Mariko to find Master Sensei standing in the courtyard observing the phenomenon. Yori quickly bowed and took her place beside the old man, "Sensei what is happening?"

"Stoppable San has dispatched a Dark Guardian." Sensei said as he watched the cypress log strike the bell once again.

Yori whispered happily into Mariko's ear, "Father has started the cleansing."

Hirotaka approached Master Sensei and bowed, "Sensei we believe that the chosen one has struck down Candell Mann."

"It would appear so." Master Sensei replied calmly.

"What must we do now Master Sensei?" Hirotaka asked cautiously.

Master Sensei stood for a long moment. He stood until the bell finished tolling. "Now we must train even harder for the oncoming war. Let nothing weaken our resolve as we once again take up the sword to purge evil that will soon be upon us."

* * *

It was nearing midnight as the Crown Victoria station wagon slipped unnoticed out of a dirt access road form Mt. McKinney National Park. The main entrances and exits to the park were blocked off by the Jackson County Sheriffs department, the Colorado Highway Patrol and the FBI Special Crimes Task Force as the authorities were trying to get a handle on just what was going on inside of Mt. McKinney and exactly who or what waged an intense 23 minute blood bath that left 73 people dead including a wanted felon by the name of Candell Mann.

FBI Special Agent Mark Greenwalt and Rosalyn Cortez were escorted past the yellow crime scene tape by a Sheriffs Deputy, "Take road 110A till it intersects with route 'A' follow it until you reach the next road block."

Agent Greenwalt nodded, "Is the crime scene intact?"

"I believe so sir. I'm told they probably won't be trying to move any bodies out until daylight."

Rosalyn Cortez leaned down in her seat a little to make eye contact with the deputy, "Have they found anymore bodies?"

"I heard on the radio they found six more bodies, 73 dead so far...Oh and they detained a bunch of Global Justice Agents..."

"We're aware of that." Agent Greenwalt spat as he quickly accelerated away from the road block.

"I guess we should give up on keeping Global Justice's participation in this a secret." Agent Greenwalt said bitterly.

"Route A is up ahead." Rosalyn pointed to the turn as the car continued to climb towards the top of the mountain. "We can still keep their presence to a minimum."

The beige Chevrolet Impala tires made a grinding sound as it bit into the gravel of the access road. They could see at the top of the rise the emergency lights of what appeared to be dozens of emergency response vehicles.

The two agents left the car behind and continued on foot until they were stopped by another FBI field agent. Both Rosalyn and Agent Greenwalt produced their ID's, "Special Agent Greenwalt FBI and this is Rosalyn Cortez with FEMA."

"Yes sir Agent Greenwalt, we were notified you and a guest were coming. Right this way." The field agent turned and began to walk towards the entrance of what was once Candy Mann's lair.

Rosalyn Cortez looked at the structure, "How was he able to build all this here in a National Park?"

"We're looking into it." A voice from further inside called out to her.

"I know that voice." She said with a slight grin.

Agent Greenwalt smiled and shook the agents hand, "Special Agent Lucas Tanner, meet Ms. Rosalyn Cortez with FEMA."

Agent Tanner shook Rosalyn's hand, "FEMA is it…Last time we met you were posing as a Treasury official."

Agent Greenwalt rolled his eyes, "Spook?"

"Spook" Tanner confirmed.

"Should have known with all Global Justice activity going on Langley would send someone."

Now that her cover was blown she saw no point in keeping up the charade, "Yes I'm with Langley…I'm here to sort things out and dispose of your Global Justice problem and to find out exactly what happened."

Agent Tanner began to brief the two, "Well we have 73 dead in here and two survivors."

"Three survivors?" Rosalyn sounded surprised.

Agent Tanner looked at his notebook, "Well, other than the Global Justice guys who were merely unconscious cannon fodder for this mess. We have one Marjorie Allen who filed the report with us. A Juan Valdez a guard who says he was locked in a storage locker by a…Quote unquote…'pink freakish thing', and the third is William Du who apparently got too close to our shooter and got his arrogant ass handed to him on a plate."

The tour of the facility continued as Agent Tanner stopped at a few of the key spots in the complex, "This is the damnedest thing I've ever seen. Here we have lots of spent cartridge cases, lots of dead bodies and no real sense of where the shooter was located."

"What do you mean can't identify the location?" Rosalyn asked.

"It's like the guy was everywhere and nowhere all at once…Strange all this done by one man."

"You're sure it's one man?" Agent Greenwalt asked.

Agent Tanner looked at his notebook, "Marjorie Allen stated that a blonde man of average height with glowing blue eyes kicked in the door, killed everyone in the lab pointed the gun at her and then turned and walked away."

A stunned look came over Rosalyn's face, "Walked away?"

"I know it seems incredible but that is what she stated…Come let me show you the strangest part of the place." Agent Tanner waived them on.

"Watch the arm there Rosalyn." Agent Greenwalt warned as they stepped over another body.

They continued down the concrete corridors. Rosalyn Cortez looked up at the high ceilings and large tanks of tainted water and of course the bodies on the way to the next location, _"I've spent time in the Middle East and I've never seen anything like this_." She thought to herself.

Agent Greenwalt knelt down to look at one of the bodies of Candy Mann's security unit. He noticed the magazine to the gun and his uniform had been searched, "Looks like our man was running out of ammunition….Stripping the guards."

"Yes we saw that. Some of the guards in the staging area we just left had the magazines taken out of their M16's." Agent Tanner confirmed.

They finally reached the inner sanctum of what was once Candy Mann's lair. Agent Tanner pointed towards a middle aged man in a suit, "Here we have one Sebastian Heath. British arms dealer and reputed head of a white slavery ring that spirits girls off to Middle Eastern sheiks to serve as concubines…One round point blank between the eyes."

"Huh, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." Rosalyn commented.

Agent Tanner nodded and then motioned them past the destroyed female robots that had parts of their metallic heads blown off, "This is where it gets weird."

"As if this isn't weird enough already." Agent Greenwalt commented.

Rosalyn Cortez gasped as she looked at the main floor from atop a metal staircase. Tables were overturned a stainless steel lab table was cleaved into. Circuit boxes had cables severed and a few of them were still sparking, "It looks like a bomb went off in here."

Agent Tanner took them to see the body of Candell Mann, "Here is the body his head is over that way." He motioned towards another part of the lair.

Rosalyn knelt down and examined the decapitated body, _"The Israeli's are trying to hid something like this in Gaza City."_

She then walked the thirty feet to look over the decapitated head, "No pupils?"

"No blood either. The wound appears to have been sealed by whatever it was that took the head off. You ever hear of anything like this?" Agent Tanner asked as he scratched his head in wonderment.

Feigning ignorance was the best way to deal with the situation so Rosalyn withheld her information as she sought a clearer understanding of just what did happen, "No, no nothing like this…Any idea of what caused this?"

Agent Tanner began to answer and then stopped as he looked around to make sure that no one was listening to their conversation, "Mann was armed with a sword. We think he was sword fighting whoever killed him."

A stunned Rosalyn Cortez blinked, "Really….Sword fighting? Huh"

"Told you this was strange."

Rosalyn continued to survey the damage done to the room, "Is the tainted water contained?"

"Yes, the real FEMA people are having an incinerator brought in from the old Cody Mills Mobile Home Park…They had that dioxin problem back in the 80's. Contaminated soil has all been dealt with they just couldn't dispose of the contaminated incinerator so it's coming up here." Agent Tanner told her.

"You say you have Will Du here? I'd really like to see him." Rosalyn asked the Special Agent. She was in a particularly evil mood and she knew precisely what needed to be done with Agent Du.

"Hello, I don't believe we've met."

The three turned to the voice, "Mike Mueller, I'm with FEMA."

Rosalyn Cortez shook the man's hand, "Rosalyn Cortez."

"Yes the President said you would be in charge here. We've run into a problem with the incinerator. We have no way to fuel it to get it up to temperature." The official reported.

Agent Tanner lifted an eyebrow, "You're in charge?"

Rosalyn Cortez never batted an eye, "Yes well what do you need to get the incinerator up to temperature?"

"Fuel Ms. Cortez something that will burn hot enough for the incinerator to operate at a high enough temperature that it will not produce any pollutants." The man explained.

"What kind of fuel do you need?"

"Well at Cody Mills we used lab rats or animals from a local shelter after they were euthanized."

Rosalyn looked at the man, "Sir we have 73 bodies here that need to be disposed of. Will that suffice for fuel?"

Mr. Mueller became pale at the thought of incinerating human bodies but didn't put up a fuss, "Yes that will work nicely."

"How long do you think it will take to dispose of the tainted water?" Rosalyn asked.

"I would say it will take the next 24 to 36 months."

Agent Greenwalt shook his head, "Why can't we just dump the stuff."

Mr. Mueller face reddened, "If we did that we would be doing the job that Mr. Mann set out to do…Poison the water table."

"Agent Greenwalt, I will need for you to round up the remaining Global Justice agents and send them to the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth Kansas until we can figure out just what to do with them." Rosalyn ordered.

"How are we going to explain shutting down this section of the park for so long?" Mr. Mueller asked.

Rosalyn shrugged, "We found some old car batteries, EPA Super Fund cleanup after a month or two no one will care."

Mike Mueller nodded and turned to leave to continue helping his team catalog the various tanks and take water samples. Next Ms. Cortez turned her attention towards Agent Tanner, "I would like to see Agent Du now please."

They walked around to the end of lab where a fake wall was already moved out of the way to reveal a long white corridor, "We believe this was an escape route for Mann should his plan go awry…Only someone got to him before he could use it."

They reached the end of the corridor where a metal ladder headed up to the surface and at the bottom of the ladder sat a very injured Will Du with his hands cuffed behind him. He looked up at the two people coming towards him and began to protest, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO HOLD ME LIKE THIS…DO YOU HEAR ME?"

Agent Tanner leaned over and whispered to Rosalyn, "Perforated ear drums, he can't hear a thing."

"How did that happen?"

Agent Tanner grinned, "It appears that our shooter booby trapped that flat piece of aluminum under the ladder there and when Du stepped on it to pursue him up the ladder he triggered a concussion grenade…Oh then our shooter dropped another concussion grenade on top of him for insurance."

Rosalyn smiled as she looked at the wounded covert operative, "Hello Will can you hear me?"

"I CAN NOT HEAR YOU BUT I AM AN EXPERT LIP READER. YOU MUST ARREST RONALD STOPPABLE IMMEDIATLEY AND TURN HIM OVER TO ME." Will shouted.

Rosalyn Cortez decided she would play coy with the wounded man, "Now Will why would I want to do that?"

Will tried to sit upright before slumping back against the wall, "BECAUSE HE IS A MASS MURDER FOR WHAT HE DID HERE AND IN GAZA CITY."

The CIA agent knelt down in front of Will Du, "Do you know who I am?"

"YOU'RE ROSALYN CORTEZ HEAD OF THE CIA'S MIDDLE EAST DESK…YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE ME WITH MEDICAL TREATMENT AND…."

Will Du's protests were cut off as Rosalyn began to laugh, "I am obligated to do nothing. Tell me Will have you ever heard of Manuel Noriega?"

"WHAT?"

"Who not what" Rosalyn corrected him.

Will Du shook his head that he didn't know who Manuel Noriega was. Rosalyn smiled and filled him in on her plans. "Manuel Noriega was dictator of Panama until we sent in the marines to capture him. I know what your thinking, 'what's this got to do with me' right?"

The wounded Global Justice agent said nothing as he stared daggers at Rosalyn Cortez. Rosalyn Cortez relished the moment finally a chance to get even with Global Justice for an old score, "Your Boss Betty Director and Global Justice were the top intelligence gathering apparatuses for Mr. Noriega. Global Justice then specialized in turning in journalists who wrote unflattering stories about his regime."

Will Du blinked at the woman in front of him and it was now becoming clear that he would not be leaving for Geneva anytime soon, _"This women is crazy."_

"Your Betty Director turned in my brother Charles who was captured and tortured until the fall of his regime. Now after you've received medical care, you are going to be taken to a Federal Prison in Charleston, Illinois. Where you can share a jail cell with Mr. Noriega and relive the glory years of Panama and of Global Justice." Rosalyn finished telling her plans to Will Du and stood up waiting for a reaction.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME. I HAVE DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY." Will protested.

"Wrong Will you broke your international charter. Global Justice is required to give a host country three days notice before operations are begun. The United States has received no such notice. Thus you are now considered a criminal insurgent."

Will closed his eyes. She had him and he knew it. Now an overwhelming sense of rage was forming in his mind. He wanted to get Ronald Stoppable no matter what the price, "YOU ARE STILL GOING TO ARREST RONALD STOPPABLE…CORRECT?"

Rosalyn Cortez laughed, "For what as far as the United States Government is concerned the events of this evening never occurred."

Will Du began to struggle in a vain attempt for attention. Rosalyn motioned for two EMT's that were waiting out of earshot of the conversation to come and take Will Du away.

She smiled as she continued to watch Du struggle and rant about capturing Ron Stoppable, _"There are days that I just love my job."_

* * *

"Oh baby you were so brave." Monique gushed as she slid into Tirza's lap for the ride back to Middleton.

"You looked so sexy holding that pistol." Tirza returned the compliment before kissing his girlfriend.

"She looked damn scary holding that gun. I thought she was going to shoot all of us. No more guns for you Monique." Ron told her in a mocking tone.

A very tired Kim Possible took a drink of soda and then rolled her head over to look at Ron, "Want to talk?"

"Nope"

Kim crossed her arms, "Fine...So how many people do you think you killed to get me out of there?"

Ron was taken aback by the question, "Kill...Kill...I didn't kill anyone. They all developed simultaneous lead poisoning."

She let out a deep breathe and shook her head, "OK how many lead poisoning victims were there?"

There was no immediate answer, "Ummm...I don't know I lost track with the three at the entrance."

"I think with the Hamilton men close to 90." Tirza spoke up trying to help jog Ron's memory.

"You kept track?" Ron said in disbelief.

Tirza shrugged and continued to stroking Monique's back, "Well you were not leaving anyone for me to shoot. I had to do something."

The glove compartment door fell open, "I got two." The happy pink mole rat proclaimed.

Ron looked over to Rufus, "You got two? How?"

"He ran in between two guards and they opened fire on each other." Tirza explained.

Rufus fell on his back rolling from laughter, "Uh huh...bang, bang, bang"

Monique purred and kissed Tirza's face, "No one was more brave than my little man."

"Monique hand me your phone." Ron asked holding out his hand towards the back seat.

She dug in her purse and handed Ron her cell phone, "Here you go, not much battery life though so don't be on it too long."

Ron then handed the phone to Kim, "Call your mother and let her know you're alright."

Kim reluctantly took the phone and dialed her home phone number, 'Hey mom, it's me…I'm fine."

"_Did Ron find you?"_

She stole a glance toward Ron, "Yea, yea Ron found me…Candy Mann had me."

"_You get to talk to him yet?"_

"No he's being stubborn." Kim said with just a twinge of anger in her voice.

Ron turned and looked at her, "Some people would prefer to talk privately and not have an audience…Oh that's right you don't believe in privacy."

Kim ignored the sarcasm, "I think we'll be home in a few hours…You don't have to wait up."

"_I'll be up to make sure you're alright with my own eyes."_

She wiped an eye, "OK, I'll look forward to seeing you too…bye."

Ron held out his hand, "My turn."

Kim handed him the phone, "Do you think you could go a little faster?"

He stole a look her way as he dialed Bonnie's phone number, "Where's the explosion Ron? Do you think you could go a little faster? Kim, I have an arsenal of illegal weapons in the back of the wagon….I'm not going to risk a ticket." He told her just before he heard Bonnie answer the phone, "Hey Bonnie."

"_Glad you called I was starting to worry."_

Ron smiled, "Aw it was a little tougher than I thought but not too bad."

"_You find Kim?"_

"Yea, yea she's sitting right next to me." Ron said as he looked at Kim.

"_Let me talk to her."_

He handed Kim the phone, "She wants to talk to you."

Kim shook her head no and Ron continued to push the phone towards her till she took it, "Hi Bonnie"

"_Hey Kim sorry about the other night…I didn't mean for you to get so upset."_

She took a deep breath and nodded her head, "Yea, well that's OK."

"_Ron and I are looking at a date in December to get married…You want to be in the wedding?" _

Kim swallowed hard and shook her head, "No…no I think…I'll be busy then." She said quietly.

"_Oh…OK...We'll be leaving on Monday to go back to Israel. Ron's been recalled to the army."_

"Oh…I didn't know that." Kim said quietly as she looked at Ron.

"_Yea…He got the word earlier today…I hope they keep him out of the fighting."_

Kim looked over at what some might consider Israel's finest killing machine and nodded, "Yea me too."

"_Well I'm glad you're OK. Put Ron on again for me."_

"OK" Kim said quietly as she handed the phone back to Ron.

"Hey…Can you meet us at my mom and dads…I kind of want to loose the wagon." He explained.

"_Oh I guess…You have two sets of angry parents for missing that dinner tonight."_

Ron winced as he was reminded about the dinner, "Oh yea…I'll apologize when I see them next."

"_Did you get a hold of Wade?"_

"Yes I did, everything has been taken care of." He told her to quietly confirm that Wade had a way of sneaking him out of the country.

"Sounds good, when you going to be home?"

"Ummmm Should be home in a few hours….Love you."

Kim winced as she heard him utter words to Bonnie that she only wanted for herself to hear, _"I'll try to talk to him when we get home."_

"_Love you too…I'll be at your parents house…bye."_

Ron smiled, "Sounds great…bye."

He disconnected the phone and tried to hand it back to Monique only to find both her and Tirza had fallen asleep. Ron then handed the phone to Kim, "Give this to her when she wakes up."

Kim nodded and took the phone, "You really going to marry Bonnie?"

He nodded his head, "Yea, I'm really going to marry Bonnie."

"I…I wish you wouldn't."

"I know…" Ron said quietly.

The drive back to Middleton passed slowly and for the most part in silence. There was only one stop at a truck stop to get gas and use the restroom. Ron changed out of the camouflage hunting outfit and then sweated bullets as he filled the wagon up in front of a highway patrolman.

The patrolman paid no attention to him as he paid for his food and left the truck stop, _"They must not have found the bodies yet."_ Ron speculated.

Monique bought a bunch of sandwiches to go in the diner along with a couple of cheddar sticks for Rufus. She handed Ron a chicken sandwich after he paid for the gas. Ron inhaled it before they left the truck stop.

Kim watched him and shook her head, "Did you taste any of that sandwich at all?"

Ron shook his head, "Nope…No time, too hungry." He told her as he pulled away from the gas pumps.

The rest of the trip flew by as Monique teased Tirza about being bossy while they were in the field. Tirza took it well, "When I am on the job I am all business. Is this not right Ronnie?"

"Oh yea all business." Ron agreed with a wink towards Monique.

Ron finally turned on the exit ramp for Middleton and before they knew it they were pulling up in front of Kim's house. He got out with Kim and walked her halfway up to the house.

Kim turned to him, "Sure you don't have anytime to talk?"

"No, its 3:00 AM, what happened, happened…It's just the way it goes I guess." He said sadly.

"But it didn't happen, not like you think anyway." Kim protested.

"It doesn't matter Kim. I don't belong here anymore and I shouldn't have come back."

Kim was trying hard not to take no for an answer, "We really need to talk about this Ron. I don't want you to go off like this."

"All it's going to do is get me angry Kim…It's time to go…Glad you didn't get killed." He told her as he embraced her.

She protested at first before yielding to the hug. Ron finally broke it off and turned to walk back to the wagon before stopping and turning around to face her once again, "One more thing, you see Kenny Hubler …Tell him he ever gets in my face again…I'll do more than just punch him in the mouth."

Kim rolled here eyes, "RON"

Ron laughed and waived, "Goodbye Kim"

She watched the brown station wagon drive away from the curb and head towards where Ron used to live. She sighed and shook her head before turning to walk inside her house, "Goodbye Ron" She said quietly.

The Crown Victoria station wagon pulled up in front of the house. Ron looked to Tirza and issued his last order of the night, "Tirza go inside and open the garage door so I can hide the wagon."

Tirza jumped out of the wagon and ran into the house. Ron turned the wagon around and began to back it into the garage once the door was open. He watched in the rearview mirror as the garage door began to open and he backed slowly inside.

Next came the unloading of the vehicle. He handed the rifles and one shotgun to Tirza before taking the box with the handguns downstairs, "I feel bad I wish I had time to stay behind and clean them."

"I will take care of it during the week." Tirza told him patiently.

Ron looked over the fresh stash of weapons and picked up one of the Hamilton Smith & Wesson pistols and took it upstairs with him. He walked back to the station wagon and took out the silver aluminum case that he had taken from Candy Mann's lair and opened it.

"OK what's in the case?" Monique asked excitedly.

He opened the latches and saw that the money was wrapped in paper wrappers of $10,000 dollars each. Ron pulled out two stacks and tossed them at Monique, "Here have 50,000 for helping me find Kim."

Monique gasped as she caught the remaining bundles, "You're not kidding!"

Tirza reappeared upstairs to be greeted with Ron throwing money at him, "And here's $50,000 for you…Now you can Monique that ring."

"Is this real money Ronnie?" Tirza asked in disbelief.

"Oh yea it's real. I took it off one of Candy Mann's cronies myself."

Bonnie now came outside and looked at the case with the money, "OK Ron how much is in there?"

"Was two million dollars but now it's 1.9 million." Ron answered calmly.

"I love you and your money." Bonnie shouted excitedly as she gave Ron a bear hug.

Ron laughed, "Stand down Bonnie…This is going in the bank for a rainy day. We'll take a $100,000 each back to Israel and hide the rest in a safety deposit box over here."

Bonnie stroked the currency in the open case, "But I want to go shopping."

He slapped her hand, "Down girl…I want to go to bed." He told her as he threw a pistol on top of the money and closed the lid.

"I'll go start the car." Bonnie said excitedly.

Ron nodded and then hugged Monique and Tirza, "I probably won't get to see you guys again before I have to leave. So have fun with the money and tell Neil Diamond I said HI...Thanks for going with me."

Monique rolled her eyes, "Some one had to have your back...The money will make going to see Neil easier."

He nodded and began to walk to Bonnie's car. He motioned for her to pop the trunk and put the case inside for safe keeping. He opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. Bonnie was excited and wound up, "Want to know what I want to get with that money?"

"NO" Ron said firmly as he closed his eyes to get some sleep after a very long and profitable day.


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N: I finally got the last chapter finished. I was unsure how to end this 65 chapter story. I've been working on and off on this chapter trying to find a good place to end it. In the future I promise no more 500,000 word epics...lol  
**

**Once again many thanks to AtomicfFire for proof reading chapter 65.**

**Thanks again to AtomicFire, Mooneasterbunny, Lippy Norweigen, Momike, Airwalker999, Lycox, Whitem, Yankee Bard, RI100014, Kingprawnsct for reviewing my story. **

**Many thanks also to those that have read the last three stories.**

**-Bubba- **

* * *

Mrs. Dr. P. peppered Kim with questions the minute she walked thru the door. Kim was too tired and sore from her captivity to provide much information. Mrs. Dr. P. gave her a quick check up before sending her up to bed. Kim walked into her room relieved to be back in familiar surroundings. 

"We'll talk more when you get up." Mrs. Dr. P. told her before backing out of her room.

Kim lay on her bed and clutched Panderoo, _"Are you and Ron friends again? I don't know how to answer that one mom. He didn't bite my head off but…He's so different now…I wish there would be an easy answer to that question."_

The exertion of the night's events finally over came her as she slipped into a deep sleep. She dreamed of better days. Days when Ron was still a happy go lucky boy that would tag along with her on missions all over the world.

They were fighting Duff Killigan and the angry golfer had Ron on the run and Kim was struggling with his henchmen trying to get to the man in the kilt. Ron ran out of room to run and after a great explosion his body now lay in a broken crumpled heap on the ground.

Kim finally was able to polish off Killigan with a ferocious spinning kick to the side of the Scotsman's head. Now she raced to Ron's side only to discover he was angry at her for not being there for him sooner.

She tried to explain what was happening but he wasn't listening. He was yelling at her about letting him down and now for not knowing what to do to fix his broken body. Kim covered her mouth with her hand as she tried to think of what to do.

Ron soon quit yelling and lay still and it was obvious to her that he was dead. Kim sat up in bed covered in sweat, _"Damn you Ron, I just don't know what to do about you anymore."_

She threw Panderoo out of bed and rolled over and slipped into a dreamless sleep until Mrs. Dr. P. could stand the suspense no longer and woke her up just after one o'clock in the afternoon. Mrs. Dr. P. quietly entered the room, "Just checking to see how you are doing."

Kim tried to sit up in bed, "Still sore…"

"I saw Ron hugging you last night. I guess you guys are friends again?" Mrs. Dr. P. inquired slyly as she handed Kim a few pills and a glass of water.

She swallowed the pills and shook her head, "I don't know what we are? Ron's…Ron's so different now. Too much Bonnie influence I guess."

"So you weren't able to talk to him?"

Kim shook her head, "Oh no he made it quite clear he didn't want to talk about it…At least in front of Monique and Tirza."

Mrs. Dr. P. sat down on the end of the bed, "Well then maybe you should try and talk to Ron without an audience."

"It has to be today then. Ron goes back to Israel tomorrow." Kim said sadly.

"Give him a call I'm sure he'll be willing to meet with you somewhere."

Kim nodded and smiled sadly, "I'll have to call him at Bonnie's. That's where he's staying now."

"Give him a call, get a shower, get dressed up and go meet him somewhere."

* * *

The knock on the door woke Ron from a deep sleep. A sleep that was long in coming as he was still wound up from his battle with Candy Mann from the night before. He was loud and exited when they reached the Rockwaller house to the point that Bonnie had to slap him and tell him be quiet or he would wake the whole neighborhood. 

Ron blinked and looked around the room for some sense of the time, "Yea…uhhhhhhhh"

Bonnie poked her head in the door, "Package just came for you."

He smiled and patted an open spot by the bed next to him, "Let's see it."

Bonnie stepped into the room and quietly closed the door behind her, "It's almost two."

Ron sat up and took the box from her, "It's from Wade." He told her as he opened the box and looked at the two passports, "George Michael Bacon, Charles David Darwin…Not bad…I'll use the Bacon passport for when we leave…No good Jew would ever be named Bacon."

Bonnie looked over the documents, "These look good."

"Yea Wade does good work." Ron told her as he wrapped his arm around her and began kissing Bonnie's neck.

"mmmmmmm That's nice…Are you sure we can't go shopping with that money?" She whispered to him.

"Ummm Hummm I'm sure…Jimmy D. The Bling Bling King is not getting my business…We'll stash the money and a gun for a rainy day." Ron told her between kisses.

A knock at the door startled both of them back to reality, "Ronald, there's a telephone call for you."

"You can take it in my room." Bonnie offered.

"I've never been allowed in your room…Coolio…Lead the way."

Ron quickly slipped on a pair of sweatpants and shirt and followed Bonnie into her room. He froze in his tracks as he came face to face with a giant Robbie poster from the Oh Boyz. Bonnie glared at him as she handed him the phone, "I don't want to hear it."

"I wasn't gonna say anything." He said with a grin as he looked at the rest of the decorations around the room. Then he turned his attention to the phone, "Hello?"

"_Hey Ron, it's me."_

Ron heaved a massive sigh of relief. He was afraid that the caller was from a law enforcement organization, "Hey Kim how you doin'?"

"_I'm a little sore, mom gave me some stiff ibuprofens and that's helped a lot…So…how are you doing?"_

"Well I got a couple of calluses on trigger fingers but other than that I'm doing pretty good." Ron answered as he moved a large white teddy bear out of a chair so he could sit down.

Bonnie quickly picked up the bear, "You could have just sat on the bed Ron."

"I was afraid of squishing the other Cuddle Buddies." Ron told her as he surveyed the rest of the forbidden room.

"_What?"_

"Don't you dare tell Kim about my Cuddle Buddies." Bonnie growled.

"_Tell Bonnie I seen them that time I was stuck to her."_

Ron looked at Bonnie, "She says she saw them when you two were stuck together that one time."

Bonnie growled, "Whatever"

"So did you know about her life size poster of…."

"RONALD"

Ron pulled his head in, "Sorry…What you need KP?"

"_I…I was wondering if we could meet up at Beuno Nacho around 3:30 for lunch."_

He looked over at Bonnie and shook his head, "Kim we're kind of getting packed up over here to leave tomorrow."

"_Ron we really need to sit down alone and talk."_

"Kim I think this is just going to be something that we'll never agree about."

"_Come on Ron. Let's not end it like this."_

"Alright Kim, I'll meet you at Bueno Nacho at 3:30 then."

"_Great I'll see you then."_

"Yea" Ron said as he hung up the phone.

"Kim wants to talk?" Bonnie asked.

Ron nodded his head and handed her the phone, "Yea, won't do any good…We'll never see eye to eye about what happened."

"Well don't stay gone too long. We have to finish packing and stashing money." Bonnie reminded him.

He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling, "Hey more Oh Boyz posters."

"Out…Right now, out of my room." Bonnie said angrily as she stomped her foot and pointed towards the door.

"Want to fool around?"

Bonnie smiled mischievously and sat down on the edge of the bed, "Yea, alright"

* * *

It was a quarter till four before Kim saw Bonnie's Grand Am wheel into the parking lot. She watched Ron get out of the car and breathed as sigh of relief when she saw he was alone. Kim got out of her car and waited for Ron to walk up to her. 

She hugged him when he got to her car, "You sleep OK?"

Ron nodded his head and pointed towards the glass doors of their high school hangout, "Yea…I borrowed Bonnie's car…She's almost finished packing. She has a ton of stuff."

Kim agreed as she walked in the door that Ron was holding open for her, "Yea I bet."

"You paying?"

"Oh I guess, I called you after all." Kim chuckled.

"You're sure? I'm pretty hungry." Ron teased as they stood in line looking at the menu.

"Wait…you didn't bring Rufus did you?"

Ron laughed and shook his head, "No, no he's still asleep at Bonnie's."

Kim was able to breathe much easier, "I was afraid he would have broke me."

They ordered their food and Kim paid as she said she would. They walked to their old table they spent so many afternoon's together after high school. Neither of them said anything. Each of them was afraid to talk about the events of the previous two months.

Finally after about five minutes Kim finally got things going, "Well thanks for telling everyone that I only had three taekwondo classes."

He looked away and smiled before taking a bite of a chicken chimerito, "Now can you still name all 16 forms of martial arts your familiar with?"

"Ohhhhhh going to put me on the spot early are we?" She said with a grin as she began to think, "Let's see there's crane, drunken style, taekwondo, judo, monkey kung fu, both Bruce and Brandon Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Jet Li…"

"Hong Kong Phooey" Ron added trying to help her memory.

Kim narrowed her eyes at Ron, "Alright so it's 17 different forms of martial arts."

Ron looked stunned, "No really? I thought all those flying kicks were Honk Kong Phooey style?"

Kim rolled her eyes and groaned before changing the subject, "So you're heading back to Israel tomorrow?"

Ron nodded, "Yea, yea, tomorrow afternoon after I do some business in Upperton."

Kim began to wring her hands, "I...I know it wasn't a great trip for you and I'm sorry."

He chuckled nervously, "No…no…not great at all."

"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I guess I didn't realize how much you've changed over the year…I don't know?"

Ron continued to nod his head and pick at his food, "It was a long year."

"I just wish you would have talked to me more about it."

"There are things that happened to me over there that you just don't talk about." He said firmly.

Kim began to get frustrated and her jealousy began to come to the surface, "But you could tell Bonnie?"

Ron's facial muscles tightened up, "Bonnie was there she knows what happened. I don't have to talk about it with her."

Kim decided not to bring Bonnie into the conversation just yet. She shook her head trying to think of a way to get Ron talking so she could try to mend some fences with him, "I think I should have told you about the chair sooner." Kim said sadly.

"The chair was just too wrong." Ron reminded her.

"The chair wasn't that bad." Kim told him dismissively.

Ron dropped his fork and put his hands to his head and began to laugh bitterly, "What! I know you did not just say that to me."

She quickly realized her mistake and tried to further clarify what she had actually meant to say. Fearing that Ron would go ballistic, "I mean it didn't start out that way...I...I mean, I only did to feel close to you again."

Ron smiled, "And to keep tabs on me and to put ideas in my head and to try and control me."

Kim winced, "I...I never tried to control you."

"What was it you told me at Quarry Lake? I can make you stay if I want." Ron reminded her of what she had told him before she learned of the destruction of Building One and of the Mental Focusing Unit.

The painful memories of that day were still fresh in Kim's mind as well as she tried to explain what was going through her mind, "I...I never should have said that. It was just so frustrating because you wouldn't talk to me."

Ron rubbed his forehead, "Look Kim, there are things that I just don't want to talk about. I don't see the fascination of wanting to know every last scrap or detail of my life. My life's different now that's all that needs to be said."

"Because I used to be a part of your life and I'm not used to having you shut me out." Kim felt she was finally making her point and now they were beginning to make progress.

"How can I shut out a person that can get in a chair and know what I'm thinking from moment to moment? That chair ruined my visit, I lost friends, I had people coming after me, I lost a business offer, I got a broken nose from someone I don't even know, and how on earth I became some sort of rapist..." Ron threw up his hands and shook his head in disgust.

"Oh don't put all of that on me, most of that was your own fault." Kim said defiantly.

"MY FAULT!" Ron yelled out before realizing they were becoming the center of attention in the restaurant, "My fault...How do you figure that?"

"Well, well if you wouldn't have planned on going to that strip club for Ned's bachelor party..."

Ron's eyes opened wide, "How did you know I was planning on going into Hamilton in the first place? The chair that's how, one night out and I've paid for it ever since."

Kim closed her eyes as she realized he was right but just couldn't let the strip club angle go, "Well...well you still shouldn't have been there."

"Oh and what were you and Tina's gang doing while we were in Hamilton?" Ron asked.

She looked away as she tried to remember, "We were having Tina's bachelorette party."

Ron smiled, "You guys had a stripper from what I'm told."

"Tara told you that...I'll get...Well still Bonnie being in the hospital would lead one to think..." Kim said as she quickly tried to change the subject away from male strippers.

"What happened with Bonnie over there is none of your business" Ron told her sternly.

Kim backed away from mentioning Bonnie, "I...I know."

Ron nodded his head, "Yea...Look I have to be going. Bonnie's parents are kind of peeved at me for not being with them during Sabbath dinner yesterday..."

Kim quickly tried to change the subject to keep him talking so he wouldn't leave, "Well what about the psychic link and the truth ray?"

"I don't know? Maybe it was just made up by Dr. Wong to experiment on you?"

"No, no, no it's real and you know it." Kim said firmly.

Ron shrugged, "If it is real, I guess there's not much we can do about it."

"Well we need to talk about it at least."

"I have to go Kim." Ron said patiently.

"Just a few more minutes Ron. I don't want to part like this. Not like this." Kim said desperately.

"Kim, I think it's clear this is going to be one of those things we are never going to agree about." Ron told her as he began to clean up his meal.

"Well, well maybe it wasn't entirely your fault." Kim said trying to get the conversation going again.

Ron laughed and nodded his head, "No, no you convinced me. I shouldn't have come back. If I would have stayed in Israel none of this would have happened."

"Ron I didn't mean it like that."

"No, no your right KP, you're the smart one. I'd still have friends here. I'd have a nose that wasn't pushed in. I could have spent more time with Bonnie in the night clubs dancing. I could have learned to surf." His tone softened and his eyes reflected a deep sadness, "So...I guess your right...It is all my fault."

Kim didn't know how to respond as Ron stood up to take empty his tray in the trashcan, "Ron...I don't..."

"So I guess I'll be seeing you next year then?" Ron said cheerily.

"What?"

"You are going to be in Monique's wedding?" he reminded her.

Kim laughed as she picked up her soda to follow Ron outside, "Oh...I guess. Monique's not really talked much about the wedding yet."

Ron nodded, "I think they're looking at June."

"Well I guess I'll be seeing you in June then." Kim said trying to sound happy.

"I'll be an old married man by then." Ron said with a grin.

Kim's shoulders slumped, "Of all the people in the world you could marry and it's got to be Bonnie Rockwaller."

Ron laughed, "Well it did take a war."

"Yea I guess it did." Kim said sadly.

They stood in the parking lot looking at each other in silence until Ron held out his arms for a hug, "I'll see you in June."

Kim smiled and hugged him, "Yea, I'll see you in June."

Ron got in Bonnie's Grand Am and quickly rolled down the window, "Hey, still glad you weren't killed last night."

"Thanks." Kim said with a wide grin.

Ron returned the grin and muttered, "Where's the explosion Ron."

Kim laughed, "You just go back to Bonnie's house because you're starting to get on my nerves now."

Ron smiled and waived as he drove out of the parking lot. Kim frowned, _"Well it's not what I had hoped for but it's a start I guess. He'll come to his senses he won't marry Bonnie."_

* * *

Ron finished loading Bonnie's luggage into the back of the Stoppable's mini van before closing the hatch, "No I can't give you an easy explanation on why the station wagon is parked in the garage or why it smells like gun powder and old socks." 

Mrs. Stoppable held fast with her arms folded glaring at him, "The Rockwaller's said that Bonnie had to leave the house at 2:30 in the morning to pick you up because you were to drunk to drive home."

"Wa…well that is one theory." Ron told her nervously. He didn't want to talk about the battle with Candy Mann and Global Justice. So he and Bonnie created a cover story that he was out drinking and needed a ride home.

"Ronald listen to your mother. You are spoken for now, don't blow this chasing around after that Kim Possible."

He was taken by surprise by this statement, "Ah…No, of course not…Have you seen Rufus?"

"Rufus…Rufus…You didn't take him drinking with you?" As soon as she said it, Mrs. Stoppable quickly covered her mouth partly because of how ridiculous the allegation was and partly so that the Rockwaller's wouldn't think she was crazy.

Ron looked around to make sure everyone was watching and whispered to his mother, "Mom, who do you think drove the wagon home?"

A sharp rap on the rear window of the mini van signaled that Rufus was ready to go as he acted as if he were driving and honking his horn. Ron stepped around his mother and made for the side cargo door, "See, I told you."

"Hey Ronald what's in the silver case?"

"Nothing much dad, just 1.7 million dollars and a handgun." Ron responded casually as he slid into the seat next to his sister.

"Hey Kaley, did Rufus do a good job of babysitting?" Ron kissed his sister before closing the van door behind him.

Mrs. Stoppable shook her head and climbed into the front seat of the mini van, _"I never know when he's kidding anymore."_

"Well if you got that much money in the case it's a good thing you're having us run by Wells Fargo in Upperton." His dad told him as he waived at the Rockwaller's, "We'll meet you at the airport."

The ride to the Wells Fargo bank in Upperton was a quiet one as Ron ran through all of the things he had to do once he returned home to Israel. He was going to move back in with the Oester's for appearances to please both his and Bonnie's parents. He was going to have to report and receive orders at the post in Tulkharm. Then from there he had no idea where he would be headed.

Once the van pulled to a stop Ron picked up his aluminum case full of money and headed inside the bank. A receptionist named Yvonne greeted him as he entered the bank, "Can I help you?"

Ron looked around the large bank cautiously, "Yes, I'd like to open a savings account."

Yvonne picked up her phone desk phone and dialed a number. The Upperton branch of Wells Fargo was large and ornate as you would expect considering that Upperton was the County Seat and the center of commerce in the Tri-County area.

"Hello, I'm Davis McClain I can help you startup that new account if you would just follow me...Mr...?"

"Bacon, George Bacon" Ron said coolly as he followed the man back to his office.

Once inside Mr. McClain a very clean looking man in his late twenties closed the door behind him, "Let's see what kind of account would you like to open with us today?"

Ron looked at the man, _"Wow, perfectly groomed fingernails he doesn't work for a living."_

"I want to open a savings account and rent a safe deposit box."

"Can I have some form of ID to use so I can get things rolling?"

Ron dug into his wallet and found the correct driver's license, "Here you go I have a Master Card too if you should need it?"

The man looked over Wade's forged driver's license, "No, how about a social security card?"

"I have one." Ron dug around in the wallet and pulled the card out.

"Wow you don't see this very often, both of these look brand new." The man observed as he turned around in his seat and began the process of opening the account.

"I'm very careful with my stuff." Ron said nervously.

"And how much would you like to open the account with?"

Ron fished into his pocket and pulled out a stack of $100 bills and dropped them on the desk, "I think $10,000 should due."

Mr. McClain halted the proceedings and looked at the stack of money, "We have to do a background check on deposits over $1,000...Home Land Security you understand."

He motioned in the air with his left hand in order utilize his mystical monkey power to cloud the man's mind, "You can make an exception in my case."

The sandy haired man in the gray business suit blinked, "I think in your case we can make an exception...I'll get you a cash ticket for the money."

"Thank you" Ron said politely, _"Ahhhhhhh the old Jedi mind trick."_

Mr. McLain next clapped his hands together momentarily startling Ron, "Now for the fun stuff. Would you like a Visa attached to the account. I show you as having perfect credit. We could give you a line of $10,000?"

"No"

"Christmas Club?"

"No"

"Super Savers Club?"

"No"

"You want just a savings account?"

"Yes"

"OK, well then I'll need a beneficiary in case something should happen to you."

Ron finished out Bonnie's information and handed it to the man.

He looked it over, "Would you like her on the account with you?"

"No"

"What is her relation to you?"

"Fiancée'"

Mr. McClain brightened, "Ah getting married soon. Can we interest you in a pre-approved home mortgage?"

"No"

"Auto loan?"

"No"

"Direct Deposit?"

"No"

"Free Checking?"

"No"

"Please"

"No"

Mr. McClain finished filling out the forms, "What size of safe deposit box do you need?"

He glanced at the case by his feet and began figuring out the correct size. He held up his hands and cautiously said, "One about this big?"

Mr. McClain frowned and then his demeanor brightened, "About a 10"x10"x21", I think will do it. That will run you $70.00 per year."

Ron nodded, "Take it out of the savings account."

"Of course...Who is going to have access to it?"

Ron thought it over, _"I better put Bonnie on this because she is a real person. If I put her on this I better not tell her or she's going shopping."_

"Just myself and my fiancée'."

The man continued typing as he finished filling out the paper work, "Now it will take just a moment for me to print out the documents to sign and you should be all set."

Ron signed the name George M. Bacon as many times as he was asked before the man once again had him follow him to a different department in the bank. They reached an older woman dressed in a conservative brown business suit, over her shoulders she wore a powder blue sweater to keep warm due to the air conditioning, "This is Ellen and she will help you get into your safe deposit box."

Ron waived, "Hi Ellen"

The woman looked at Ron impassively and then over the paperwork as Ron waive goodbye to Mr. McLain, "Mr. Bacon you will have box 1278. This is your key, do not lose it. There are stiff monetary penalties for lost keys."

Ron nodded his understanding. As the woman produced two cards, "Sign these so we have a record of how your signature will appear should you need to access the box...Good, now initial here stating that I explained to you about lost keys...Good, now you have to sign this paper saying that you have read and understand the privacy act which I have just presented to you. You may take a few moments to read it if you wish."

"No, no...My hands getting tired, can't I just see my big pretty box now?" He asked her as he wiggled his fingers as he tried to restore feeling to them.

"In time Mr. Bacon show a little patience. Now if you will follow me." She told him as she stood up from her desk.

Ron grinned as he followed her inside the bank vault, "Oh man that door must weigh a ton."

"Thirty-three tons to be exact."

Ron looked the woman over, "Wow you must have some pretty big biceps beneath that mousey sweater."

The woman eyed him suspiciously as they came to a dimly lit staircase and walked down into the bowels of the bank, "The Security Guards open and close the vault door."

She took a right hand turn and then a left as they walked down rows of smaller boxes. Ron was suitably impressed, _"This is so cool."_

She finally came to a halt in front of a gleaming row of large bronze boxes, "Here is your key Mr. Bacon. It takes two to access the box your key and the bank's key."

Ron sat down the case full of money and inserted his key into the lock as Ellen inserted her key, "Turn your key clockwise."

He did as he was told and felt resistance give way as the box was now free of the large rack. "Follow me to a private viewing area."

Ron quickly shoved the Key into his pocket and picked up the case and followed the woman with the empty box to a desk with high dividers that hid the desktop from prying eyes. He settled down in a seat in front of the box before looking up at the woman.

Ellen pointed to the wall with some final instructions before she left Mr. Bacon to his privacy, "When you are ready to replace the box pick up that red phone on the wall and I will return."

He watched her leave the area and when he was sure she was gone quickly opened the empty safe deposit box. Before then turning his attention to the case of money, _"It probably would have been smarter to deposit this but...I don't want to answer too many questions." _

The urge to begin giggling insanely came to his mind before he fought the urge down as he transferred the money into the box. The stacks of money he piled as tightly as he could insure he would have enough room left for the pistol.

Once the money was in the box he carefully placed the pistol inside so that it would not rattle when the box was being moved. Now Ron just stood and stared at the box of money. The urge to giggle and stroke the money was finally given into. Ron's evil grin came over his face as he stroked the money, "My Precious." He said quietly under his breath.

With great difficulty Ron closed the lid on the box and backed his way to the red phone to make sure the money never left his sight. He picked up the receiver and waited for Ellen to pick up the line, "Yes this is Mr. Stop...Bacon. I'm ready to put the box back."

A short time later Ellen appeared and they repeated the ritual to secure the box. Ron fought the urge to shed a tear as he looked back at the box over his shoulder as he left the vault.

"Mr. Bacon, we have something for you." Mr. McClain said happily breaking Ron out of his self induced trance.

Ron turned to face the man who promptly shoved a box at him, "A free crock pot for new accounts of a $1,000 or more...There's even a cook book inside, it's very nice."

He grinned as he accepted the box, "Now this is really thoughtful, thank you."

"No sir, Thank you for choosing to bank with Wells Fargo."

Ron continued grinning like an idiot, "Can I leave now?"

"Yes sir we're all done here." The man said continuing to grin at Ron.

"Oh...I need to find a Fed Ex place."

"Next door in the Kinko's just to the right of the building." Mr. McLain said as he pointed towards the front doors.

Ron walked as quickly as he could because now he realized that time was running short. He mailed the fake ID, passport, social security card, Master Card, bank papers and safe deposit key to Bonnie's address in Netanya. Once the package was accepted Ron rushed out to the mini van.

"We were wondering what was taking you so long." Mrs. Stoppable scolded him.

"Give this crock pot to Tirza and Monique. It won't work in Israel." Ron said excitedly.

His mother made a face at the box, "You went to a bank to get a crock pot? Is it a good crock pot?"

Ron shrugged, "It better be it cost me ten grand."

* * *

The Stoppable's mini van came to rest in a spot as close to the Rockwaller's spot as they could get. Mr. Rockwaller walked up to the driver's side door, "I thought you were going to be late and miss the flight?" 

Mr. Stoppable quickly explained the delay as he got out of the van, "Ah Ronald had to do some banking."

Ron wasted no time as he grabbed Rufus and stuffed him in his pocket, took the luggage caddy from Bonnie and quickly began loading her luggage from the open rear hatch. Bonnie made sure her parents were consumed with their conversation, "You were late."

"I got Tirza and Monique a crock pot." He told her as he threw the last piece of luggage on the caddy.

"Oh...OK...Once inside we pretend like we don't know each other?" Bonnie asked once again to make sure she had Ron's plan straight in her head.

Ron nodded as he picked up his three bags, "Yea, I'll get in contact with you once we reach the gate."

Bonnie and Ron hugged their parents and Ron remembered to call Mr. and Mrs. Rockwaller, mom and dad. Then Ron leaned over his baby sister who was still strapped in the baby seat, "You are going to be such a big girl when I see you next." He said playfully as he kissed her forehead.

He smiled as she held her hands out to him and then briefly thought of Mariko and quickly shook the thought away, "Say Ronnie, say Ronnie for me."

Kaley smiled and clapped her tiny hands together and tried to say his name, "Ra, Ra"

Ron laughed and told her, "I'm going to miss you."

"Ronnie are you and Bonnie going to be OK for the flight back?"

He shook his head, "Yea dad, I think we'll be OK."

His dad stepped forward and hugged his son, "You take care and make sure and call us. Collect if you have to."

Mrs. Stoppable stepped forward and hugged him, "You're doing the right thing Ronnie. Bonnie's a nice Jewish girl. You just make sure she keeps me in the loop for the wedding information."

Ron laughed, "I will mom." Then he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "I left a picture of me and Mariko behind the mirror in your bedroom."

She smiled and nodded, "You better get going. Bonnie's already left without you."

He turned and feigned surprise, "Oh, I'll see you guys in December...Bye." Ron picked up his bags and quickly ran towards the doors to enter the airport.

Mr. Rockwaller walked over to Mr. Stoppable, "I don't know why he's running. Bonnie won't go too far. She's not going to deal with her luggage alone."

Mrs. Stoppable smiled, "Well she sure does seem to have a handle on Ronnie."

Joni Rockwaller smiled, "Now if I could only get my other two daughters to find husbands."

Once thru the entry way doors Ron quit hurrying. He and Bonnie worked out a plan to separate and meet at the gate. Each was carrying a lot of money and neither wanted to attract much attention.

Ron stopped in a bookstore and found a magazine about poker and purchased it. Then he approached the security metal detectors. He was just about through the screening process when a woman with a badge stopped him, "What's that in your pocket?"

"Ah keys, wallet, passport?"

"No your leg pocket."

Ron rolled his eyes and pulled out a statuesque Rufus, "It's a stuffed Peruvian Hairless."

"Stuffed huh?"

"Yea" Ron said as he rapped his knuckles hard on a table giving the impression he was beating the table with the stuffed Peruvian Hairless.

Rufus tried hard to remain perfectly still while the woman looked him over, "OK, go on thru."

Ron breathed a sigh of relief, _"I'm glad me and Rufus worked on that routine at home "_

He made his way to the Northwest Airlines gate and reached it just as Bonnie was leaving the baggage check in. Ron checked his luggage and confirmed his ticket before making his way to waiting area.

Bonnie looked around the room casually before spotting Ron as he took a seat at the other end and began reading his magazine, _"No fair, how did he get to go shopping so soon?"_

Ron looked up from the magazine and made eye contact with Bonnie. He raised his eyebrows twice and winked at her. Bonnie turned away, _"Ah playing hard to get...She taunts me so."_

He stood up and walked over to where Bonnie was sitting with her legs crossed letting one of her flip flops dangle from her foot. Ron smiled, "I couldn't help noticing that you are the hottest looking hottie in the whole airport."

"I know" Bonnie said haughtily as she rolled her eyes.

"I...I was wondering if you would mind if I sat down here across from you." Ron said pointing to a seat just in front of her.

"Look loser you're wasting your time. I'm engaged...see." Bonnie said coldly as she showed him her engagement ring.

Ron sat down in the chair, "That's a pretty ring. A man must think a lot of you to give you a ring like that."

Bonnie looked away and smiled, "What's your name anyway loser."

"Darwin, Charles Darwin...Would you like to hear some of my theories?" Ron asked trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh please the whole reanimation of dead human bodies through constant exposure to high voltage electricity...Pathetic."

Ron blinked his eyes, "Uh...I'm not sure but I think you have me confused with Fredrick Von Frankenstein?"

Bonnie did a head flip to remove a strand of hair that was in front of her eyes, "Frankenstein, Darwin, science geek losers."

"Well...Maybe if I work on you a little you may evolve to enjoy my...theories." Ron suggestively implied.

"Work on me huh...I don't think my fiancée' is going to like this." She warned.

"He doesn't have to know everything does he?"

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "He'll insist on knowing, he's very jealous and possessive of me."

Ron began to act nervous as he watched the passengers departing the plane that had just arrived at the gate, "I hope he isn't violently so."

She reached down and picked up her carry on bag, "I think it best we end this conversation. If he should see you talking to me...well...It won't be pretty."

Ron nodded and picked up his bag, "I guess I'll see you on the plane then." He told her as he stood up.

Once the airplane began to load for the flight to New Jersey Ron allowed Bonnie to get in front of him. He followed her on board and stowed his carry on in the overhead bin next to hers before taking a seat next to her, _"So far so good ignore each other till we're on the El Al plane headed back to Israel."_

They ignored one another until after the plane was in the air for Newark. He carefully reached over and took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Bonnie glanced over towards him, smiled and squeezed his hand as they were now leaving their lives behind in Middleton to begin anew once they reached Israel.

* * *

For Rosalyn Cortez it was only her third trip ever to the oval office to brief a president. The events in Colorado had worked their way up the chain of command and now there was going to be hell to pay as the internal investigations were starting to get underway to affix the blame for what had taken place under the government's nose in a national park. 

"Rosalyn the President and I go way back. Let me break the ice and then I will cue you in." CIA Director Wellington Sinclair advised the woman who was in charge of the Middle East desk of the agency.

Rosalyn nodded her agreement as they walked into the outer office to be greeted by the president's secretary, "The President is expecting you go right on in."

They walked into the oval office. Rosalyn noted the rich blue carpeting with the seal of the United States very prominently displayed on the floor in the center of the of the office. The President was seated in a large leather chair behind a very impressive looking oak desk. His suit coat hung was thrown over the arm of a nearby couch and his red power tie was draped over the flat panel computer monitor on his desk. He sat in the chair with his sleeves rolled up reading a file, "Wellington what kind of shit storm are we in for now?"

Director Sinclair smiled and motioned for Rosalyn to take a seat in front of the President's desk while he sat next to her just to her left Once seated the CIA Director smiled, "I believe a small on as there are very few living people who have any idea what has happened."

The President looked at the director over the top of his glasses, "How in the hell did this criminal do what he was able to do? Construct a large lair damn near in the center of a National Park."

Director Sinclair opened his brief case, "It appears that he started a dummy company that applied to the Department of the Interior to trim old growth forests and to do some limited excavating work."

"Limited excavating work, the man tunneled out a mountain." The President said incredulously.

"Yes sir, it also appears that money may have changed hands with a few Department of the Interior personnel. I'm not apprised of the full situation as this falls under FBI jurisdiction." Director Sinclair explained.

The President nodded, "Yes, I also have a few complaints from FBI Director Kemp about your assigning Ms. Cortez to the region and placing her in charge. I have soothed the man's ruffled feathers for now. All I can say is that this had better be worth the wait."

Director Sinclair smiled, "I think once you have heard the briefing from Ms. Cortez you see I dispatched the right person for the job."

The President now fixed his gaze at Rosalyn Cortez, "Alright Ms. Cortez let's hear your report."

Rosalyn Cortez opened her own brief case now and withdrew a rather thick folder, "This is all the information I have been able to piece together so far. The investigation is still on going." Rosalyn looked up to make eye contact with the President before she continued her briefing, "On October 9th of last year ALNF a lumber conglomerate based in Brazil petitioned the Department of the…"

The President held up his hand and interrupted her briefing, "Ms. Cortez I am familiar with this part of the investigation. I am curious to know how one Israeli citizen mysteriously shows up in the middle of the night, kills nearly a hundred people, wounds one of Global Justice's top field agents and then vanishes without a trace."

Roslyn took a deep breath and began rifling through her file, "Sergeant Ronald Stoppable of the Israeli Defense Force has been on leave in Middleton, Colorado since we believe mid-May. We are currently investigating how he entered the country. We made an attempt to have him picked up by the FBI for questioning but he eluded capture and from what we can tell fled to Tokyo Japan before once again returning to Middleton, Colorado."

The President held up a hand, "Why were you attempting to have the FBI pick this Mr. Stoppable up?"

Ms. Cortez shifted nervously in her seat, "Mr. Stoppable went missing in Gaza City for nearly a week where he was wounded. Our sources in Israel were investigating claims of strange wounds on many of the bodies that were reportedly dispatched by Mr. Stoppable…We had a natural curiosity about these reports of a mystery weapon and we were also interested in seeing if Mr. Stoppable could be persuaded to serve as an intelligence asset from within Israel."

The President leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together over his face, "This is the same person that the Israeli's listed as missing back in March?"

"Yes sir, the very same." Rosalyn confirmed.

The President sat up straight in his chair, "How many people did the Israeli's estimate he killed during the period he was missing?"

Rosalyn sighed, "The Israeli's aren't positive but they put the number at 70."

"How many did he kill over here?"

"Well we estimate 16 Hamilton Security Personnel, 73 people inside of Mt. McKinney for a total of 89."

The President shook his head, "Explain to me what the angle is with Hamilton?"

Rosalyn took a deep breath, "Well Hamilton so far has been uncooperative. From the information that we have been able to sweat out of our informants alleges that the new head of security in Hamilton had Kim Possible abducted and sold to Candell Mann. Hence we have the connection between Hamilton and Mt. McKinney."

Director Sinclair interrupted the briefing, "Ms. Possible and Mr. Stoppable used to work together as Team Possible. You might remember they prevented a scheme of Dr. Drakken's from coming to fruition a few years back…The giant Diablo toys?"

The President nodded his head, "Creepy looking toys…How soon before we will have Mr. Stoppable detained for questioning?"

"We believe he left the country yesterday traveling under the name Charles Darwin."

The President took off his glasses and began to rub the bridge of his nose, "So what you're telling me this man can seemingly breeze in and out of our country at will? Is Mr. Stoppable working for the Mossad?"

Rosalyn Cortez shook her head, "No sir, we believe that Mr. Stoppable was working independently. There is information coming in from Israel suggesting they are just as curious about him as we are."

The President chuckled and shook his head, "I would say we've reached the stage of becoming much more than curious about this man."

"Yes sir, we have a few of our people on the ground in Israel that will continue to observe Mr. Stoppable and perhaps make contact with him."

The President nodded and then reached to his right towards a stack of papers. He picked one of the papers off the stack and held it up for h is guests to see, "Now another pressing issue, I have Betty Director burning up the lines trying to find out about her personnel. How are our guests doing and what are your recommendations on how long do we keep them?"

Wellington Sinclair grinned, at the President, "Sir we have the Elite agents on ice at the Federal Prison in Fort Leavenworth Kansas and Mr. Du in the Federal Prison in Charleston, Illinois. We plan on liberating the Elite agents within the month. Mr. Du on the other hand will be kept cooling his heels with us for an indefinite time period."

The President nodded his head in agreement, "Have we learned any further details from our guests?"

Rosalyn Cortez shook her head, "So far the only one that has any usable information is Will Du and unfortunately he is obsessed with capturing Ronald Stoppable and bringing him to trial in the World Court for war crimes."

The President began laughing and shaking his head, "I am not happy about any of this mess. We have caught a break since the media hasn't learned what happened…" The President let his thought trail off before pointing at Director Sinclair, "The CIA will let the various agencies with jurisdiction continue the investigation. You will now continue to devote some of your resources into finding out just who this Mr. Stoppable is? I don't believe that anyone just enters this country on a whim kills over 80 people and then leaves the country undetected is working independently."

Director Sinclair nodded his head, "Yes sir, I plan on assigning Ms. Cortez to the job as we speak. She is our resident Mr. Stoppable expert."

Rosalyn Cortez flinched, _"Oh no, no, no don't do this to me." _She tried hard to conceal her disappointment, "Yes sir"

The two CIA employees wrapped their meeting up with the President. Rosalyn Cortez was in a whirlwind of conflicting feelings as the two entered the limousine for their trip back to Langley. Becoming pigeon holed on such an assignment could drastically alter her career endangering her rise up the chain of command.

"Not to worry Ms. Cortez." Director Sinclair told her as if he was reading her mind. He reached into his brief case and produced a large red folder and handed it to her.

"What's this?"

"That is your ticket to gaining some insight on your assignment. Apparently Global Justice took an interest in your man Stoppable about four years ago. Inside that folder is all the information they collected on him." The Director explained.

Rosalyn Cortez opened the folder, _"The Ron Factor. A study of indefinable applications of law enforcement principles based upon the applied application of Chaos Theory…This was written by Dr. Director personally." _

"When did we come across this?"

'We may not have many human assets these days but our IT personnel are second to none. This was culled recently during a routine scan of recently requested documents."

Rosalyn looked out the window of the limousine as it made it's way on the congested D.C. streets, "I don't…"

Director Sinclair once again appeared to read the mind of his star pupil, "You will of course continue with your assignment at the Middle East Desk. This is sort of an extra credit assignment to please the President."

"Yes sir"

The Director opened his brief case once again and withdrew a small folder and handed it to her, "This will be running tomorrow in Tri-County Area Suburban Journal."

Rosalyn took the folder and opened it up to see the head line Rockwaller-Stoppable. She lifted an eyebrow as she examined the small black and white photograph of Bonnie seated in front of Ron who was standing behind her in his uniform, _"I guess I read the whole Gaza situation incorrectly. I could have sworn Rockwaller was pretending to be Stoppable's fiancée' to gain attention for herself."_

She studied the photograph for a bit longer and then continued to read the small article.

"_Mr. and Mrs. Elliott Rockwaller of Middleton, CO. are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter, Bonnie Jean, to Ronald Stoppable, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Stoppable of Middleton. _

_The bride-to-be graduated from Middleton High School in 2007 and is currently studying Hebrew Studies in Netanya Israel. _

_The future groom graduated from Middleton High School in 2007 and is currently serving in the Israeli Defense Force. _

_The couple is planning a December wedding in Jerusalem, Israel after which they will honeymoon in Italy."_

Rosalyn Cortez closed the folder, "It would appear finding Mr. Stoppable will not be much of a problem."

* * *

Early Wednesday morning Mrs. Dr. P. was eating breakfast and leafing through the Suburban Journal when she froze at the picture of Ron and Bonnie that was looking at her from inside the paper. She quickly sat up straight in her chair and read the engagement announcement. 

"Hey Hon, what's in the paper that's so interesting today?"

Mrs. Dr. P. looked up at her husband as he poured him self a cup of coffee, "Jim…we may have a problem on our hands?"

Mr. Dr. P. looked up from his coffee, "Big problem don't finish your coffee or small problem it can wait till you finished with your coffee?"

She handed him the newspaper, "I'm not sure what do you think?"

Mr. Dr. P. read the announcement, "Oh boy"

"Yea"

"You better tell her before the twins get a hold of this."

Mrs. Dr. P. quickly stood up and snatched the paper from him, "You're right I didn't think about that."

She quietly walked upstairs so as not to wake up the twins and then up the stairs to Kim's room and softly knocked on the door. There was no answer at first and then she heard a voice tell her to come in.

Kim was struggling to sit up in bed as her mother came into the room, "Hey"

"Sorry to bother you but I figured you would want to know about this." Her mother told her as she handed her the news paper.

Kim turned on the lamp on her nightstand. She read the article and then read it again and frowned, _"Wow how weird is this?"_

"I thought you would want to know."

"Yea, thanks" She said quietly as she reread the article once again.

Kim read the article a fourth time. This time her left eye twitched twice, "Italy, HA, yea I think Ron had a lot of say in that?"

"Well I hear Italy is nice." Mrs. Dr. P. said softly.

She looked at the photo closely. It appeared to her that Bonnie's smile was really a smirk. She took her thumb and moved it over the Bonnie's face so she wouldn't have to look at her. Kim looked up at her mother, "You know if I move my thumb over Bonnie's face it's not a bad picture of Ron."

Mrs. Dr. P. chuckled, "I never thought of it like that."

The cell phone rang on her nightstand and Kim picked it up, "It's Monique." _"She probably wants to tell me about the picture in the paper."_

She pressed the receive button, "Hey Mo"

"_Kim, Kim, isn't it exciting! Bonnie and Ron got their picture in the paper in the engagement section."_

Kim rolled her eyes. She was not really expecting her call to so enthusiastic but wasn't really surprised considering she was engaged also. Kim shook her head and held up a finger to her mother to let her know the call wouldn't last long.

"I seen it and do you know some would find the picture a little disturbing."

"_Oh yea sorry"_ Monique said trying to tone down her excitement.

"Uh Yea" Kim said impatiently.

"_How do you think they did it?"_

Kim scrunched her nose up, "Sorry?"

"_You know got their picture in the paper. I want to see me and Tirza's picture in the paper under engagements."_

She sighed and shook her head, "Can't help you there Mo. It's not like I've ever been engaged."

"_It says Ehlman Photography on the picture. I bet if we go get our picture taken together they can put it in the paper."_

Kim shrugged her shoulders, "I guess."

"_TIRZA get up we're going to get our picture taken."_

"_Woman it is not even eight o'clock."_

"_If we're getting married in Israel then we are getting our picture in the paper. Now get up."_

She heard some rustling and then a gasp and some giggling, _"You've got a morning stiffie…Well we can't let that go to waste."_

Kim hung up and flipped the tiny cell phone onto her nightstand before turning to look at her mother, "Is it me or has the whole world just gone crazy."

* * *

**Onward now to story 4 of this series, "Knights of Zion" **


End file.
